The point I'm trying to make is that those schools are extremely difficult to get into even if we are a resident. As a result, the great majority of average to above average students in CA have the best chance of getting into USC. Look at New York. They have 4 dental schools and 2 out of those 4 schools heavily favor in-state applicants. More importantly, those 2 schools (Stony Brook and Buffalo) are not as competitive as UCLA, UCSF, and UOP. Texas has 3 dental schools, and they accept a grand total of around 2 out of state applicants. In addition, the WICHE program is an agreement to set aside a certain number of seats for those states that don't have a dental school. And realistically speaking, how many North Dakota, Alaska, etc. predents are out there? And if you were a member of the admissions committee and you had to choose between two identical applicants the only difference being that one is from CA and the other is from Montana, who would you choose? You would choose the Montana candidate for diversity purposes. I don't have the exact numbers, but I'm willing to bet that CA has the most applicants.