scholarly journals What Influences the Decision to Interview a Candidate for Medical School?

2020 ◽  
Vol 185 (11-12) ◽  
pp. e1999-e2003
Author(s):  
Ting Dong ◽  
Jeffrey Hutchinson ◽  
Dario Torre ◽  
Steven J Durning ◽  
Anthony R Artino ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Introduction Holistic review, in which medical schools seek to balance applicant attributes and experiences alongside traditional academic metrics in making admissions decisions, has been in place for over a decade. Medical school applicants and the admissions’ community are still trying to understand the impact of holistic review on the composition of those medical schools choose to interview and accept. Materials and Method The study cohort included all candidates who applied to Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) in 2014, 2015, and 2016 (N = 8,920). We conducted logistic regression analysis to examine the associations between the sociodemographic, academic, and military service variables of applicants applying to the School of Medicine and offers for interview. Results Medical College Admission Test scores and undergraduate grade point averages were important in predicting who would receive an interview. Having military experience, being a woman, and being self-reported African American race also predicted a higher likelihood of receiving an interview invitation. For example, controlling for all other variables in the model, if an applicant had previous military experience, the odds of being invited for interview was about 4 times that of an applicant who had no previous military experience. Leave this for the text and discussion. The resulting pool of interviewed and accepted students more increasingly represented the Military Health Service population served. Conclusions The use of holistic review generated a class with a composition different from that which would be predicted by Medical College Admission Test and grade point average alone. Further, holistic review produced an interview pool and class more representative of the wider Military Health Service beneficiary population. In the case of USU, holistic review allowed the school to better meet its mission to create a representative class able to “care for those in harm’s way.”

2012 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 499-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham P. Shaw ◽  
Evelio Velis ◽  
David Molnar

Background: Most medical school admission committees use cognitive and noncognitive measures to inform their final admission decisions. We evaluated using admission data to predict academic success for podiatric medical students using first-semester grade point average (GPA) and cumulative GPA at graduation as outcome measures. Methods: In this study, we used linear multiple regression to examine the predictive power of an admission screen. A cross-validation technique was used to assess how the results of the regression model would generalize to an independent data set. Results: Undergraduate GPA and Medical College Admission Test score accounted for only 22% of the variance in cumulative GPA at graduation. Undergraduate GPA, Medical College Admission Test score, and a time trend variable accounted for only 24% of the variance in first-semester GPA. Conclusions: Seventy-five percent of the individual variation in cumulative GPA at graduation and first-semester GPA remains unaccounted for by admission screens that rely on only cognitive measures, such as undergraduate GPA and Medical College Admission Test score. A reevaluation of admission screens is warranted, and medical educators should consider broadening the criteria used to select the podiatric physicians of the future. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 102(6): 499–504, 2012)


2012 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 446-450
Author(s):  
Robert M. Yoho ◽  
Kosta Antonopoulos ◽  
Vassilios Vardaxis

Background: This study was performed to determine the relationship between undergraduate academic performance and total Medical College Admission Test score and academic performance in the podiatric medical program at Des Moines University. The allopathic and osteopathic medical professions have published educational research examining this relationship. To our knowledge, no such educational research has been published for podiatric medical education. Methods: The undergraduate cumulative and science grade point averages and total Medical College Admission Test scores of four podiatric medical classes (2007–2010, N = 169) were compared with their academic performance in the first 2 years of podiatric medical school using pairwise Pearson product moment correlations and multiple regression analysis. Results: Significant low to moderate positive correlations were identified between undergraduate cumulative and science grade point averages and student academic performance in years 1 and 2 of podiatric medical school for each of the four classes (except one) and the pooled data. There was no significant correlation between Medical College Admission Test score and academic performance in years 1 and 2 (except one) and the pooled data. Conclusions: These results identify undergraduate cumulative grade point average as the strongest cognitive admissions variable in predicting academic performance in the podiatric medicine program at Des Moines University, followed by undergraduate science grade point average. These results also suggest limitations of the total Medical College Admission Test score in predicting academic performance. Information from this study can be used in the admissions process and to monitor student progress. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 102(6): 446–450, 2012)


