The Admission Index, created from high school counselor ratings of academic promise and motivation, is recommended to admission officers and college counselors as a variable as good or better than those traditionally used from the cognitive domain. This index was found not only to be substantially valid and consistent as an achievement motivation scale but also in regression analysis, with a criterion of GPA for the first semester in college, it added significantly to the variance accounted for by traditional indices. Groups defined as high and low on GPA were significantly separated on the index. It discriminated between groups of overachievers and underachievers defined on the basis of national test scores of ability and achievement. It demonstrated its superiority over traditional variables such as rank in class and national test scores by establishing a clear and significant trend for groups of graduates with honors, other graduates and dropouts, the last group of whom generally look like the middle of the graduates on traditional indices. The findings support the search for rating scales calling for human judgment in lieu of grades, a search made necessary by the elimination of grades in some institutions, and de-emphasis of academic achievement as a sufficient criterion of the "success" of college students. (Author)