Biomaterial Database

Relationships between preadmission variables and academic outcomes for postbaccalaureate students in medical school. 2022

Stephen D Schneid, and Carolyn J Kelly, and Katharina Brandl

Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive (MC-0675), La Jolla, CA, 92093-0675, USA. sschneid@health.ucsd.edu.

There is currently little guidance for medical school admissions committees regarding how to weigh postbaccalaureate program grades relative to undergraduate grades. This study was designed to address this issue. Admissions data, preclerkship course performance and United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 results were analyzed over three years for University of California, San Diego (UCSD) postbaccalaureate premedical (PBPM) students (n = 25), students who participated in other postbaccalaureate programs (n = 34), and for the remainder of the medical students who did not participate in any postbaccalaureate programs (n = 329). UCSD PBPM program alumni did not significantly differ in their cumulative academic performance on exams in preclerkship courses and USMLE Step 1 pass rates compared to the rest of the class despite their significantly lower GPA, lower Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Math (BCPM) GPA, and Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) percentiles. For students who participated in the PBPM programs, PBPM program GPA was a significant predictor of preclerkship academic performance and USMLE Step 1 performance. When assessing academic readiness of applicants who have completed postbaccalaureate programs, admissions committees might closely consider the postbaccalaureate program GPA in addition to other academic metrices such as BCPM GPA and MCAT score.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D003099	College Admission Test	Test designed to identify students suitable for admission into a graduate or undergraduate curriculum.	Admission Test, College,Admission Tests, College,College Admission Tests,Test, College Admission,Tests, College Admission
D004504	Education, Medical, Undergraduate	The period of medical education in a medical school. In the United States it follows the baccalaureate degree and precedes the granting of the M.D.	Medical Education, Undergraduate,Education, Undergraduate Medical,Undergraduate Medical Education
D004521	Educational Measurement	The assessing of academic or educational achievement. It includes all aspects of testing and test construction.	Assessment, Educational,Graduate Records Examination,Educational Assessment,Examination, Graduate Records,Measurement, Educational,Assessments, Educational,Educational Assessments,Educational Measurements,Examinations, Graduate Records,Graduate Records Examinations,Measurements, Educational
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000073978	Academic Performance	A quantitative or qualitative measure of intellectual, scholarly, or scholastic accomplishment.	Academic Test Performance,Academic Test Scores,Educational Test Performance,Educational Test Scores,Academic Performances,Academic Test Performances,Academic Test Score,Educational Test Performances,Educational Test Score,Performance, Academic,Performance, Academic Test,Performance, Educational Test,Performances, Academic,Performances, Educational Test,Score, Academic Test,Score, Educational Test,Scores, Educational Test,Test Performance, Academic,Test Performance, Educational,Test Performances, Educational,Test Score, Educational,Test Scores, Academic,Test Scores, Educational
D012577	Schools, Medical	Educational institutions for individuals specializing in the field of medicine.	Medical Schools,Medical School,School, Medical
D013337	Students, Medical	Individuals enrolled in a school of medicine or a formal educational program in medicine.	Medical Student,Medical Students,Student, Medical
D014481	United States	A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.