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I know you bowed out, but a passing Step 1 score is 192. A 190 is the 4th percentile. I think you could understand how a student who will "at least pass" wouldn't be a school's ideal choice.
In many countries, people in the 60th percentile on med school entrance exams would have no chance. Here, plenty of 27s and 28s get to go to MD schools
https://www.aamc.org/download/434596/data/usingmcatdata2016.pdf
The data he was talking about without realizing it is on page 52 here. Yeah, after 27 you have close to the same chance of passing Step 1 as anyone else. But really that's not at all what Step 1 is about; whether or not you can merely pass it. People's futures and paths are often decided by how well they do on it well beyond passing it ie 215 vs 235 vs 255 type stuff. No school is interested in admitting someone who can merely "pass" and show they will probably get by. Look at the chart a couple pages before, even the majority of 2.7/24's who get into MD schools graduate. No school wants to be concerned with people who can merely get by; they want people who can excel.
And yes in some ways the US is rather lucky that a 28 has gotten plenty of people into MD schools in the past. And this doesn't even account for DO schools where 24-25 median MCATs have been a thing at schools.