Lower entry scores ‘no barrier to success’ for rural med students
Performances matched those of students from metropolitan areas in surgical degree
Many rural medical students might begin study with lower university entry scores, but they soon match the academic performance of their city peers, a study suggests.
Researchers tracked the academic performance of 147 recent graduates of Deakin University’s Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery course.
At least one-quarter of those were from a rural background — defined as anyone who had spent five consecutive or 10 cumulative years in a rural location since their birth.
On admission to the course, rural applicants had a grade point average of 6.45 compared with 6.61 for students from a metropolitan background — a difference that was statistically significant.
