Nonintellectual learning factors as determinants for success in college

This article presents the results of two studies hypothesizing that nonintellectual learning dispositions are as important as intellectual assets in predicting the success of college students. The first study was conducted with a low-risk francophone population (N = 298) and indicated that the Test of Reactions and Adaptation in College (TRAC: nonintellectual dispositions) predicts the college success of first-year students above and beyond that predicted by the high school rank (academic dispositions) and a French-language measure of aptitude (intellectual dispositions). The latter measure added no additional variation to the high school rank in predicting success. These results were replicated in a second study conducted with an American student population who were academically at risk (N =179); and using the Scholastic Aptitude Test as a measure of intellectual dispositions. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for selection, screening, and intervention for first-year college students.