The impact of holistic review on correlations between doctoral student outcomes, and GPA and GRE scores in the biomedical sciences.
Graduate admissions committees throughout the United States examine both quantitative and qualitative data from applicants to make admissions determinations. A number of recent studies have examined the ability of commonly used quantitative metrics such as the GRE and undergraduate GPA to predict th...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279258 |
| _version_ | 1797974375711899648 |
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| author | Taylor Walters Antonio Abeyta Andrew J Bean Marenda A Wilson |
| author_facet | Taylor Walters Antonio Abeyta Andrew J Bean Marenda A Wilson |
| author_sort | Taylor Walters |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Graduate admissions committees throughout the United States examine both quantitative and qualitative data from applicants to make admissions determinations. A number of recent studies have examined the ability of commonly used quantitative metrics such as the GRE and undergraduate GPA to predict the likelihood of applicant success in graduate programs. We examined whether an admissions committee could predict applicant success at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences based on quantitative metrics. We analyzed the predictive validity of admissions scores, undergraduate GPA, and the GRE for student success. We observed nuanced differences based on gender, ethnicity, race, and citizenship status. The scores assigned to applicants by the admissions committee could not predict time to degree in PhD students regardless of demographic group. Undergraduate GPA was correlated with time to degree in some instances. Interestingly, while GRE scores could predict time to degree, GRE percentile scores could predict both time to degree and PhD candidacy examination results. These findings suggest that there is a level of nuance that is required for interpretation of these quantitative metrics by admissions committees. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:19:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fb32279be384491d98c6e75bdbbc22dc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:19:02Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-fb32279be384491d98c6e75bdbbc22dc2022-12-31T05:31:58ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-011712e027925810.1371/journal.pone.0279258The impact of holistic review on correlations between doctoral student outcomes, and GPA and GRE scores in the biomedical sciences.Taylor WaltersAntonio AbeytaAndrew J BeanMarenda A WilsonGraduate admissions committees throughout the United States examine both quantitative and qualitative data from applicants to make admissions determinations. A number of recent studies have examined the ability of commonly used quantitative metrics such as the GRE and undergraduate GPA to predict the likelihood of applicant success in graduate programs. We examined whether an admissions committee could predict applicant success at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences based on quantitative metrics. We analyzed the predictive validity of admissions scores, undergraduate GPA, and the GRE for student success. We observed nuanced differences based on gender, ethnicity, race, and citizenship status. The scores assigned to applicants by the admissions committee could not predict time to degree in PhD students regardless of demographic group. Undergraduate GPA was correlated with time to degree in some instances. Interestingly, while GRE scores could predict time to degree, GRE percentile scores could predict both time to degree and PhD candidacy examination results. These findings suggest that there is a level of nuance that is required for interpretation of these quantitative metrics by admissions committees.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279258 |
| spellingShingle | Taylor Walters Antonio Abeyta Andrew J Bean Marenda A Wilson The impact of holistic review on correlations between doctoral student outcomes, and GPA and GRE scores in the biomedical sciences. PLoS ONE |
| title | The impact of holistic review on correlations between doctoral student outcomes, and GPA and GRE scores in the biomedical sciences. |
| title_full | The impact of holistic review on correlations between doctoral student outcomes, and GPA and GRE scores in the biomedical sciences. |
| title_fullStr | The impact of holistic review on correlations between doctoral student outcomes, and GPA and GRE scores in the biomedical sciences. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of holistic review on correlations between doctoral student outcomes, and GPA and GRE scores in the biomedical sciences. |
| title_short | The impact of holistic review on correlations between doctoral student outcomes, and GPA and GRE scores in the biomedical sciences. |
| title_sort | impact of holistic review on correlations between doctoral student outcomes and gpa and gre scores in the biomedical sciences |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279258 |
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