The Change in Entrance Exam Requirements for Medical School: Impact on Prior Performance, Entrance Exam Success, and Study Achievement
The medical profession is a prestigious position that requires very extensive higher education, to which only a small proportion of applicants are accepted. Changes in selection criteria can profoundly impact applicants’ pre-educational choices, early medical studies, and the characteristics of futu...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Education Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/6/683 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849471938431287296 |
|---|---|
| author | Minna Hallia Petri Kulmala Jouni Pursiainen Pentti Nieminen |
| author_facet | Minna Hallia Petri Kulmala Jouni Pursiainen Pentti Nieminen |
| author_sort | Minna Hallia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The medical profession is a prestigious position that requires very extensive higher education, to which only a small proportion of applicants are accepted. Changes in selection criteria can profoundly impact applicants’ pre-educational choices, early medical studies, and the characteristics of future medical professionals. This study assesses the impact of changing the admission requirements of medical schools in Finland. We examined two cohorts of students admitted to the University of Oulu’s medical school: 2009–2011 (<i>n</i> = 316) and 2013–2015 (<i>n</i> = 339). The first cohort prepared for the entrance exam with a field-specific book, while the second cohort focused on secondary school subjects such as biology, chemistry, and physics. We analysed the effects of the changes on accepted students’ profiles and the relationship between their prior performance, entrance exam success, and performance in medical studies. Changing the entrance exam content did not significantly alter accepted students’ profiles or ease access for recent matriculants. However, minor changes in correlations between prior performance, entrance exam performance, and medical study success were observed. The entrance exam’s predictive power for academic success was weak in both admission periods. This comparative study found that changing the entrance exam material did not notably influence the characteristics of accepted students. The changes to the selection criteria appear to have a minor impact on the actual success of students studying medicine. Regardless of the selection criteria, those who are accepted typically demonstrate strong learning capabilities. Despite modifications in the required entry-level knowledge, students with strong skills are admitted. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ea607e18f45040e4b4b6be3ba8a03054 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-ea607e18f45040e4b4b6be3ba8a030542025-08-20T03:24:39ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022025-05-0115668310.3390/educsci15060683The Change in Entrance Exam Requirements for Medical School: Impact on Prior Performance, Entrance Exam Success, and Study AchievementMinna Hallia0Petri Kulmala1Jouni Pursiainen2Pentti Nieminen3Education Development and Service Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, FinlandEducation Development and Service Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, FinlandFaculty of Technology, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, FinlandFaculty of Medicine, Medical Informatics and Data Analysis Research Group, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, FinlandThe medical profession is a prestigious position that requires very extensive higher education, to which only a small proportion of applicants are accepted. Changes in selection criteria can profoundly impact applicants’ pre-educational choices, early medical studies, and the characteristics of future medical professionals. This study assesses the impact of changing the admission requirements of medical schools in Finland. We examined two cohorts of students admitted to the University of Oulu’s medical school: 2009–2011 (<i>n</i> = 316) and 2013–2015 (<i>n</i> = 339). The first cohort prepared for the entrance exam with a field-specific book, while the second cohort focused on secondary school subjects such as biology, chemistry, and physics. We analysed the effects of the changes on accepted students’ profiles and the relationship between their prior performance, entrance exam success, and performance in medical studies. Changing the entrance exam content did not significantly alter accepted students’ profiles or ease access for recent matriculants. However, minor changes in correlations between prior performance, entrance exam performance, and medical study success were observed. The entrance exam’s predictive power for academic success was weak in both admission periods. This comparative study found that changing the entrance exam material did not notably influence the characteristics of accepted students. The changes to the selection criteria appear to have a minor impact on the actual success of students studying medicine. Regardless of the selection criteria, those who are accepted typically demonstrate strong learning capabilities. Despite modifications in the required entry-level knowledge, students with strong skills are admitted.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/6/683medical school selectionentrance examprior performanceselection criteriastudy success |
| spellingShingle | Minna Hallia Petri Kulmala Jouni Pursiainen Pentti Nieminen The Change in Entrance Exam Requirements for Medical School: Impact on Prior Performance, Entrance Exam Success, and Study Achievement Education Sciences medical school selection entrance exam prior performance selection criteria study success |
| title | The Change in Entrance Exam Requirements for Medical School: Impact on Prior Performance, Entrance Exam Success, and Study Achievement |
| title_full | The Change in Entrance Exam Requirements for Medical School: Impact on Prior Performance, Entrance Exam Success, and Study Achievement |
| title_fullStr | The Change in Entrance Exam Requirements for Medical School: Impact on Prior Performance, Entrance Exam Success, and Study Achievement |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Change in Entrance Exam Requirements for Medical School: Impact on Prior Performance, Entrance Exam Success, and Study Achievement |
| title_short | The Change in Entrance Exam Requirements for Medical School: Impact on Prior Performance, Entrance Exam Success, and Study Achievement |
| title_sort | change in entrance exam requirements for medical school impact on prior performance entrance exam success and study achievement |
| topic | medical school selection entrance exam prior performance selection criteria study success |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/6/683 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT minnahallia thechangeinentranceexamrequirementsformedicalschoolimpactonpriorperformanceentranceexamsuccessandstudyachievement AT petrikulmala thechangeinentranceexamrequirementsformedicalschoolimpactonpriorperformanceentranceexamsuccessandstudyachievement AT jounipursiainen thechangeinentranceexamrequirementsformedicalschoolimpactonpriorperformanceentranceexamsuccessandstudyachievement AT penttinieminen thechangeinentranceexamrequirementsformedicalschoolimpactonpriorperformanceentranceexamsuccessandstudyachievement AT minnahallia changeinentranceexamrequirementsformedicalschoolimpactonpriorperformanceentranceexamsuccessandstudyachievement AT petrikulmala changeinentranceexamrequirementsformedicalschoolimpactonpriorperformanceentranceexamsuccessandstudyachievement AT jounipursiainen changeinentranceexamrequirementsformedicalschoolimpactonpriorperformanceentranceexamsuccessandstudyachievement AT penttinieminen changeinentranceexamrequirementsformedicalschoolimpactonpriorperformanceentranceexamsuccessandstudyachievement |