Interview Scores and Academic Grades as Selection Criteria for Admission to an Occupational Therapy Program

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship of previous academic performance and selection interview results to the academic and fieldwork performance of students during four years of study in Occupational Therapy. Only students who met the basic academic requirements of the occupational therapy department were included. Half of the students who were admitted were selected on the basis of highest academic grades and half were selected on the basis of highest interview scores. At the end of the academic program evaluations indicated no significant difference beween the two groups in terms of academic performance. Over the four years those students who were selected by high interview scores showed more improvement in fieldwork performance than students admitted only on the basis of previous academic grades. Students who had some previous university experience exhibited significantly greater improvement in fieldwork performance than those admitted directly from high school.