SIGNIFICANT FACTORS FOR PREDICTING ACADEMIC-SUCCESS OF FIRST-YEAR PHARMACY STUDENTS

Identifying the most important factors for predicting academic perform ance of pharmacy students is of considerable interest to pharmacy educ ators. The purpose of this study was to identify significant factors t hat predicted academic performance of first year pharmacy students at the University of Georgia. Objectives of the study included: (i) evalu ating factors that were believed to predict first year pharmacy studen ts' academic performance; (ii) contrasting the value of the ''new'' Ph armacy College Admission Test (PCAT) to the ''old'' PCAT in predicting academic performance; and (ill) determining the most important factor s for predicting academic performance for male and female students for the 1992 and 1993 classes. All students who entered the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy during 1999 and 1993 were evaluated for t he study. A total of 234 pharmacy student records were audited from th e entering professional classes of 1992 and 1993. Forward stepwise mul tiple regression analyses were performed to correlate first year pharm acy students' grade point average (GPA) with independent variables of each student's age, PCAT scores, prepharmacy GPA, prepharmacy math/sci ence GPA, and the achievement of a four-year college degree prior to e ntering pharmacy school. The most important factors for predicting the academic performance of first year pharmacy students were prepharmacy math/science GPA and the achievement of a four-year college degree pr ior to entering pharmacy school (P<0.01). Pre-Pharmacy math/science GP A was the most significant factor for both male and female students (P <0.01). Other significant factors that varied in the different populat ions included the PCAT Composite score, PCAT Verbal score, age, and pr ior four-year college degree (P<0.05). Significance and implications o f the results for pharmacy admission procedures are discussed.