Admissions criteria as predictors of first-term success at a chiropractic institution

To determine the relationship between admissions criteria and grade point average (GPA) at the conclusion of the first-term of study at a chiropractic institution.

Secondary data analysis was used on the Fall 2017 entering cohort of doctor of chiropractic students. Independent samples t-tests and ordinary least squares linear regression were used to explain the extent to which incoming undergraduate GPA, undergraduate chemistry grade, undergraduate anatomy and physiology grade, and age, respectfully, influenced the end-of-trimester GPA.

Linear regression found each of the four independent variables (undergraduate GPA, undergraduate chemistry grade, undergraduate anatomy and physiology grade, and age) to be significant influencers of end-of-trimester-1 GPA with undergraduate GPA being the most statistically significant predictor (p < .001).The difference in mean end-of-trimester GPAs for male and female students was not statistically significant. There also was no difference in mean end-of-trimester GPAs by race/ethnicity.

Current admissions requirements may need to emphasize incoming undergraduate GPA and target student support for older students. This study should be repeated for increased sample size, be performed at other chiropractic institutions, and consider additional cohorts to strengthen results.