Cognitive and Sociodemographic Predictors of Admission to Physical Therapist Education Programs

Physical therapist (PT) education programs utilize holistic admissions practices. However, there persists an underrepresentation of students from diverse groups. Thus, this study aimed to assess the relationships between and predictability of applicant cognitive measures, racial/ethnic identity, and socioeconomic indicators with the number of offers of admission to PT programs.

Deidentified applicant data from the 2019-2020 application cycle was obtained from the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service. Applicant cognitive variables included grade point average (GPA) and Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Sociodemographic variables included applicants' racial/ethnic identity and three socioeconomic indicators: 1) economic background represented by family income, 2) educational background by family education attainment and primary language, and 3) environmental background by the median income of their high school zip code. Factorial analysis of covariance compared the number of admission offers by racial/ethnic identity and the three socioeconomic indicators. The ability of applicant variables to predict the number of offers of admission was assessed using hierarchical multiple regression.

Applicants whose family income was above 150% of the federal poverty level and identified with a non-underrepresented racial and ethnic group (non-UREG) had greater numbers of offers of admission. Applicants from an advantaged educational background who identified with a non-UREG group also had more admission offers. Only the cognitive measures were significant predictors of the number of offers of admission.

The findings of this study suggest that PT programs continually rely on cognitive measures in admissions decisions. Programs may consider evaluating applicants' socioeconomic background and the impact of racial/ethnic identity on their individual experiences.