This report proposes an approach to formalize the law school admission process by first requiring law schools to delineate the characteristics they want their incoming classes to possess (e.g., types of undergraduate major, percent of in-state versus out-of-state residents, and levels of cultural diversity). These are then used as constraints on…

The incremental contribution of an interview to the student admission process was studied for 331 applicants accepted as undergraduates at a private university. Interviews provide information about applicants and correlate to grade point average (GPA). Interviewer judgments do not contribute incremental variance to prediction of admissions…

Elite universities will be returning to court to clarify the murky ruling in "Grutter v. Bollinger". Thomas E. Wood predicts that judges will again have to pass judgment on the constitutionality of dubious scheming by elite universities to achieve their critical mass of black students legitimately--without resort to tacit quotas and…

In 1981, a study was conducted at three rural community colleges in Maryland to determine whether there was a difference between the college grade point averages (GPAs) of first-time, full-time students who applied early for admissions and the GPAs of students who applied late. The study analyzed applications and GPA data for a total of 700…

Large socioeconomic and ethnic disparities exist in college admissions. This paper demonstrates that by systematically accounting for the effect of socioeconomic circumstance on pre-college achievement, colleges can substantially reduce these disparities. A conceptual model distinguishes students' realized achievement from their underlying ability…

Describes Southern Methodist University's College Prep (CP) program, a competitive eight-week summer program that offers denied applicants the opportunity to gain fall admission. Thirteen of 24 participants fulfilled the admission criteria. High school GPA and standardized test scores did not differ significantly between the CP students and other…

This study determined how accurately high school students (n= 1119) report class rank on the Student Descriptive Questionnaire (SDQ). Official transcripts were analyzed to determine which rank category should have been reported by each applicant. The authors concluded students report their rank in class with a fairly high degree of accuracy.…

The impact of different admissions policies on Black, Hispanic, and White applicants was investigated, using College Board data. Five undergraduate admissions models were assessed. The single-index minimum model uses a single index, such as high school grade point average (GPA), to determine eligibility. The multiple-index minimum model uses two…

Tabular data are presented which indicate substantial increases in numbers of medical schools, applicants, applications, and new entrants from 1970-71 through 1974-75. It appears that the rates of increase have been declining somewhat since 1972-73. Substantial increases have been found among female and minority group applicants and acceptees. The…

Changes were analyzed using both Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores and grade point average. Modest gains were shown: in the men and women applicants' scores on the MCAT biology, chemistry, physics, and science problems subtests; in all age categories except over 32; and for all ethnic or racial groups except blacks. (Author/LB)

Data from graduate student applications at a large Western university were used to determine which factors were the best predictors of success in graduate school, as defined by cumulative graduate grade point average. Two statistical models were employed and compared: artificial neural networking and simultaneous multiple regression. Both models…

This study was conducted in the radiologic technology department of East Tennessee State University to determine if existing criteria and procedures accurately predict an applicant's potential for the successful completion of program requirements. The 70 students admitted to the program were ranked utilizing standardized evaluation methodology…

Four groups of medical school matriculants (B.A. degrees in social sciences, humanities, science, and B.S. degrees in science) were studied. No significant difference was found among the four groups on yearly grade-point averages in medical school or on the examinations of the National Board of Medical Examiners. (Author/MLW)

A study found that the admission interview scores for 62 Dartmouth Medical School (New Hampshire) applicants correlated positively with dean's letter ratings given 4 years later and that interview scores were better predictors of ratings than were total Medical College Admission Test scores or science grade point averages. (Author/MSE)

Predictor weights estimated by using multiple linear regression are biased when there is restriction in the range (RR) of the dependent variable. Standardized multiple regression yields partial correlations as weights for the predictors, and these can be corrected for range difference between calibration and application samples. However,…