(173) Investigation of Pre-Admission Variables and Academic Success within the First Professional Year of Pharmacy School.

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between pre-admission coursework performance and academic success for students in their first year of professional pharmacy curriculum.

Methods: Demographic and academic data was collected of PharmCAS applicants from 2013 through 2022 and matched against the registrar’s data within their respective cohorts. Backward elimination multiple regression method was used to identify variables which impacted the risk of first year course failure. A reanalysis was performed to identify the risk threshold for student performances within the current first year curriculum compared to the previous first year curriculum to inform admission practices, early identification of at-risk students, and programmatic needs for curriculum enhancements.

Results: Students with the fewest course failures had an incoming overall and science GPA of >3.20. Students with overall GPA >3.0 had a course failure rate of 7.1% vs. 14.2% with a GPA < 3.0. Similarly, students with science and math GPA of >3.0 had a course failure of 2.8% and 7.6% respectively compared to 16.4% and 11% for those with a GPA < 3.0. Students who repeated >8.0 credits of undergraduate math or science coursework had a 16.3% course failure rate. No significant correlation was identified between performances in prerequisite math courses and first year professional courses that included math. A composite scoring model was developed to assist in the evaluation of applicant academic risk during the admissions process.

Conclusions: Results from this study can be used to determine and regulate admission criteria for college of pharmacy applicants. These variables can serve as early identification of at-risk students and can further be used to inform course directors to identify curriculum gaps to support student success.