I think the formation and use of connections are two skills that are incredibly important for a career in medicine. The people who make a difference on a large scale in this field are those people who can create relationships with patients, communities, high-powered academics, hospital heads, medical schools...etc.
I think it is also pretty bull**** to say that it isn't a test of ability or skill. Someone said 'I want to get in on my own merit' or something. Being charismatic and charming are skills that are every bit as important as science knowledge for being sucessful. I work in a research lab now and the doctor I work with directly is incredibly brilliant. He has a MD/PHD from Harvard and I think he got a 78 on his MCATs. He adds a lot to science and has made large advances towards curing the genetic disorder we examine.
The head of the department my doctor works in, on the other hand, is only an MD and not from a great school. He is clearly less brilliant than my doctor when it comes to science. But, as he himself brags, he can bring in the money. He is charming, quick on his feet and knows how to win people over. He pulls in millions of dollars each year that allow my brilliant scientist to work. Now which doctor would you want in your medical school? Both are great, but (like like a horse and carriage) you can't have one without the other. We need both smart, high scoring doctors, and charismatic, connection-making doctors.
Also, and this raises a much larger question, what is the goal of medical education? To produce the best doctors? But how do we judge the best doctors? By # of articles published? In this case I bet the high numbers doctors win out. By patient satisfaction? In this case, I bet the charismatic, charming doctors win out. One complaint about the field of medicine these days is the lack of compassion, and 'friendliness' of doctors. Those doctors that can easily make connections and build relationships might be just what the field needs more of.
If this seems unfair, maybe it would be helpful for you numbers oriented guys to think about connections as an MCAT for your personality. Its actually not that hard to make connections, if you work at it, just like its not that hard to get high scores if you work at it. Connections aren't something that somepeople have and others will never get. Go to every single one of your professor's office hours and ask him at the end of the year if he knows anyone at the medschool you want to go to. Ask the ER doctor you volunteer next to if he wants to have lunch some time. Write an email to a professor at some great school whose research you are interested in and start a correspondance. Ask your parents if they know any doctors you could have lunch with some day (every parent knows at least a couple doctors).
And lastly, I'm not advocating connections INSTEAD of MCATs or GPA as a criteria for admissions. I think to get into a top med school, a student should be strong in all three categories (not to mention personal statement, extracurrics...etc).
Damn, I'm gonna get flamed...