I actually don't think that much of CA students compared to students anywhere else. Like you, I've lived in CA, and I've lived elsewhere. I go to med school in Texas now. A premed is a premed is a premed -- they're pretty much all the same and they're all used to a high level of achievement, no matter where they are from. However, in your previous post you seemed to think that CA students have some sort of advantage in med school admissions merely by being from CA, which isn't exactly the case -- if that wasn't your intent, I apologize for misunderstanding you. I was simply trying to offer an explanation for why it might appear that way.
While you might consider $100K a necessary investment for your education, I know many people who felt that they could not go to med school if it involved that kind of debt, or even well beyond $100K. Thus, they only applied to their state schools (in these cases, the UC system), and if they didn't get in after one or two tries, they moved on to something else. It's unfortunate, because I think some of them would have made excellent doctors, but I don't blame anyone for not wanting the burden of 6-figure debt. That's a pretty personal decision, and not really one that should be up for public judgment of one's dedication or interest.
