Two Parts to Smart: Is Your Teen College-Ready?

Here’s some unsettling information: Just because your teen can remember math formulas or the timeline of World War II doesn’t mean she’ll be ready for college.

Brain experts say there are two parts to smart – knowledge and IQ – and you need both to get into the top universities.

Knowledge is information gained from memorizing academic material.

IQ is a measure of intelligence, including things like spatial reasoning, logical ability and relationships.

IQ was thought to be a stagnant number, but brain researchers now know that it can actually be increased by strengthening cognitive skills.

IQ scores can be used as predictors of educational achievement. A Princeton Review study in 2003 showed  the impact of cognitive skills on academic success.

College freshmen who scored in the top 19% in cognitive skills were accepted into state colleges; those in the top 9% private colleges; and only the top 0.2% Ivy League universities.

Cognitive skills also play a role in financial success.

By age 30, college graduates who ranked in the bottom 24% for cognitive skills earned $11,000 to $28,000; those with cognitive skills in the top 75-95% earned $59,900; and the top 5% earned $82,900.

Info: Learning Rx, 185  Pasadena Dr. 373-0002 or learningrx.com.