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

OBJECTIVE: 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.
METHODS: Statistical analyses were conducted on retrospective data for 174 students. Didactic and experiential scores were used as measures of academic performance.
RESULTS: 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 nonAfrican-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.
CONCLUSION: Both PCAT and GPA were predictors of didactic performance, especially in nonAfrican-Americans. Pharmacy experience and observational scores were predictors of experiential performance, especially in African-Americans.