[Effects of admission qualifications on medical education]

We investigated the relationship between admission qualifications and the course and result of university medical education. In the period 1981-1983 685 medical students started at Aarhus University, and 501 (73%) obtained a medical degree within 13 years. The completion rate was heavily influenced by the type of admission qualifications. Students with a science background did best (79%), languages background somewhat worse (62%) whereas the completion rate was 44% for students with a Higher Preparatory Examination. After stratifying for type and grades obtained at admission qualification, gender did not influence the outcome. A positive correlation was found between grade at the admission qualification and the completion rate, but when the grades were above average (8.0) this correlation was weak and insignificant. A delay of more than two years from the admission exam to admission was associated with a significantly increased drop-out rate.