Table 1 Distribution of the study variables by gender and test-taking student status.
Variables | Total sample | Gender | Student status | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n; (%) | Male; n (%) | Female, n (%) | p-value | Fresher test-taker; n (%) | Repeat test-taker; n (%) | p-value | |
Socio-demographic variables | |||||||
 Gender | |||||||
  Female | 354; 23.2% | – | – | – | 263; 24.2% | 91; 21% | 0.184 |
  Male | 1169; 76.8% | – | – | 826; 75.8% | 343; 79% | ||
 Permanent residence | |||||||
  Rural | 1127; 74.9% | 843; 72.9% | 284; 81.6% | 0.001 | 824; 76.7% | 303; 70.5% | 0.011 |
  Urban | 377; 25.1% | 313; 27.1% | 64; 18.4% | 250; 23.3% | 127; 29.5% | ||
 Religion | |||||||
  Muslim | 1298; 87.1% | 1005; 86.9% | 293; 87.7% | 0.705 | 937; 88% | 361; 84.9% | 0.114 |
  Others | 192; 12.9% | 151; 13.1% | 41; 12.3% | 128; 12% | 64; 15.1% | ||
 Family type | |||||||
  Nuclear | 1115; 76.2% | 860; 75.4% | 255; 78.9% | 0.191 | 808; 77.5% | 307; 72.9% | 0.060 |
  Joint | 348; 23.8% | 280; 24.6% | 68; 21.1% | 234; 22.5% | 114; 27.1% | ||
 Monthly income (BDT) | |||||||
  < 15,000 | 375; 36.5% | 307; 35% | 68; 45.3% | 0.041 | 266; 37.8% | 109; 33.5% | 0.214 |
  15,000–30,000 | 383; 37.3% | 332; 37.8% | 51; 34% | 263; 37.4% | 120; 36.9% | ||
  > 30,000 | 270; 26.3% | 239; 27.2% | 31; 20.7% | 174; 24.8% | 96; 29.5% | ||
 Cigarette smoking status | |||||||
  Yes | 152; 10.3% | 101; 8.7% | 51; 15.9% |  < 0.001 | 97; 9.2% | 55; 12.9% | 0.037 |
  No | 1328; 89.7% | 1059; 91.3% | 269; 84.1% | 955; 90.8% | 373; 87.1% | ||
 Drug usage status | |||||||
  Yes | 59; 4% | 49; 4.2% | 10; 3.1% | 0.369 | 40; 3.8% | 19; 4.5% | 0.535 |
  No | 1422; 96% | 1111; 95.8% | 311; 96.9% | 1017; 96.2% | 405; 95.5% | ||
COVID-19 related information | |||||||
 Personal COVID-19 infection | |||||||
  Yes | 126; 8.4% | 104; 9% | 22; 6.5% | 0.153 | 88; 8.2% | 38; 8.9% | 0.651 |
  No | 1373; 91.6% | 1057; 91% | 316; 93.5% | 985; 91.8% | 388; 91.1% | ||
 Family members/friend’s COVID-19 infection | |||||||
  Yes | 275; 18.3% | 244; 21% | 31; 9.2% |  < 0.001 | 193; 18% | 82; 19.2% | 0.569 |
  No | 1224; 81.7% | 917; 79% | 307; 90.8% | 880; 82% | 344; 80.8% | ||
 Family members/friend’s COVID-19 death | |||||||
  Yes | 144; 9.6% | 114; 9.8% | 30; 8.7% | 0.546 | 92; 8.5% | 52; 12.1% | 0.033 |
  No | 1362; 90.4% | 1048; 90.2% | 314; 91.3% | 985; 91.5% | 377; 87.9% | ||
Admission-related variables | |||||||
 Appearance in the admission test | |||||||
  First timer | 1089; 71.5% | 826; 70.7% | 263; 74.3% | 0.184 | – | – | – |
