Medical school and residency performances of students admitted with and without an admission interview

In 1982 the Brown University Program in Medicine eliminated the personal interview from its process of selecting applicants for admission to medical school. This study compares the 113 M.D.-program students admitted to the first three classes (entering between 1983 and 1985) without an interview with the 67 students in the previous three classes admitted with an interview. The students' characteristics were essentially the same with respect to the preadmission variables, the proportions of women and minority students, course performances, scores on Parts I and II of the National Board of Medical Examiners examinations, and evaluation scores from residency program directors. This study offers additional evidence that the selection interview, as practiced in most U.S. medical schools, does not contribute to the predictive validity of the admission process.