Undergraduate GPAs, MCAT Scores, and Academic Performance the First 2 Years in Podiatric Medical School at Des Moines University

Abstract

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.

Undergraduate grade point averages (GPAs) and scores on standardized examinations, such as the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), continue to be primary determinants in the selection of students applying to schools of allopathic, osteopathic, and podiatric medicine. Numerous studies have been performed to evaluate the relationship between these cognitive admissions variables and academic success in allopathic and osteopathic medical education, but little information is available on this relationship in podiatric medical education [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Considering the relatively small size of the national applicant pool to podiatric medical schools compared with allopathic and osteopathic medical schools, these types of studies are essential when evaluating the academic aptitude of a potential podiatric medical student.

Evans and Wen [1] examined the value of cumulative undergraduate GPAs and MCAT subscores in predicting student academic performance in osteopathic medical school. The study included 434 osteopathic medical students. The authors concluded that the undergraduate cumulative GPA had the highest predictive value of academic performance in osteopathic medical school and that MCAT subscores had limited predictive value in determining academic performance.

In a meta-analysis of 29 studies, Kreiter and Kreiter [2], using validity generalization methods, identified a consistent moderate positive correlation between undergraduate GPAs/MCAT scores and written tests of knowledge and clinical reasoning in medical school. They concluded that a validity generalization perspective of the literature supports the use of MCAT scores and undergraduate GPAs for selection to medical school.

The Association of American Medical Colleges studied the predictive validity of MCAT scores and undergraduate GPAs related to performance in medical school. They concluded that MCAT scores and undergraduate GPAs each contribute something unique to the prediction of student grades in the first 2 years of medical school and that the combination of MCAT scores with undergraduate science and cumulative GPAs is more powerful than either predictor alone [3].

Julian [4] examined the validity of the MCAT score’s predictability of medical school performance. The study produced results similar to those of previous studies [2,3,5] that compared MCAT scores and GPAs with performance in medical school. They found that medical school performance was best predicted through the combination of MCAT scores and undergraduate GPAs, with MCAT scores providing a substantial increment over undergraduate GPAs. Julian concluded that MCAT scores perform well as an indicator of academic preparation for medical school, independent of the school-specific handicaps of undergraduate GPAs.

Kulatunga-Moruzi and Norman [5] examined the utility of several cognitive and noncognitive criteria used in the admissions process at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) in predicting performance outcomes. Undergraduate GPAs were found to have the most utility in predicting academic and clinical performance in the undergraduate medical school program. Two more recent studies, a meta-analysis of published studies [6] and a large longitudinal analysis to determine the predictive validity of MCAT scores on medical school performance and licensing examination scores [7], confirmed that there is predictive validity of MCAT scores for medical school performance and United States Medical Licensing Examination scores.

A reasonable conclusion from these referenced studies is that undergraduate GPAs and MCAT scores support the predictive validity with respect to student academic performance in medical school. There does seem to be varying conclusions reached as to which of the cognitive admissions criteria is most predictive of student performance during the academic phase of the curriculum. These differences may be related to disparities in the curriculum or in grading and may vary from program to program depending on the academic rigor of the curriculum.

As previously mentioned, although the allopathic and osteopathic medical professions have published educational research examining the relationship between undergraduate GPAs and MCAT scores and academic performance in medical school, to our knowledge, no such educational research has been published for podiatric medical education. To address this void in podiatric medical education research, this study was designed to examine the relationship between undergraduate academic performance and MCAT scores and student performance in the academic phase of the curriculum in the podiatric medical program at Des Moines University.

Methods

The podiatric medical curriculum at Des Moines University is a 4-year program. The first 2 years are primarily didactic, with a clinical emphasis in years 3 and 4. Podiatric medical students at Des Moines University take the same basic science courses the first 2 years as osteopathic medical students and are held to the same academic standard as osteopathic medical students.

