Admissions Criteria as Predictors of Academic Performance in a Three-Year Pharmacy Program at a Historically Black Institution

To determine the ability of University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy's admissions criteria to predict students' academic performance in a 3-year pharmacy program and to analyze transferability to African-American students. Statistical analyses were conducted on retrospective data for 174 students. Didactic and experiential scores were used as measures of academic performance. Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT), grade point average (GPA), interview, and observational scores combined with previous pharmacy experience and biochemistry coursework predicted the students' academic performance except second-year (P2) experiential performance. For African-American students, didactic performance positively correlated with PCAT writing subtests, while the experiential performance positively correlated with previous pharmacy experience and observational score. For non-African-American students, didactic performance positively correlated with PCAT multiple-choice subtests, and experiential performance with interview score. The prerequisite GPA positively correlated with both of the student subgroups' didactic performance. Both PCAT and GPA were predictors of didactic performance, especially in non-African-Americans. Pharmacy experience and observational scores were predictors of experiential performance, especially in African-Americans.