Predictors of success on the MCAT among post-baccalaureate pre-medicine students

Abstract

Post-baccalaureate pre-medicine programs (PBPMP) provide prerequisite coursework for non-life science majors who aspire to become physicians. Students entering these programs generally do not have previous college-level exposure to the natural sciences. This pilot study was conducted to determine characteristics of scientifically naive, career changer, pre-medical students that may be used by PBPMP admissions committees. Statistical analyses were performed between Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores and student gender, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, undergraduate field of study, and undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA). While relationships between certain subscores on the SAT and MCAT were found, data suggest that other nonquantitative metrics be considered as predictors of performance among PBPMP students.☆ This study was conducted with the collection of existing aggregate, anonymized, educational data and collected in an education setting and is therefore considered exempt from IRB approval by the George Washington University IRB.

Evidencias de validez del proceso de admisión a una escuela de medicina en México

“…Además, en estos análisis se ha observado que entre los aspirantes hay más mujeres que hombres, pero son admitidos más hombres que mujeres (lo que se observa en la generación de 2014). Puede tratarse de varianza irrelevante al constructo, tal vez producida por ansiedad u otras variables que, aunque impactan en el desempeño de las mujeres en evaluaciones de alto impacto, no implican un mal desempeño académico posterior [37][38][39][40][41][42] .…”

Factors Associated with Acceptance of Repeat MCAT Test Takers into a West Virginian Allopathic Medical School

“…Mitchell 18 conducted a systematic review of previous studies about traditional predictors of performance in medical school and noted that the undergraduate GPA most often included substantial coursework in BCPM, in which nonscience GPA was often judged as having less importance. 19 Although undergraduate GPA is considered an important component of the initial application review and is associated with medical school performance, it is nonstandardized among institutions and comprises different majors and coursework. 2,6,11,20 Busche et al found that consideration of both MCAT scores and GPAs provided better prediction of students' first year performance than using either metric alone.…”

“…Successful medical school admission is dependent on other factors not addressed in our study such as competency in areas including interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, critical thinking and reasoning. 19,21 In-person or virtual interviews are used to assess applicants' nonacademic characteristics as advocated by the AAMC's Advancing Holistic Review Initiative 11,14,16 Applicant interview performance plays a major role in final admissions decisions. 11,15,17 Terregino et al found that exclusive reliance on interview scores, after minimum academic criteria are met, may promote cultural and racial diversity among the accepted applicant pool.…”

“…The three strongest predictors for acceptance to our allopathic medical school were a higher initial MCAT score, a higher increase from initial test score to second test, and a higher BCPM GPA. Mitchell 18 conducted a systematic review of previous studies about traditional predictors of performance in medical school and noted that the undergraduate GPA most often included substantial coursework in BCPM, in which nonscience GPA was often judged as having less importance 19 . Although undergraduate GPA is considered an important component of the initial application review and is associated with medical school performance, it is nonstandardized among institutions and comprises different majors and coursework 2,6,11,20 .…”

Relationships between preadmission variables and academic outcomes for postbaccalaureate students in medical school

“…It is challenging to know how much weight to place on the postbaccalaureate program GPA when assessing academic readiness for medical school due to the significant variance in the structure and rigor of the programs. Even with a strong academic performance in a postbaccalaureate program, applicants may still have a lower overall GPA and MCAT score compared to other applicants (Andriole et al, 2015 ; Baill et al, 2019 ; Ganjoo et al, 2020 ; Giordani et al, 2001 ; Grumbach & Chen, 2006 ). Since admissions committees rely on these two academic metrics to provide insight about an applicant’s readiness for medical school in combination with the nonacademic factors used in holistic review, it is important to understand how postbaccalaureate program GPA as well as overall GPA or BCPM GPA, and MCAT scores relate to academic performance in medical school in this student cohort.…”