The college has established an ongoing student retention longitudinal admissions study that currently includes data from the entering students for the classes of 2000 to 2012. Personal characteristics and admissions performance measures (undergraduate cumulative and science GPAs and MCAT scores) were used as predictor variables. The longitudinal study identifies two groups of students: those who successfully completed the first year and those who did not. Attrition typically occurs in year 1 of the program. The study reveals significant differences between the means for variables categorized as academic between the two groups. Undergraduate cumulative GPA stands out as the strongest academic predictor that a student will successfully complete the podiatric medical program at Des Moines University, followed by total MCAT score. The findings of this ongoing longitudinal study serve as a key resource for establishing academic benchmarks for the admissions process in the selection of candidates invited for a campus interview.

The present study examines the relationship between traditional cognitive admissions criteria, including undergraduate cumulative and science GPAs and total MCAT scores, and the academic performance in years 1 and 2 of the curriculum for the classes of 2007 to 2010. Only students completing the program in the usual and customary 4 years (N = 169) were included in this study. Students taking more than 4 years to complete the program and students leaving the program for personal or academic reasons were excluded from the study. Academic achievement for the first and second year of podiatric medical school was based on individual student overall GPA at the completion of years 1 and 2, respectively. The GPA was measured on a percentage basis, with the maximum being 100%.

Undergraduate cumulative and science GPAs were calculated by admissions personnel based on official undergraduate transcripts submitted as part of the admissions process. Official MCAT scores were collected from the central application service file received by the admissions office for each candidate. Multivariate analysis of variance of undergraduate cumulative and science GPAs and standardized test (MCAT) scores was used to test for differences between years of enrollment. Pairwise correlations (Pearson product moment correlation procedure) were used to compare undergraduate cumulative and science GPAs and total MCAT scores with student academic performance in the first 2 years of the curriculum for individual classes and potentially for the pooled data. Because GPAs and MCAT scores have the potential to be highly correlated to each other, a multiple regression analysis will be used to identify the best performance prediction in the first 2 years of the podiatric medical curriculum. All of the statistics were calculated using a commercially available software program (SPSS 19; SPSS Inc, Chicago, Illinois), with significance set at P ˂ .05.

Results

The class size increased across the four classes in this analysis from 28 students in 2007 to 53 in 2010. The multivariate analysis of variance of the GPAs and MCAT scores revealed nonsignificant differences between the years of enrollment, indicating no academic differences between the incoming classes. The lack of differences between years of enrollment allows for pooled data analysis across the years in addition to the planned analysis of the four enrollment cohorts separately.

Undergraduate cumulative and science GPAs and total MCAT scores for the student cohorts in this study demonstrate consistency in the mean values for each of these variables (

Table 1. Undergraduate Cumulative and Science GPAs and Total MCAT Scores for Individual Classes and Pooled Data

Note: Data are given as mean ± SD. Abbreviations: GPA, grade point average; MCAT, Medical College Admission Test.

). The MCAT score was one of two standardized examination scores accepted by admissions at the time these classes were admitted to Des Moines University. Most students enrolled in each class reported an MCAT score.

Significant low to moderate positive correlations were identified between undergraduate cumulative GPAs and academic performance in years 1 and 2 for each of the four classes (P ˂ .05). A significant low to moderate positive correlation was also observed between undergraduate science GPAs and academic performance in all of the classes and years except for year 2 in the class of 2007 (P ˂ .05). The only class in which a significant positive correlation between MCAT score and academic performance was identified was the class of 2009 in years 1 and 2 (P ˂ .01) (

Table 2. Correlations of Undergraduate GPAs and Total MCAT Scores to Academic Performance in Years 1 and 2 of the Podiatric Medical Program for Each Class

Abbreviations: GPA, grade point average; MCAT, Medical College Admission Test. ^aP ˂ .01. ^bP ˂ .05.

).

Similar to the individual class comparisons, the pooled data across the classes of 2007 to 2010 demonstrate a significant positive correlation between the GPA variables and academic performance in years 1 and 2, whereas there was no significant correlation between MCAT score and academic performance in years 1 and 2 at Des Moines University (

Table 3. Correlations of Undergraduate GPAs and Total MCAT Scores to Academic Performance in Years 1 and 2 of the Podiatric Medical Program for Pooled Data

Abbreviations: GPA, grade point average; MCAT, Medical College Admission Test. ^aP ˂ .01.

