NONINTELLECTUAL LEARNING FACTORS AS DETERMINANTS FOR SUCCESS IN COLLEGE

Abstract

This article presents the results of two studieshypothesizing that nonintellectual learning dispositionsare as important as intellectual assets in predictingthe success of college students. The first study was conducted with a low-risk francophonepopulation (N = 298) and indicated that the Test ofReactions and Adaptation in College (TRAC:nonintellectual dispositions) predicts the collegesuccess of first-year students above and beyond thatpredicted by the high school rank (academicdispositions) and a French-language measure of aptitude(intellectual dispositions). The latter measure added noadditional variation to the high school rank in predictingsuccess. These results were replicated in a second studyconducted with an American student population who wereacademically at risk (N = 179) and using the Scholastic Aptitude Test as a measure ofintellectual dispositions. Findings are discussed interms of their implications for selection, screening,and intervention for first-year collegestudents.