If you are the parent of a high school student, you may be fretting a bit about whether or not your child will “make it” once he or she heads off to college. If so, you might be surprised to learn that determining your child’s future success isn’t dependent upon SAT scores, despite the fact that SATs are supposed to be used to determine how successful a student will be in college. Rather, new reports indicate that the following factors are the ones that can be used to gauge your child’s future success.

Take a Look at Grades

Researchers have found that a high school student’s grades are a far better indicator of his or her future success in college. In fact, they have found it to be the best gauge of all. Not only do grades reflect the student’s ability to handle the academics of college, it also demonstrates the student’s ability to follow through on assigned tasks and to implement good study habits and time management skills.

According to the research, students who earn at least a 3.0 grade point average are far more likely to finish their college degrees than those who do not achieve this level. Even those who were slightly below 3.0 were far less likely to graduate. In fact, the researchers found that 58% of those students with a 3.0 to 3.3 GPA who attended a less selective college earned their degrees. Those with GPAs of below 3.0, on the other hand, graduated at a rate of 47%. The gap between graduation rates was even greater at more selective colleges.

The Type of High School Doesn’t Matter

You might think that the type of school your child attends will have a major impact on your child’s future success. According to the researchers, however, the location, size and racial mix of your child’s high school doesn’t matter much when it comes to his or her ability to earn a college degree. Although students who attend a wealthier college do seem to have a bit of an edge when it comes to enrolling in college, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are more likely to graduate with a degree.

Students Should Enroll in Challenging Schools

Although some people enroll in lower ranked colleges in the hopes of obtaining a degree as easily as possible, the researchers found that those who settled for less were not as likely to graduate. According to the researchers, this is mostly because students are more likely to graduate if they surround themselves with other students who are as talented as they are.

Admission Tests are Still Important to Many Colleges

Although admission tests are not as accurate of predictors of a student’s college success as many parents think, they are still important to most colleges. In fact, the majority of colleges require SAT or ACT scores in order to obtain admission. While these tests do appear to be fairly accurate predictors of how well your child will perform at an elite school, however, the same is not true with most colleges. Performance on Advanced Placement tests, on the other hand, do appear to be an accurate gauge of how much success your child will see in college.

Attending a Community College Might be a Mistake

Although attending a community college can be a less expensive alternative than attending a university, the researchers found that students are 36% less likely to earn a bachelor’s degree when attending a community college rather than a four-year school. This is likely due to a variety of reasons, including a lack of challenging peers and the difficulties associated with transferring credits.