To KPax:
State-funded public dental schools like Iowa, Oregon, UMDNJ, SUNY Stony Brook, UCSF and UCLA, etc. are mandated by state law to give preference to in-state residents, who directly support these state institutions with their state tax dollars. This is why an out-of-state applicant would not have a very good chance of getting into those, even with a spectacular application package.
Private schools like USC, UPenn, Columbia, Tufts, etc. have no such constraints, which is why your friend had no trouble getting into those. Though historically these private schools also do take a higher proportion of applicants from their state of location as well.
