Raising kids who care about others and the common good.
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Resources For Colleges

Definitions of Key Character/Non-Cognitive Terms and Skills for Use in Admission

This compendium of select character-related skills/attributes is intended as a starting place for colleges interested in establishing their own definitions of key terms.

It is important for admission offices to define the specific character skills they value when evaluating and selecting applicants. A lack of a clear definition (and a lack of examples of what a skill looks like in an application) invites bias by admission readers and can lead to unreliable or uneven implementation of criteria.

This document offers a collection of definitions of commonly assessed non-cognitive skills. The goal of these documents is to provide a starting place for colleges interested in defining such skills in the admission process.

Each skill-focused document contains:

  1. A simple definition 


  2. A rationale for the use of the skill and its connection to outcomes 


  3. Additional information about the skill

  4. Examples of how the skill might present in an application

  5. Source information and additional reading 


These definition documents are jumping-off points, a place and a way to begin.

This resource is part of Character Assessment in College Admission Guide. Read more →