Impact of Prematriculation Course Withdrawals on First Year Pharmacy School Success.

Objective: Determine the impact of prematriculation course withdrawals on first year pharmacy school (P1) success, defined as on-time progression to the second (P2) year without remediation.

Methods: A retrospective review of students matriculating to a four-year private institution from 2018 to 2021 was conducted. Potential predictors of P1 year success including age, sex, highest degree achieved, prematriculation grade point average (GPA), and course withdrawals were collected.

Results: Bivariate analysis indicates that age, cumulative GPA, science GPA, and prematriculation course withdrawals were significantly different between students who were successful vs unsuccessful in the first year of pharmacy school. Out of 220 students analyzed, 40.9% (n = 90) were unsuccessful in the first year. Of those 90 P1 students, 52% did not progress to the P2 year, and 48% progressed but required course remediation. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that independent predictors of P1 success included cumulative GPA and having less than two prematriculation course withdrawals. In addition, the number of prematriculation course withdrawals, cumulative GPA, and having a bachelor's degree or higher were independent predictors of P1 GPA.

Conclusion: Prematriculation course withdrawal was an independent predictor of both P1 success and P1 GPA. Students with less than two prematriculation course withdrawals were more likely to be successful during the first year of pharmacy school. College of pharmacy admission committees may consider prematriculation course withdrawal frequency when making admission decisions or to identify students that may need additional academic support during the first year of pharmacy school.