Abstract:

For students who want to gain admission to an undergraduate program in a university in Spain, the choice of electives at the high school is very important if a good preparation to the university is wanted. In this paper we present the results of a study that analyzes the characteristics of the first year students of Biology at the University of Valencia during the transition from the old undergraduate studies (licenciatura) to the new ones (grado) focused on the subject Physics. We study the choice of electives at the high school and the marks obtained at the university entrance exams and in a test made at the beginning of their first year at the university. We analyze the effect of these factors on the marks obtained in the subject "Physics" of the first year course. The aim is to determine to what extent the choice of electives at the high school affects the academic results achieved in this subject by these students at their first universitary course.

Keywords:

Admission to undergraduate studies, choice of high school electives, Biology, Physics, Mathematics.