The Effect of Undergraduate GPA Selectivity Adjustment on Pre‐interview Ranking of Rural Medical School Applicants

CONTEXT: The ongoing need to attract more physicians into rural practice is well documented, and medical school admission practices are a critical component of a multistep effort to produce rural practitioners. PURPOSE: This study was completed to evaluate whether the practice of adjusting for the selectivity of the undergraduate school attended by medical school applicants has a detrimental effect on the pre-interview rankings of rural applicants. METHODS: Applicants to the Medical University of South Carolina from 1996 through 1999 were the subjects. Applicant pre-interview scores were calculated with and without the adjustment to grade point average (GPA) for selectivity. FINDINGS: There were 2033 in-state applicants in 1996 through 1999, and 8.5% to 9.7% were from rural areas. The selectivity adjustment resulted in 1 less rural applicant gaining an admission interview in 2 cohorts, 1 additional rural applicant gaining an admission interview in 1 cohort, and no difference in the other cohort. CONCLUSION: Adjusting undergraduate GPAs of medical school applicants based on undergraduate selectivity did not adversely affect the number of rural applicants offered admission interviews.