Introduction

Real cohort studies of medical students offer relevant information that supports decision-making for educational interventions.

Objective

To identify the profile of academic success in medical students based on their academic and sociodemographic characteristics from the baccalaureate.

Method

Real cohort design. The academic trajectories’ information of 1747 students (2011 and 2012 classes) that were admitted to the National Autonomous University of Mexico Faculty of Medicine were analyzed. A multilevel analysis was carried out to identify the variables associated with the students’ academic success.

Results

The highest proportion of students with academic success had high scores in mathematics (9.6% vs 1.4%), physics (9.8% vs 1.6%), and English (11.0% vs 2.7%) in high school. In the academic success group versus the non-academic success group, the difference observed in the general high school average was statistically significant (9.4 vs 9.2) respectively. Reading comprehension on the undergraduate diagnostic test was also associated with academic success.

Conclusions

The academic success profile of the medical student corresponded with a final average in high school higher than 9.1, high percentage of correct answers in mathematics and physics in the high school selection exam, as well as in English and reading comprehension of Spanish in the exam undergraduate diagnosis. Academic variables had more association with academic success than socioeconomic variables.