•••quote:•••Why does that piss you off? Most of these kids, including myself, will probably come back to CA to practice anyway. If you're a competitive candidate, there's no disadvantage being from UCB or UCLA.[/QB]••••It's very different from the way other state schools run their systems. In Texas, for example, preference is given to 1)in-state residents from in-state colleges, 2) in-state residents from out-of-state colleges, 3) out-of-state residents from out-of-state colleges.
You're right that there is no disadvantage being from UCB (as I was) or UCLA when applying to the UC medical schools, but there is no distinct advantage either. That's the problem. UC undergrads *SHOULD* be at a competitive advantage when applying to UC medical schools just like Texas, Washington, and Oregon undergrads are when applying to their schools. Do you know the chances of getting into Oregon Health Science University or University of Washington as a UC undergrad? Almost nil. The fact of the matter is that the UC's "eat their young."
There exists a substantial geographical regional bias among medschool adcom members. This is a fact. It probably works both ways. When I interviewed out of state (particularly in the Midwest and Chicago), people were very impressed with the Berkeley name, education, and bent over backwards to get to know me. The admissions people at UC Davis just kind of yawned in my face, but fawned over the California applicant from Cornell (who I stayed in touch with and had nearly identical credentials and even less research experience than me). Is Cornell really more prestigious than Cal? I think not.
I'm not whining, don't get me wrong. I matched at Mayo this year for residency and will likely return to Cali to practice. All's well that ends well. My point is that other states do things very differently and truly treasure their in-state applicants. This isn't the case with the UC's, believe me...On the up side, you'll find that a UC pre-med education is heads and shoulders above other pre-med education across the country and will serve you well if go out-of-state.