Predictive study of physical therapy admission variables

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of 12 preadmission academic scores with the professional cumulative grade point average (PT CUM GPA) achieved in a two-year physical therapy program. The objective of the study was to suggest to faculty ways to limit the admission-selection criteria to statistically significant predictors of academic achievement. Preadmission cumulative grade point average, science cumulative grade point average, average Allied Health Professions Aptitude Test (AHPAT) score, and nine other less often utilized academic scores were correlated with PT CUM GPA of 111 physical therapy students. The Pearson product-moment correlation and a stepwise regression procedure identified chemistry, physics, and science cumulative GPAs and AHPAT quantitative ability score as significant predictors of PT CUM GPA. These predictors accounted for 16% of the variance of the PT CUM GPA. Results suggest that these preadmission scores be used in the admission-selection process and be given equal weight in predicting academic achievement.