Rethinking Intelligence: The Role of Mindset in Promoting Success for Academically High-Risk Students

RETHINKING INTELLIGENCE 2 2 When describing a simple yet effective method for colleges to ensure student success, Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, and Whitt (2005) suggest that " the surest way to increase the number of 'successful' students…is to admit only well-prepared, academically talented students " (pp. 7-8). The problem with such an approach, they admit, is that limiting admission to only the best and brightest students hinders other values that colleges espouse, such as diversity and accessibility. Moreover, such an approach fails to convey how the college experience itself can change students in cognitive and psychosocial ways. Although prior academic achievement is the best predictor of academic success in college, researchers have also found a meaningful link between non-cognitive variables and academic success. Besides prior academic achievement, the motivation and energy students apply to their education is the best predictor of their learning and