Prematriculation program grades as predictors of black and other nontraditional studentsʼ first-year academic performances

Abstract

This study explored the relative strengths of select background variables, including grades in a summer prematriculation program (SPP), as predictors of students' first-year academic performances. During the years 1980-1989, 115 black and other nontraditional prematriculants at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine attended a four-week SPP featuring courses in biochemistry, anatomy, and immunology. Canonical correlation analysis revealed that the combination of undergraduate grade-point average (GPA) and SPP grades in biochemistry and anatomy was the best predictor of the students' academic performances based upon their first-year grades in biochemistry, anatomy, and microbiology, and upon their GPAs for all first-year basic science courses. The authors conclude that SPP grades can be used to identify the specific academic weaknesses of nontraditional students at highest risk of falling into academic jeopardy.

A summer prematriculation program to help students succeed in medical school

“…These programs can be offered to all students who have been admitted (Battistella et al 2001;Richardson and Saffran 1985;Stoddard et al 2008;Wilson et al 2011) or can target students academically "at risk". Most medical schools define "at risk" students based on their ethnic and socioeconomic characteristics (Carroll and Lee-Tyson 1994;Hairrell et al 2016;Hesser and Lewis 1992a;Hesser and Lewis 1992b;Thompson and Weiser 1999;Williams 1999). Some schools also include academic variables such as GPA and MCAT scores in their criteria (Seifert and Harper 2007).…”

Factors Associated with Performance in an Internal Medicine Clerkship

“…Studies have also examined nonacademic variables, including demographic and internal variables (e.g., intrinsic motivation), as contributors to clerkship performance (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10).Th e purpose of this study was to examine both types of variables in relation to internal medicine (IM) clerkship performance, with a goal of continuous program improvement. Th is appears to be the fi rst time interest group membership was examined in a study of academic performance on the IM clerkship.…”