Association Between a Medical School Applicant's Community College Attendance and the Likelihood of Application Acceptance: An Investigation of Select Medical School Characteristics. - National Genomics Data Center (CNCB-NGDC)

Advanced Search

Association Between a Medical School Applicant's Community College Attendance and the Likelihood of Application Acceptance: An Investigation of Select Medical School Characteristics.

Douglas Grbic, Brianna Gunter, Norma Poll-Hunter, James A Youngclaus, Michelle Shader, Amy N Addams, Geoffrey H Young, Philip L Szenas

Author Information

Douglas Grbic: D. Grbic is manager, Medical Education Research, Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC.
Brianna Gunter: B. Gunter is lead research and data analyst, Strategic Operations and Data Services, Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC.
Norma Poll-Hunter: N. Poll-Hunter is senior director, Workforce Diversity, Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC.
James A Youngclaus: J.A. Youngclaus is manager, Education Research, Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC.
Michelle Shader: M. Shader is director, Holistic Initiatives and Learning, Association of American Medicine Colleges, Washington, DC.
Amy N Addams: A.N. Addams is director, Student Affairs Alignment and Holistic Review, Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC.
Geoffrey H Young: G.H. Young is senior director, Transforming Health Care Workforce, Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC.
Philip L Szenas: P.L. Szenas is director, Business Intelligence, Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC.

PMID: 37478136 DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005332

PURPOSE: One-third of medical school applicants attend a community college (CC), and they represent a diverse group of applicants. However, they have a lower likelihood of being accepted to medical school. Using application-level data, this study examines how an applicant's CC attendance impacts the likelihood of application acceptance and how 3 medical school characteristics moderate this association.
METHOD: Data examined were from 2,179,483 applications submitted to at least one of 146 U.S. Liaison Committee on Medical Education-accredited medical schools by 124,862 applicants between 2018 and 2020. The outcome was application acceptance. The main measures were applicants' CC attendance (no, lower [> 0%-19% of college course hours], or higher [≥ 20%]) and 3 medical school characteristics: geographic region, private versus public control, and admissions policy regarding CC coursework. Multilevel logistic regression models estimated the association between CC attendance and the likelihood of application acceptance and how this association was moderated by school characteristics.
RESULTS: Among applicants, 23.8% (29,704/124,862) had lower CC attendance and 10.3% (12,819/124,862) had higher CC attendance. Regression results showed that, relative to no CC attendance, applications with lower (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = .96; 95% confidence internal [CI], .94-.97) and higher (AOR = .78; 95% CI, .76-.81) CC attendance had significantly decreased odds of acceptance when the 3 school characteristics were included. Each of the 3 medical school characteristics significantly moderated the association between an applicant's CC attendance and the likelihood of application acceptance.
CONCLUSIONS: The negative association between CC attendance and medical school application acceptance varies by medical school characteristics. Professional development for admissions officers focused on understanding the CC pathway and potential biases related to CC attendance would likely be beneficial in terms of trying to attract and select a diverse cohort of medical students in a holistic and equitable manner.

Conrad SS, Addams AN, Young GH. Holistic review in medical school admissions and selection: A strategic, mission-driven response to shifting societal needs. Acad Med. 2016;91:1472–1474.

Mitchell DA, Lassiter SL. Addressing health care disparities and increasing workforce diversity: The next step for the dental, medical, and public health professions. Am J Public Health. 2006;96:2093–2097.

van Dyck PC. A history of child health equity legislation in the United States. Pediatrics. 2003;112(3 part 2):727–730.

Juszkiewicz J. Trends in Community College Enrollment and Completion Data, Issue 6. Washington, DC: American Association of Community Colleges; 2020. https://www.aacc.nche.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Final_CC-Enrollment-2020_730_1.pdf . Accessed June 15, 2023.

Brint S. Few remaining dreams: Community colleges since 1985. Ann Amer Acad Polit Soc Sci. 2003;586:16–37.

Causey J, Huie F, Lang R, Ryu M, Shapiro D. Completing College: National and State Reports. Signature Report 19. Herndon, VA: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center; 2020. https://nscresearchcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/Completions_Report_2020.pdf . Accessed June 15, 2023.

Monaghan DB, Attewell P. The community college route to the bachelor’s degree. Educ Eval Policy Anal. 2015;37:70–91.

Saguil A, Kellermann AL. The community college pathway to medical school: A road less traveled. Acad Med. 2014;89:1589–1592.

American Association of Community Colleges. Fast Facts 2022. Washington, DC: American Association of Community Colleges; 2022. https://www.aacc.nche.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/AACC_2022_Fact_Sheet-Rev-5-11-22.pdf . Accessed June 15, 2023.

Luo Q, Erikson CE, Chitwood R, Yuen CX. Does community college attendance affect matriculation to a physician assistant program? A pathway to increase diversity in the health professions. Acad Med. 2022;97:121–128.

Talamantes E, Mangione CM, Gonzalez K, Jimenez A, Gonzalez F, Moreno G. Community college pathways: Improving the U.S. physician workforce pipeline. Acad Med. 2014;89:1649–1656.

