Effect of age, premedical academic performance, and entry bias on students' performance in final preclinical examination at the University of Nigeria Medical School

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY: There is a strong correlation between admission requirements and students' academic performance. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of age, premedical academic performance, and entry bias on students' performance in final preclinical examination at the University of Nigeria Medical School. METHODS: Data were obtained from files of students admitted into the medical school in the 2010/2011, 2011/2012, and 2012/2013 academic sessions. SPSS (version 20.0, IBM computer USA) was used to analyze the data, and statistical tests such as ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and regression analysis were used to analyze the observations. RESULTS: The younger students performed significantly better than their older counterparts in the final preclinical examination, determined by one-way ANOVA (P < 0.05). Students with high 100 level CGPA performed significantly (P < 0.05, ANOVA) better than those low CGPA. Only 100 level CGPA can predict students' academic performance in the final preclinical examination (R2 = 83.1%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Age is an important criterion in the admission process. O-level grades, Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), and University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) post-UTME are reliable criteria for admission; however, of these, only 100-level CGPA can be used to predict students' performance final preclinical examination.