title: Correlates of performance on the MCAT: an examination of the influence of college environments and experiences on student learning.
abstract: This study examines the influence of several college factors and learning activities on student learning as measured by performance on a standardized test. The study uses a national sample of 495 students who completed the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) four years after entering college in the United States in 1989. Multiple regression analysis is used to examine the impact of between- and within-institution learning environments, and non-academic activities on student learning. The relative influence of between-institution characteristics is reported to be greater than that of within-institution factors. For example, the standardized coefficients for attending a university (public or private) are 0.15, and for the variables "physical science major" and "worked on a professor's research project" they are 0.08 and 0.07 respectively. The institutional type of college attended as an undergraduate, university as compared with 4-yr colleges, as well as opportunities to interact with faculty outside the classroom are positively associated with student performance.
authors.affiliation: Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405-1006, USA. ganaya@indiana.edu
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Anaya
mesh_terms: D003099:College Admission Test / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013337:Students, Medical; D014481:United States