At the Fujita Health University School of Medicine, about 30% of medical students are admitted on the basis of recommendations.To evaluate the performance of these students after admission, a placement test was given to all new students just after the entrance ceremony to examine basic academic abilities.The scores were compared with the number of absences from lectures and with examination results for the first and second years.
1) The 398 students admitted from 2002 through 2005 were classified into three populations: 126 recommended students, 137 students who scored in the top half on the entrance examination, and 135 students who scored in the bottom half.
2) Scores on the placement test were highest for the top-half students, intermediate for the bottom-half students, and lowest for the recommended students.Scores on examinations in the first and second years were highest for the top-half students, intermediate for the recommended students, and lowest for the bottom-half students.
3) The average number of absences from lectures in the first and second years tended to be lower for recommended students than for the top-half or bottom-half students.
4) The examination scores in the second year were correlated with scores in the first year, and the average number of absences in the second year correlated with those in the first year.
5) These results indicate that the motivation of students in each classification to study in the 1st year is, in addition to their basic academic abilities obtained in high school, an important factor affecting their performance in the second year and beyond.