Predictors of Academic Success in the University of North Dakota Master of Physical Therapy Program

Due to the fact that the number of positions available in the University of North Dakota\u27s Physical Therapy program is few yet the number of qualified applicants is many, the admissions committee has the responsibility to be selective in their process to ensure the most qualified students are admitted. In order to determine the most qualified students, one needs to determine the possible variables that predict not only academic, but clinical success as well. Data was gathered from 145 students who attended the UND-PT program with admit years of1991-1995. Traditional descriptive and analytical statistics were utilized to describe applicants, outcomes, and relationships with an alpha level of .05. The variables looked at were preprofessional and professional coursework, location of coursework, demographic information, letters of recommendation, admission interview scoring, clinical affiliation grades, and passing of the licensure exam. It was found in this study that although many variables in conjunction with other variables predict academic success, only one new variable, Communications 161 is recommended as an additional selection\u27 criterion