When I was in a discussion about this a few years ago I was told it’s because med schools want to provide doctors for the entire community - therefore they try to admit the “best” from colleges representative of the entire community.
This pretty much matches one of the reasons WOWM mentioned in her post on the previous page (#15). It definitely makes sense to me.
My med school lad went to a rigorous undergrad - loving the rigor - no regrets. Having finished his first year he now tells me he’s ahead of many of his med school peers in some topics as they covered things in undergrad classes that weren’t covered elsewhere, or not in nearly as much depth. All med students get to study and learn this material - it’s not necessary for them to have seen it before - but it sure has helped him with studying. There are perks.
Still, if one wants to get into med school and is not sure they can keep up in a rigorous school to get a terrific GPA, choosing a less rigorous school is pretty darn smart.
My lad definitely still studied to get his high MCAT score too. Classes only sort of prepare one for that. There’s no way anyone should take that test without studying for it IMO.