Optimism about College Life and Academic Performance in College

The hypothesis that optimism about college is associated with academic performance was tested. The Optimism About College Life Scale was administered to 67 male and 36 female entering college freshmen, and scores correlated (.22) with grade-point averages two years later. College optimism also was significantly associated ( r = .22) with high-school grades, suggesting that the more able students are more optimistic about college and obtain higher grades in college. When the effect of high-school grades was held constant, however, the association between optimism and college academic performance diminished to a non-significant r of .17. Research on self-concept variables and college performance might also profit from a similar analysis of the role of previous academic performance.