A CROSS SECTIONAL ANALYTICAL STUDY ON THE QUALIFICATION OF SELECTED PLM GRADUATES FROM AY 2010-2014 BASED ON THE ADMISSION CRITERIA SET BY THE PLM COLLEGE OF MEDICINE / Sean Friedrich G. Agcaoili Aeimil Clarize D. Bacani Paul Ian S. Banchiran Jaime Marie N. Bolinao Sherrie Anne S. Buan Karl Christian F. Buerano John Rex C. Butial Bien Carmela D. Canlas Henriyo Abegaille D. Cortez Carla Mae B. Del Rosario. 6

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The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila College of Medicine (PLM-CM) accepts approximately 150 students annually with majority of the population coming from the University of the Philippines system and the University of Santo Tomas. In the last five years, only an average of 51 PLM graduates from undergraduate courses applied per year and only about 60% were admitted. Admission to the said college is subject to four major criteria, namely 1) National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) percentile rank, 2) PLM Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) result, 3) Interview , and 4) the General Weighted Average (GWA) upon graduating. This study aims to determine the main factor why only a limited number of PLM graduates are admitted in the last 5 years. It was revealed that NMAT, MCAT and Interview scores were found to be a factor in admission but GWA of applicants from PLM was not Pearson's correlation results suggest that the admission process use GWA as an initial screening tool, even though it does not directly correlate to one's ability to thrive in the program. Two batches showed significantly higher NMAT and MCAT scores, while one batch showed significantly higher NMAT scores in the admitted population than in the non-admitted population. One batch showed significantly higher interview scores in the admitted than in the non- admitted population. Given this knowledge, it is recommended that the undergraduate PLM students focus more on improving their performances on the criteria of NMAT and MCAT when planning to apply to PLM-CM.

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