Author(s):  
Peter Corridon

As medical schools cope with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new cohort of students will be admitted in the fall. Administrators are again challenged to make unprecedented enrollment decisions without standardized exams. This challenge provides unique opportunities to support holistic admissions but also abruptly bypasses a process that has been employed since 1928. This article highlights key factors that are being considered during current medical school admission cycles, including limited opportunities to take standardized exams, heightened student anxiety, and potential exam alternatives. These factors are framed and discussed within the context of the medical college admission test (MCAT) exam.


2012 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 471-476
Author(s):  
Sanjay Sesodia ◽  
David Molnar

Background: This study examined the effect of instructional technology availability on the performance of students enrolled in a medical physiology course at a podiatric medical school. Methods: Multiple linear regression analysis was used to predict student overall test performance based on instructional technology, Medical College Admission Test score, undergraduate grade point average, and class absence. Results: The availability of instructional technology was associated with a small decline in mean test performance and a small increase in class absence. Class absence had a negative effect on test performance only when the technology was available. Total Medical College Admission Test score and grade point average were positively correlated with performance. Conclusions: Instructional technology did not enhance absentee student course performance and, indeed, hurt it. Its use as a means of providing access to additional lecture material needs to be reevaluated. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 102(6): 471–476, 2012)


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 238212052110148
Author(s):  
Peter R. Corridon

As medical schools cope with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new cohort of students will be admitted in the fall. Administrators are again challenged to make unprecedented enrollment decisions without standardized exams. This challenge provides unique opportunities to re-evaluate admission processes that has been employed since 1928 and support holistic admissions. This article highlights key factors that are being considered during current medical school admission cycles, including limited opportunities to take standardized exams, heightened student anxiety, and potential exam alternatives. These factors are framed and discussed within the context of the medical college admission test (MCAT) exam.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. e47-e56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Banibrata Roy ◽  
Kyle Perry ◽  
Ira Ripstein ◽  
Barry Cohen

Background: To determine whether the pre-medical Grade Point Average (GPA), Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), Internal examinations (Block) and National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) scores are correlated with and predict the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part I (MCCQE-1) scores.Methods: Data from 392 admitted students in the graduating classes of 2010-2013 at University of Manitoba (UofM), College of Medicine was considered. Pearson’s correlation to assess the strength of the relationship, multiple linear regression to estimate MCCQE-1 score and stepwise linear regression to investigate the amount of variance were employed.Results: Complete data from 367 (94%) students were studied. The MCCQE-1 had a moderate-to-large positive correlation with NBME scores and Block scores but a low correlation with GPA and MCAT scores. The multiple linear regression model gives a good estimate of the MCCQE-1 (R2 =0.604). Stepwise regression analysis demonstrated that 59.2% of the variation in the MCCQE-1 was accounted for by the NBME, but only 1.9% by the Block exams, and negligible variation came from the GPA and the MCAT.Conclusions: Amongst all the examinations used at UofM, the NBME is most closely correlated with MCCQE-1.


1980 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 411-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel Givner ◽  
Irene Klintberg ◽  
Kevin Hynes

This study was designed to determine whether or not retaking the Medical College Admission Test, a practice commonly engaged in by medical school applicants, results in significant improvement in test scores. A sample of 532 applicants, of which 93 applicants retook the test on two consecutive administrations, was studied. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that the retake group initially was significantly lower than the non-retake group on all six scales. Although applicants who had retaken the test significantly improved their scores, the magnitude of this improvement was not impressive. Furthermore, scores of the retake group on their second test were still significantly lower than those of the non-retake group on two scales. Although retaking this test may lead to greater similarity between the two groups, retakers remain distinguishable from those who did not retake the test.


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