Abstract
BackgroundMost medical students in Germany are admitted via selection procedures, which are adjusted to the demands of the universities. At Lübeck medical school, scores from interviews that measure non-academic skills and pre-university GPAs are summed to arrive at an admission decision. This article seeks to illuminate the effectiveness of this selection procedure in comparison to other non-selected student groups.MethodsQuota information and exam results from the first federal exam were linked for students admitted to Lübeck medical school between 2012 and 2015 (N = 655). Five different student groups (university-specific selection quota, pre-university GPA quota, waiting time quota, ex-ante quota and foreign students) were compared regarding exam attempts, written and oral grades, temporal continuity and examination success in the standard study period.ResultsWhile the pre-university GPA quota outperformed all other quotas regarding written and oral grades, it did not differ from the selection quota regarding exam attempts, temporal continuity and examination success in the standard study period. Students in the waiting time and ex-ante quotas performed inferior by comparison. The results of foreign students were the most problematic.ConclusionStudents selected by the university show high temporal continuity and examination success. These results, and possible advantages in physician eligibility, argue for the utilisation of non-academic skills for admission.
Highlights
Most medical students in Germany are admitted via selection procedures, which are adjusted to the demands of the universities
20% of the remaining places are assigned to two quotas each: the grade point average (GPA) quota and the waiting
Pre-selection of candidates can rely on Pre-university grade point average (pu-GPA), location preference, bonus systems or some of these criteria combined
Summary
Most medical students in Germany are admitted via selection procedures, which are adjusted to the demands of the universities. At Lübeck medical school, scores from interviews that measure non-academic skills and pre-university GPAs are summed to arrive at an admission decision. The German study place allocation for medicine introduced in 2004 follows a complex procedure [1]. A certain proportion of places is reserved for a prioritised (ex-ante) quota. This quota consists of i.a. foreign students, military personnel and hardship cases. The liberty of the universities to define their selection methods has led to numerous differing allocation procedures. Less than one-third of German public medical schools forego a preselection procedure [2].
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