Introduction.
Identifying potential candidates with the highest potential for success in a doctoral-level physical therapy (DPT) program continues to challenge admissions boards nationwide. Although multiple studies have looked at admissions factors looking to identify specific relationships that predict academic success, it has been noted that many schools are now limiting the number of prerequisite courses that may be retaken by candidates. The purpose of this study was to identify whether there was a difference in DPT academic performance between students who repeated a prerequisite course (rPR) and those who did not repeat a prerequisite course (nrPR).
Methods.
Admissions data were retrospectively collected for 159 students from 5 graduating classes at 2 separate DPT programs between the years 2012–2015. Students were divided into 2 groups (rPR = 71; nrPR = 88) and were analyzed using 2-tailed independent t tests to identify statistically significant differences in DPT academic performance between groups.
Results.
Although the nrPR group showed better performance than the rPR group in all 3 DPT grade point averages (GPAs), there was no statistically significant difference found in DPT academic performance between the 2 groups: for 1GPA, t(157) = 1.294, P = .198; for 2GPA, t(157) = 0.876, P = .382; and for GGPA, t(157) = 0.682, P = .492.
Discussion and Conclusion.
The results of this study demonstrated no statistically significant difference in DPT academic performance between students repeating prerequisite courses versus those who did not repeat prerequisites. This suggests that the practice of limiting the number of repeated prerequisites may not serve to identify the best candidates.