).

The multiple correlation coefficient for all three predictor variables (cumulative and science GPAs and MCAT scores) to first-year academic performance was R = 0.547, accounting for 30.0% of the variability of the first year’s academic performance. Note that this strengthens by approximately 2% the prediction of the cumulative GPA alone. The ability to predict second-year podiatric medicine academic performance from the three predictor variables reveals an R = 0.517, accounting for 26.8% of the variability. This is lower than the bivariate correlation between cumulative GPA and year 2 in Table 3 in addition to the weaker prediction ability of the second-year podiatric medicine academic performance from these variables.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cognitive undergraduate admissions criteria and academic performance in years 1 and 2 of podiatric medical school in the College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery at Des Moines University.

Research for allopathic and osteopathic medicine supports the predictive validity of undergraduate GPAs and MCAT scores with respect to student academic performance in medical school [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. There does, however, seem to be varying conclusions reached as to which of the cognitive admissions criteria is most predictive of student performance during the academic phase of the curriculum. The present study, although limited to investigating the total MCAT score, supports the finding in the study by Evans and Wen [1] of osteopathic medical students that the undergraduate GPA had the highest predictive value of academic performance and MCAT performance had limited predictive value in determining academic performance. This is an interesting finding considering the curricular relationship between podiatric and osteopathic medicine at Des Moines University. For this study, in nearly all instances, the levels of positive correlation and statistical significance were higher for the undergraduate cumulative GPA compared with the undergraduate science GPA for individual classes and identified a stronger positive correlation with the pooled data.

The predictive value of the undergraduate GPA found in the present study is also consistent with the findings of the study by Kulatunga-Moruzi and Norman [5] involving medical students at McMaster University. Unlike other studies [2,3,4,6,7], this study did not identify a statistically significant correlation between MCAT scores and academic performance in years 1 and 2 of the podiatric medical program for the pooled data or individual classes with one exception.

The present results indicate that the undergraduate academic performance (cumulative and science GPAs) of admitted students offers insight into the student’s academic performance in podiatric medical school at Des Moines University. The undergraduate cumulative GPA demonstrates the strongest influence, followed by the undergraduate science GPA. These results also suggest limitations of the total MCAT score in predicting academic performance.

It is important to again note the findings of the college longitudinal analysis of admissions study used in the initial screening of applicants, which identifies a threshold for cognitive admissions performance benchmarks based on statistical analysis, which defines a student who should successfully complete the curriculum. The GPA and MCAT data from the longitudinal analysis very much parallel the results of this study.

The results of this study reflect similarities and differences in the power of cognitive admissions variables in predicting academic success published for allopathic and osteopathic medicine [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. A conclusion that can be reasonably developed from this and the cited studies is that students with a strong undergraduate academic record perform at a higher level academically in allopathic, osteopathic, and podiatric medical schools. As far as MCAT scores are concerned, the conclusions vary regarding their influence on predicting academic performance, and, in fact, they may be institution specific.

Needless to say, there is a minimum threshold for cognitive admissions criteria that students must achieve to be competitive. It is the responsibility of individual academic institutions to establish these benchmarks and use external evaluation mechanisms, such as licensing examinations, to validate and assist in establishing or adjusting cognitive academic admissions requirements.

Conclusions

A primary goal of the admissions process is to select students who can meet the academic demands of a challenging medical curriculum. The results of this study identify undergraduate GPAs as valuable indicators of future academic performance in the podiatric medical program at Des Moines University. The results also suggest limitations of the total MCAT score in predicting academic performance.

This study did not consider noncognitive variables evaluated during the interview, MCAT subscores, the predictive value of the combination of undergraduate GPAs and MCAT scores, or the selectivity of the undergraduate institution. Even with these limitations, this study provides valuable information that, combined with the college longitudinal analysis of admissions benchmarks, can aid in the admissions process and in monitoring student progress. Additional studies are needed that examine the relationship between undergraduate academic performances and performance on licensing examinations. Hopefully, this study will encourage future evaluation of admissions criteria across the podiatric medicine academic community.

Financial Disclosure

None reported.