What if you're an average student?

slik_nik
Tue, 20 Aug 2013 13:31:56 +0000

As a recent Duke grad, I think SBR said it spot on, and I disagree with DukeStudent12. I’ve known peers who were very intelligent but didn’t work hard and had peers who might be considered “average intelligent” but worked very hard, and the ones in the latter group tended to have more success during their time at Duke and afterwards. A willingness to work hard, awareness of one’s strengths and weaknesses, and ambition will allow you to be successful at any university more-so than intelligence. Of course, you need to be somewhat intelligent to succeed at Duke or at most universities, but having “average intelligence” is fine if you are willing to work hard and seek help when needed. Various studies in the psychology literature have shown that those who have a fixed intelligence mindset (the idea that intelligence is fixed at birth and can’t be changed) often are less successful in many measures than those individuals who employ a growth mindset (the idea that intelligence is a quality that can be grown and expanded throughout one’s lifetime) anyway; attitude toward’s one academic studies is more important than “intelligence” in achieving the goals you desire.