Student Background Information: Can It Predict Success in an Agricultural Economics Graduate Program?

Graduate program applicants are typically required to provide general background information, prior testing and academic history, letters of recommendation, purpose statements, and—depending on the program—an in-person interview. The primary question addressed here is what value test scores and prior grade point average (GPA) have in predicting enrolled students’ success in an agricultural economics graduate program. Multiple measures of success are considered, including students’ overall GPA, semesters to graduation, and GPA in core program courses. Independent variables of interest include prior program GPA, Graduate Record Exam (GRE) sub-scores, and domestic or international student status for Oklahoma State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics’ graduate students between 2002 and 2021. The MS regressions had considerable explanatory power, while the PhD regressions did not. For the MS program, students’ prior GPA was a strong predictor of overall GPA while GRE analytical writing helped predict some MS outcomes. Even so, success is difficult to predict. The results therefore support admissions committees using a holistic approach that considers information that is difficult to quantify and include in a regression model.