Having gone to UCSD, I would take what Dr. Bond says with a pinch of salt. As for "back-up" schools, I always wondered about who exactly gets into the schools with seemingly low gpa's (ie Finch), as I think they focus more on extenuating circumstance applicants. HOwever, it is probable that many schools prefer to take local applicants first, as they will stay in the community, so the ABC thing sounds reasonable, but when you look at the majority of private schools out there, the number of Californians is so overwhelming that I'm not sure how much water that arguement holds. Plus, you can always ask the school for a break down of where their students come from, and see if CA isn't #2 or #3 on their list.
) Anyway, in passing, he mentioned something about the ABC rule by which out-of-state "backup schools" abide(please don't chastise me for using this expression, I have no idea what he meant by it, and it is up to anybody's guess as to what these schools are...for all I know, ucsd itself could be a backup school for many people). Oh yea, ABC=anyone but californians, kinda catchy, no? I thought that was interesting. He actually called some of these "backup schools" and asked them why they have been interviewing less UC students...and the people at these schools said that they want to train physicians who will work for their respective communities, and not CA residents who will pick up their bags and head back to CA once med school is over. This sounded reasonable, so I guess I was interested in what other people's thoughts are on this issue (or the verity of what Dr. Bond told me, for that matter).
