Abstract

Oscar Wambuguh

Post-baccalaureate (postbac) students are non-traditional students returning to school after completing
their bachelor’s degrees in either science or non-science majors. As a result, they are deemed to be
more conscientious individuals who are not only better self-disciplined and high in self-achievement,
but also more hardworking, highly motivated, well organized and ambitious in nature. Using a sample of
372 students accepted into our postbac program from fall 2011 to winter 2014, data regarding their
graduating institution and its geographical location, and students’ academic achievement as measured
by cumulative grade point average, was analyzed. Results indicate that: 1) most postbac students
applying to our program come from California and a small percentage from international locations. 2)
Students’ cumulative undergraduate GPAs weakly correlate with their postbac cumulative GPAs; but
they significantly differ from postbac cumulative GPAs after at least one full year of coursework in our
program. 3) Logistic regression analysis showed that students entering the postbac program with
overall undergraduate GPAs close to 3.0perform better than those with lower undergraduate GPAs. 4)
Logistic regression analysis also showed that students entering the program with at least a 3.0 GPA
had a higher probability of attaining a cumulative postbac GPA of at least 3.7, than those with lower
than a 3.0 GPA. Postbac students bring a multiplicity of important personal traits like the ability to
overcome adversity, tenacity, work and varied life experiences, and a relatively high level of maturity
and responsibility compared to undergraduate student pools. Factors other than academic aptitude are
becoming a critical part of the admissions process for many advanced programs worldwide. Many
studies focusing on student achievement and admissions applaud and reiterate the importance of such
a broad-based and holistic approach to student admissions particularly in graduate and health
professional programs.