The influence of regional basic science campuses on medical students' choice of specialty and practice location: a historical cohort study

Table 1 Characteristics of Indiana University Medical Students Trained at a Regional Campus Versus Those Trained at the Main Indianapolis Campus, Graduating Classes of 1988–1997*

Characteristic	Regional Campus (N = 1,211)	Indianapolis Campus (N = 1,200)
Age at Graduation (mean, SD)	27.7, 3.1	27.7, 3.4
N	1,211	1,200
Sex (% female)	31.6%	33.8%
N	1,211	1,200
Race (% non-white)†	8.1%	11.2%
N	1,207	1,199
Socioeconomic Status (% middle & lower tier)†	42.5%	35.0%
N	1,193	1,182
Hometown Urban Influence Code (% non-metro)	19.2%	15.8%
N	1,206	1,187
MCAT Score (mean, SD)†‡	4.8, 0.95	5.0, 1.0
N	1,204	1,197
Academic Rank (mean, SD)§	5.0, 0.82	5.0, 0.92
N	853	833

*Of the 2,487 graduates in the study cohort, 76 were excluded because they had attended more than one campus during their preclinical years or because they had transferred into the 3^rd year from another school.
†Significantly different by two-tailed univariate test, P < 0.005.
‡Because MCAT scores have been scaled differently over the decade, and therefore not comparable across years, the students' scores were converted to z-scores and the constant 5 was added to provide a consistent scale.
§Each student's academic rank in medical school was computed as the equally-weighted average of three parts: combined 1^st and 2^nd year GPA, Step 1 score, and 3^rd year GPA. Rankings were converted to z-scores plus the constant 5. Academic rank was unavailable for 725 students (classes of 1988–1990).

ISSN: 1472-6920