Increasing Freshman Applications in the Secondary Admissions Process

Objective: To identify those factors that influence freshmen application to Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)-accredited undergraduate ATEPs having a secondary admissions process. (All undergraduate ATEPs are now accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE)).

Design and Setting: The Athletic Training Student Persistence Survey was used to measure freshmen athletic training student level of satisfaction with various aspects of their program in CAAHEP-accredited ATEPs in the United States to determine factors that influence the decision to apply.

Subjects: Three hundred and forty-seven freshmen athletic training students (113 males and 234 females) enrolled in CAAHEP-accredited ATEPs.

Measurements: Students' level of satisfaction with the ATEP as defined by the constructs, demographic information, and the decision to apply to the ATEP.

Results: All of the constructs except Clinical Education were found to be significantly different between the two groups (P < .05). None of the demographic variables were related to a student's decision to apply. Cumulative college grade point average and the grades received in athletic training and science courses did influence a student's decision to apply. (P < .05).

Conclusions: Freshman student satisfaction with the ATEP is predictive of a student's decision to apply to the program. Factors affecting the decision to apply included social integration, intellectual integration, commitment, and the clinical education experience.