  Repeat test-takers | 434; 28.5% | 343; 29.3% | 91; 25.7% | – | |||
 Secondary School Certificate (SSC) grade point average | |||||||
  Poor (< 4.5) | 300; 22.7% | 258; 23.1% | 42; 20.5% | 0.660 | 219; 23.7% | 81; 20.5% | 0.017 |
  Moderate | 481; 36.4% | 402; 36.1% | 79; 38.5% | 351; 38% | 130; 32.8% | ||
  High (5) | 539; 40.8% | 455; 40.8% | 84; 41% | 354; 38.3% | 185; 46.7% | ||
 Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) grade point average | |||||||
  Poor (< 4.5) | 146; 11.1% | 125; 11.2% | 21; 10.3% | 0.678 | 91; 9.9% | 55; 13.9% | 0.014 |
  Moderate | 383; 29.1% | 328; 29.5% | 55; 27.1% | 257; 27.9% | 126; 31.9% | ||
  High (5) | 786; 59.8% | 659; 59.3% | 127; 62.6% | 572; 62.2% | 214; 54.2% | ||
 Coached by professional coaching centers | |||||||
  No | 381; 26.9% | 304; 27% | 77; 26.4% | 0.823 | 195; 19.4% | 186; 45.4% |  < 0.001 |
  Yes | 1036; 73.1% | 821; 73% | 215; 73.6% | 812; 80.6% | 224; 54.6% | ||
 Desired institute/department for admission | |||||||
  Varsity | 1100; 76.4% | 860; 75.2% | 240; 81.1% | 0.063 | 801; 78.3% | 299; 71.9% |  < 0.001 |
  Medical | 217; 15.1% | 179; 15.7% | 38; 12.8% | 146; 14.3% | 71; 17.1% | ||
  Engineering | 89; 6.2% | 79; 6.9% | 10; 3.4% | 64; 6.3% | 25; 6% | ||
  Agriculture | 33; 2.3% | 25; 2.2% | 8; 2.7% | 12; 1.2% | 21; 5% | ||
 Satisfied with previous mock tests | |||||||
  Yes | 508; 37.5% | 406; 37.2% | 102; 38.6% | 0.661 | 365; 37.6% | 143; 37.2% | 0.915 |
  No | 848; 62.5% | 686; 62.8% | 162; 61.4% | 607; 62.4% | 241; 62.8% | ||
 Average monthly expenditure (BDT) | |||||||
  < 5000 | 203; 19.9% | 165; 19.2% | 38; 23.8% | 0.261 | 135; 18.9% | 68; 22.3% | 0.270 |
  5000–10,000 | 601; 58.9% | 507; 58.9% | 94; 58.8% | 421; 58.8% | 180; 59% | ||
  > 10,000 | 217; 21.3% | 189; 22% | 28; 17.5% | 160; 22.3% | 57; 18.7% | ||
 Educational background | |||||||
  Science | 886; 58.6% | 698; 60% | 188; 54.3% | 0.179 | 601; 55.6% | 285; 66.3% |  < 0.001 |
  Arts | 516; 34.1% | 385; 33% | 131; 37.9% | 405; 37.5% | 111; 25.8% | ||
  Commerce | 109; 7.2% | 82; 7% | 27; 7.8% | 75; 6.9% | 34; 7.9% | ||
Mental health problems | |||||||
 Depression | |||||||
  No | 704; 46.2% | 502; 42.9% | 202; 57.1% |  < 0.001 | 526; 48.3% | 178; 41% | 0.010 |
  Yes | 819; 53.8% | 667; 57.1% | 152; 42.9% | 563; 51.7% | 256; 59% | ||
 Anxiety | |||||||
  No | 1018;66.8% | 757; 64.8% | 261; 73.7% | 0.002 | 759; 69.7% | 259; 59.7% |  < 0.001 |
  Yes | 505; 33.2% | 412; 35.2% | 93; 26.3% | 330; 30.3% | 175; 40.3% | ||
