An Examination of a Dental School’s Holistic Preadmission Criteria as a Predictor of Student Performance

The demanding dental curriculum and competitive nature of admission make it crucial for dental schools to apply strict preadmission criteria in order for them to select the best candidates. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the ability of preadmission criteria used (cumulative grade point average [CGPA], emotional intelligence [EI] test and semi-structured interview) in predicting the in-programme performance regarding academic performance, perception of education environment and perceived stress for the Bachelor of Dental Surgery undergraduates and to determine the relationship between EI and perceived stress amongst these students. This longitudinal study was conducted in two parts. Part one was conducted as a retrospective review of preadmission criteria consisting of EI, CGPA and results of a structured interview, while the second part included a crosssectional evaluation of the education environment using the Dundee Ready Education Environment (DREEM) questionnaire and evaluation of perceived stress using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The sample included all students enrolled between the 2015/2016 and 2019/2020 academic year. Academic performances were collected and analysed, revealing a positive correlation between preadmission CGPA and academic performance for the dental public health course. An inverse correlation was found between interview performance and education environment experience, where higher interview results were associated with lower education environment experience. Additionally, a positive correlation was found between EI scores and academic performance in the Periodontology subject. The current preadmission criteria do not provide much insight into the predicted future performance and experience of students. The inclusion of other tools such as a programme-specific entrance test could be considered.