Purpose: If medical schools increase enrollment to meet anticipated physician shortages, more students from alternate lists will likely be accepted. This study compared the performance of alternate- and main-list students during and one year after medical school.
Method: The authors assessed admission and performance measures for 1,188 students matriculating from 1997-2003 at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Measures included Medical College Admission Test scores, basic and clinical science grade point averages, United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 and Step 2 scores, residency match information, and residency director ratings. Chi-square analyses, proportional analyses, and independent t-tests were performed.
Results: The results indicated that both the admission measures and performance of alternate-list students were generally lower than main-list students, but the differences were small and probably not meaningful.
Conclusions: As long as the applicant pool does not substantially change from its current makeup, increasing enrollment by accepting more students from alternate lists may not adversely affect overall student performance.