I interviewed at several Cali programs and unfortunately had to turn a couple down due to date conflicts. My take on matching into a CA program (keep in mind I haven't matched into any program yet!) is that a) the programs aren't any better than comparable programs in other regions b) consider that >1/10th of the country's population lies in CA. Point a) is obviously a matter of opinion and I only say it because there seems to be a myth (in my opinion) held by some that somehow CA programs are better. Maybe in pure terms of location (ie desirability) this is true, but purely in terms of 'program' I don't think this holds true. Concerning point b) consider that there are some 156 ortho programs nationwide and from a population/statistical standpoint there should be therefore >15.6 ortho programs in California, but there are only about 12 (UCSD, Naval (if you count that), UCI, Loma Linda, USC, UCLA, UCLA-Harbor, Drew (does anyone apply there?), Stanford, UCSF, SF program, UC Davis). Plus I think if you further break it down by actual spots, the discrepancy is even greater but I'm not positive on this one. So, if you add the numbers, location, etc all together I think the end result is that it's tough to land a spot at most any CA program. I don't have numbers to back this up but take a look around your school and look how many CA residents there are in your class. Probably many relative to any other state (besides the state the school exists in). I know some schools--George Wash, New York Med, and others are jokingly referred to as UC East Coast by some. I would love to hear what others' take on this one is. Personally, I think the (Upper) Midwest has one of the highest concentrations of quality programs around, but I know that is a controversial topic so I'll leave it at that.
OF
