| Summary: | The evaluation and refinement of admission practices are pertinent topics for admissions committees. There has been limited research that explored the relationship between applicant admission scores and practicum performance. Our study suggests that practicum performance may demand different skills than achieving high academic standing prior to admission. Continued efforts to identify factors predictive of practicum performance will assist occupational therapy (OT) admissions committees to select the highest caliber applicants who will become future practitioners. This study explored which admission factors predicted competency-based fieldwork evaluation for occupational therapists (CBFE-OT) scores for students enrolled in a Canadian Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MScOT) program. Using a quasi-experimental ex post facto design, 446 admitted MScOT applicants’ scored admission packages, which included their undergraduate grade point average (GPA), two personal statements, a resumé, and two confidential assessment forms (i.e., letters of reference), were analyzed and then correlated with midterm and final CBFE-OT scores across four practicum placements. Confidential assessment forms were also used for separate correlational analyses. Linear regression analyses were completed for significant correlations. Admission package scores were positively correlated with CBFE-OT scores for the final evaluations of students in physical health settings for their fourth practicum placements (p < .05).<strong> </strong>Alternatively, GPAs were negatively correlated with CBFE-OT scores (p< .05).<strong> </strong>Admissions practices need to be refined to include salient factors that predict practicum success.
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