Goldrick-Rab S. Challenges and opportunities for improving community college student success. Rev Educ Res. 2010;80:437–469.

Bastedo MN, Bowman NA, Glasener KM, Kelly JL. What are we talking about when we talk about holistic review? Selective college admissions and its effects on low-SES students. J Higher Educ. 2018;89:782–805.

Talamantes E, Gonzalez K, Mangione CM, et al. Strengthening the community college pathway to medical school: A study of Latino students in California. Fam Med. 2016;48:703–710.

Talamantes E, Jerant A, Henderson MC, et al. Community college pathways to medical school and family medicine residency training. Ann Fam Med. 2018;16:302–307.

Keith B. The context of educational opportunity: States and the legislative organization of community college systems. Am J Educ. 1996;105:67–101.

LaSota RR, Zumeta W. What matters in increasing community college students’ upward transfer to the baccalaureate degree: Findings from the Beginning Postsecondary Study 2003–2009. Res High Educ. 2016;57:152–189.

Roksa J. Building bridges for student success: Are higher education articulation policies effective? Teach Coll Rec. 2009;111:2444–2478.

Shaffer DF. The states and their community colleges. Education Policy Brief. Albany, NY: Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government; 2008.

Baker R. The effects of structured transfer pathways in community colleges. Educ Eval Policy Anal. 2016;38:626–646.

Chase MM, Dowd AC, Pazich LB, Bensimon EM. Transfer equity for “minoritized” students: A critical policy analysis of seven states. Educ Policy. 2014;28:669–717.

de la Torre D Jr, Wells RS. Evolving statewide transfer policies: Persistent efforts in a climate of workforce development among Massachusetts community colleges. Educ Policy Anal Arch. 2014;22:1–26.

Hodara M, Martinez-Wenzl M, Stevens D, Mazzeo C. Exploring credit mobility and major-specific pathways: A policy analysis and student perspective on community college to university transfer. Community Coll Rev. 2017;45:331–349.

Kisker CB, Wagoner RL, Cohen AM. Implementing Statewide Transfer & Articulation Reform: An Analysis of Transfer Associate Degrees in Four States. Los Angeles, CA: Center for the Study of Community Colleges; 2011.

Neault LC, Piland WE, Implications of state and local policy on community college transfer in California. Int J Higher Educ. 2014;3:24–36.

Taylor JL, Jain D. The multiple dimensions of transfer: Examining the transfer function in American higher education. Community Coll Rev. 2017;45:273–293.

Association of American Medical Colleges. Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) for Applicants. https://students-residents.aamc.org/medical-school-admission-requirements/medical-school-admission-requirements-msar-applicants . Accessed June 15, 2023.

Velez AL, Yeo HT, Zamani-Gallaher EM, Keist JA. Hispanic-Serving Community Colleges and STEM Degree Attainment in Puerto Rico. Champaign, IL: Office of Community College Research and Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; 2020:9.

Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu . Accessed June 15, 2023.

Institute of Education Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. IPEDS Survey Components: Institutional Characteristics. https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/survey-components/4 . Accessed June 17, 2023.

Barron’s College Division Staff. Profiles of American Colleges 2019. 35th ed. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s Educational Series; 2018.

Balch B. From Community College to Medical School. AAMC News. https://www.aamc.org/news/community-college-medical-school . Published February 15, 2023. Accessed June 15, 2023.

California Medicine Scholars Program. https://californiamedicinescholarsprogram.org . Accessed June 15, 2023.

Schuster MA, Conwell WD, Connelly MT, Humphrey HJ. Building equity, inclusion, and diversity into the fabric of a new medical school: Early experiences of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine. Acad Med. 2020;95(12 suppl):S66–S70.

Weissman S. Diversifying California’s Doctors. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/08/26/new-path-california-community-colleges-med-school . Published August 25, 2022. Accessed June 15, 2023.

Griffin B, Hu W. The interaction of socio-economic status and gender in widening participation in medicine. Med Educ. 2015;49:103–113.

Joy TR. Strategies for enhancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in medical school admissions—A Canadian medical school’s journey. Front Public Health. 2022;10:879173.

Steven K, Dowell J, Jackson C, Guthrie B. Fair access to medicine? Retrospective analysis of UK medical schools application data 2009-2012 using three measures of socioeconomic status. BMC Med Educ. 2016;16:11.

Association of American Medical Colleges. Table A-2: Undergraduate Institutions Supplying 50 or More Applicants to U.S. MD-Granting Medical Schools, 2022-2023. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/students-residents/interactive-data/2021-facts-applicants-and-matriculants-data . Accessed July 3, 2022. [No longer available.]

Talamantes E, Henderson MC, Fancher TL, Mullan F. Closing the gap—Making medical school admissions more equitable. N Engl J Med. 2019;380:803–805.

Humans

Schools, Medical

School Admission Criteria

Universities

Educational Status

Logistic Models

Journal Article