CliftonStrengths for Students

CliftonStrengths for Students is a program that helps us learn what we do best, and then how to build our studies, careers, and lives by capitalizing on those talents. Focusing on our individual talents, abilities, and the ways we see and interact with the world around us can help us more easily overcome obstacles while increasing our motivation and the likelihood of success.

How does it work?

CliftonStrengths for Students is a personality assessment inventory from the perspective of positive psychology. It is the first assessment instrument of this type developed expressly for the internet. Over a secure connection, it presents the participant with 177 questions, each consisting of a pair of potential self-descriptors, such as "I read instructions carefully" versus "I like to jump right into things." The descriptors are placed as if anchoring polar ends of a continuum. The participant is then asked to choose from the pair the statement that best describes them and to what extent that chosen option is descriptive. The respondent is given 20 seconds to respond to a given pair of descriptors before the system moves on to the next pair.

After completion of the inventory, the results are calculated, and the participant is provided with a list of their Top 5 Themes based on the answers they provided. Learning about these themes is the first step toward learning how to excel in one’s personal, academic, and professional life by revealing ways to help the participant capitalize on skills and talents that come naturally to them.

MVCC Strengths Philosophy

At MVCC, we believe that every student comes to us with the ability to succeed academically and that a better understanding of the combination of your unique talents will help unlock your potential. To this end, we use the CliftonStrengths Assessment to help you to better understand your strengths and apply them to your life with a philosophic foundation that is grounded in positive psychology.