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<p>This could be true when the mission of such a med school is heavily oriented to one or a few specific areas (e.g., favor those applicants more into a science researcher, or social activists, etc.) Because of these specific missions, they could even more heavily emphasize qualifications besides stats. Some med schools flat-out disclaim they are mostly interested in grooming future leaders in the medicine (here in US as well as in other country which badly needs medical services – thus their interests in recruiting some “true” internationals who may go back to their home country and will potentially have a high impact in medicine there, not here, in their life time. They have little interests in recruiting internationals who are mostly interested in becoming a mere practicing doctor in US. (e.g., They definitely do not like those who were grown up in US and went to schools in US mostly and only had a stint on an international missionary as a part of their applications because they had a better connection over there.)</p>