title: The effectiveness of AGU-MCAT in predicting medical student performance in year one of the College of Medicine of the Arabian Gulf University.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To graduate good doctors, medical schools should adopt proper student procedures to select among applicant students. When selecting students, many medical colleges focus solely on their academic achievement on high school examinations, which do not reflect all, important attributes of student. For several years, the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences of the Arabian Gulf University has introduced and administered the AGU-MCAT (Arabian Gulf University Medical College Assessment Test) for screening student applicants. This study aimed to assess the ability of the AGU-MCAT to predict students' performance during their first year college study, as an example of one school's multi-dimensional admissions screening process.
  
  
  METHODS
  The AGU-MCAT is made up of three parts, including a written test on science, a test of students' English language skills and an interview. In the first part, students' science knowledge is tested with 100 multiple choice questions. The English exam assesses students. English reading and listening skills. Lastly, students are interviewed by two faculty members and one senior student to assess their personal qualities. The 138 students who passed the AGU-MCAT in September 2008 and matriculated in the school were studied. Their performance during Year One including their performance on exams in the various disciplines was compared to their achievement on the three AGU-MCAT components.
  
  
  RESULTS
  AGU-MCAT's total mark and its science component had the highest linear relationship to students' performance in the various disciplines in Year One, while the strongest predictor of students' performance at the end of Year One was the AGU-MCAT's science test (R2=45.5%). Students' grades in high school did not predict their achievement in Year One.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The AGU-MCAT used to screen applicants to the school also predicts students' performance during their first year of medical school.
authors.affiliation: Kingdom of Bahrain. faisal.alnasir@gmail.com
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Alnasir
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Jaradat
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001445:Bahrain; D003099:College Admission Test; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical; D055815:Young Adult