We conducted a follow-up analysis of entrance examinations and premedical and medical academic records of students entering medical school after a general screening from 1979 through 1989 and those of students accepted on the basis of recommendations since 1985. To evaluate their academic records all students of each year were divided into five groups on the basis of entrance examination results, and the mean academic rank of the highest 20% and lowest 20% of students were compared. In premedical subjects (i.e., general education and basic sciences), the mean rank of the highest 20% were as low as the average rank, whereas that of the lowest 20% were nearly as high as the average rank. A similar tendency was observed with respect to medical subjects. The average academic rank of students accepted on the basis of recommendations was higher than that of students accepted on the basis of entrance examination.
In a follow-up study, greater insight for the evaluation of academic records was obtained when 100 students were divided into five groups and the highest and lowest 20% were compared than when all students were analyzed as a single group. Finally, all students who graduated in 6 years passed the National Physician's License Examination, whereas the success rate varied among students who took longer than 6 years to graduate.