Selection of physical therapy students: interview methods and academic predictors.

The purpose of this study was to determine which preprofessional academic and personal characteristics were related to academic and clinical success in a physical therapy program. Individual interviews used for the class of 1982 (N = 25) and group interviews for the class of 1983 (N = 31) were studied to determine which interview type was the stronger predictor of later performance. Correlations of grade point averages (GPAs) and interview scores with academic and clinical grades were calculated. Stepwise regressions were performed to identify the stronger relationships. Preprofessional science and cumulative GPAs for the class of 1982 were moderately, but significantly correlated with cumulative GPAs in the program (r = .54, p less than .05, and r = .50, p less than .05, respectively). Only science GPA for the class of 1982 was retained in the stepwise regression (R2 = .31, p less than .006). All other correlations were low, and correlations for the class of 1983 were lower than for the class of 1982. Neither the academic nor personal characteristics studied were strong predictors of performance in the professional physical therapy educational program.