How Important is Undergraduate School?

[mauberley]

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A: 33 MCAT 3.5 GPA at a top 20 school

vs

B: 33 MCAT 3.5 GPA at not ranked school

1 spot, who gets in? Student A does.

The opportunities at a top school aren't that different from any other state school. In fact, it's easier to get better letter of recommendations when you are not competing with smarter kids; it's easier to stand out. Also, medical schools want their entering class to look good, so they will take students from prestigious schools, just to say "we have students from X school."

I suppose if anything's repeated enough, it becomes true. Let me contribute to this phenomenon by quoting your post.