A Qualitative Exploration of Pre-health Students' Perceptions of Academic Success and Persistence

Motivation and psychological characteristics play important roles in college student success. Upon matriculation, pre-health students must strive for academic success to present competitive profiles for health professions schools. In this qualitative study, 17 high-achieving, upper level pre-health students at a large, mid-Atlantic university participated in focus groups and wrote letters of advice to incoming freshmen, which provided insight into their definitions of academic success and the psychological and contextual factors they perceive as promoters of success. They struggled to reconcile their mastery goals for academic success with perceived expectations to perform and compete for admissions to health professions schools. Students with grit maintained passion for long-term goals and actively sought resources to support individual needs.