<p>I don't disagree with what you are saying, gizmo9187, yet that is also another reason not to choose a difficult school and/or a difficult major. As I've been saying throughout this thread, if you want to maximize your chances of getting into med-school, then you want to choose a school and a major that maximizes your chances of getting into med-school. While that might sound like a tautology, it really isn't. </p>
<p>The point is that med-school adcoms grade on results. Not on potential. You either have what the med-schools adcoms want, or you don't. Simple as that. If you don't have what they want, the adcoms won't care about why you don't have it. They will just see that you don't have it. For example, the adcoms will say "We want you to have top grades". If you say "Well, I could have had top grades if I went to an easier school and/or completed an easier major, but I didn't. I chose a difficult school and a difficult major". The adcoms will retort "We don't care about all that, we want you to have top grades." Similarly, the adcoms will say "We want you to have done EC's and other medical-related work". If you try to respond with "I chose a very difficult program that took up all my time. If I chose an easier program, I could have easily done all those EC's", the adcoms will retort "We don't care about why you don't have those EC's. All we care about is whether you have them or not." </p>
<p>Now obviously the above was a gross simplification of the process. But it does serve to illustrate my basic point, which is that the med-school adcom process is merciless. Don't expect that because you chose a difficult program and/or a difficult school, that you are going to get rewarded for it. </p>
<p>And that serves to illustrate my other basic point. I am not telling anybody that they shouldn't necessarily choose a difficult program and/or a difficult school. What I am saying is that if you do decide to do that, you should understand that you are probably hurting your chances of getting into med-school. That's the trade you are making. You can still get into med-school, but your odds are lower, just like if you drive without a seatbelt, you can still get home safely, but your odds are lower. Whether that tradeoff is worth it is up to the individual, but you should not fool yourself into thinking that the tradeoff doesn't exist.</p>