+1 AllThatRacket. That's my contention as well. Make sure you can provide legitimate reasons to applying to that particular medical school. Be able to answer those questions without having to strain to find them. For example, I live in FL but my father and his father etc grew up in Philly, and my great uncle went to Drexel, so I have a legitimate reason to apply to Drexel with my 3.5/30 over just having the lower stats. Similar story with me and EVMS, but with my mother. Also, in my experience the lower stat schools want people to stay in a particular community or state, and I can see myself practicing in Pennsylvania or Virginia, definitely. Just food for thought