Student performance during the medical course: Role of pre-admission eligibility and selection criteria.

Background. Marks scored in class XII determine the eligibility to apply to a medical course in India; selection is through an entrance test. Some students do poorly in the medical course. We assessed the eligibility and selection criteria as predictors of in-course performance. Methods. This cross-sectional study included marks in class XII and in each professional examination, and the Delhi University Medical–Dental Entrance Test (DUMET) rank for five batches of medical students. Students were grouped as those who passed professionals in the first attempt and those who did not. Unpaired t-test and Mann–Whitney U test compared class XII marks and mean DUMET scores between the two groups; ROC analysis determined class XII cut-off marks above which no student failed a professional. Results. Students who passed a professional in the first attempt had higher marks in class XII (p0.001). DUMET rank, however, was comparable for the two groups (p>0.05 each). Above a cut-off of 77.8% (in physics, chemistry and biology) students were significantly likely to never fail any professional. Conclusions. Prior academic achievement is a useful measure of in-course performance; however, the current eligibility cut-off results in poor in-course performance by some students. The DUMET is a poor predictor of performance. There is need to reform eligibility and selection criteria to admit students who will do well in the medical course.