Study Finds Availability of Class Rank and GPA Is Related to Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program Matching Rate and Rank

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to address considerations made in the move to binary grading systems by many colleges of veterinary medicine, its potential impact on intern and resident selection through the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program, and the use of Standardized Letter of Reference (SLoR) scores as an alternative method for evaluating applicants. Data included de-identified Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program data from 91,080 applications for the years 2020–2024, provided by the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians. Conducted analyses included ANOVA and Chi-square as omnibus tests, and Bonferroni and Tukey as post hoc tests. Analyses were performed on the full sample as well as the sample limited to US citizens and permanent residents. Across both the full and limited samples, the study found that GPA and class rank were weakly correlated with SLoR scores. Furthermore, the provision of GPA and/or class rank was related to matching rate and rank, namely such that applicants who provided both had more favorable outcomes compared with those who provided neither. Finally, whereas gender was not found to moderate the relationship between the provision of GPA and/or class rank and matching outcomes, race was found to have an inconsistent and limited moderating effect. Findings indicate that SLoR scores may not serve as a valid substitute for GPA and class rank, and that the availability of GPA and class rank has implications for matching rate and rank. Future research is needed to understand how GPA, class rank, and SLoRs are used in practice to inform intern and resident selection decisions.