[bell-cot]

> Is IQ everything that counts?

H*ll, no...but it's an easily obtained, one-dimensional number. Which pushes lots of people's buttons. So it's near-perfect if you want people to pay attention to your pretty graphs and glib conclusions.

I suspect a better number (for "good prospect for college?" questions) would be some measure of how willing & able a student is to sit and study (vs. be physically active, do real-world work, and interact socially). At least back when I went to college, there were lots of brilliant flakes. Their HS grades and admission test scores made them look like potential Ph.D's. But their inability to really study, for college-level classes, meant that they flunked out in a year or two.

[LudwigNagasena]

You don’t have to suspect! There is probably a bazillion of papers that study how conscientiousness (ability to “sit and study”) and other traits relate to grades, how they interact with IQ and so on. Here is one I just googled: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/11/7/146