August 2026, Volume 4, Issue 8

Author

Kavitha Ukkirapandian, U. Karthika Priyadharhini, Punita Pushpanathan, Deepika Chandrasekaran and Muthulakshmi Rangasmy

Abstract

Background: Getting into medical college is a highly competitive process; aspirants are focused mainly on attaining the eligibility criteria. Students who clear higher secondary exams (HSC) and qualify for the National Eligibility cum-Entrance Test (NEET) are getting admitted into medical colleges in India. The hypothetical question is: can we predict the academic performance of students in medicine by their school attainments? Aim: This study was done to identify the association between academic performance of students in high school and first-year medical college by doing quantitative analysis. Academic data of MBBS students who have recently appeared for first year university exams was collected retrospectively. Their academic data, which includes HSC, NEET-UG, and I-year MBBS university marks, were analysed. Descriptive statistics and odds ratios were done. Results: Students who score above average in the NEET exam are 3.25 times (OR-3.25) likely to score >60% in the first-year MBBS exam, at the same time, 67% of students who failed in the first-year MBBS university exam belonged to the below-average category in NEET. 83% of students who failed in the first-year MBBS exam have scored less than average marks in higher secondary school. Conclusion: The academic performance of students in both HSC and NEET can be considered in predicting their performance in medical college and to train the students effectively from the beginning itself.