<p>or Galveston; but your overall point is valid, being a resident of some states is a very big advantage. Texas greatly subsidizes medical education, and I chose to return to Texas because the cost of medical school was 1/2 that of out of state schools that I was accepted to.</p>
<p>are there any other med schools which have requirements before u can even apply, like AZ?</p>
<p>Most state schools don't have official requirements but nonetheless have extremely stingy OOS results. Stingy enough that they're not worthwhile.</p>
<p>so am i basically reduced to the 5 schools in CA?</p>
<p>Once again, let's try to explain this.</p>
<p>Of course, you can apply to private medical schools. The thing is that most students in the 3.6, 30 range get a significant boost from being an in-state applicant at their local schools.</p>
<p>CA publics are very selective, and so CA students don't get that boost until they're around 3.7, 33. By then, they're competitive for some private schools anyway. Therefore, since they could get into school anyway, having CA for a home state doesn't help students get into medical school.</p>
<p>so in the end, a CA resident gets back in return (acceptances) w/e effort and work he/she puts in to get the good grades and such?</p>
<p>What? I have no idea what you're saying.</p>
<p>The point is that many other states have schools where kids can be competitive if they're around the national average for eventual matriculants. CA residents lack such a school.</p>
<p>yeah so CA residents kind of have to get the highest scores possible to get an even slim chance to go to med school b/c there's no "insurance" schools</p>
<p>We tend to avoid using the word "insurance" school.</p>
<p>The best way to phrase it is that CA applicants require higher numbers to be competitive for admission because most applicants get a major boost from their state school, but the least selective CA state school is still very selective.</p>
<p>i know this is a stupid question, but out of hope, would being born in a state and living there for 5+ yrs count as any sort of residency?</p>
<p>Not if you're not living there now.</p>
<p>why is it so hard to get even a 40 on the MCAT? like i hear the elite colleges are usually around 36</p>
<p>Didn't you just answer your own question? If the median at Harvard Med is 35, then it must not be too easy to get a 40.</p>
<p>Edit: Sorry misread your post. If you're implying that the applicants from elite colleges average a 36, then you are wrong. I believe the average applicant from Duke and MIT (two schools that release such data) only had a 30. A 30 is roughly 80th percentile. A 35 is 95th percentile. A 40 is 99+ percentile. There is a huge difference b/w a 30 and a 35.</p>
<p>Why is it so hard? Because the quality of the test taker is that much better. The test is also harder, and tests things in a way that is very different than any other standardized test you'll have taken. People get hung up on the "knowledge" portion and miss that it is a thinking test.</p>