(CNN) – Whether you've been called book smart or street smart we'd all like to think that we're intelligent. But what does being "smart" really mean? And how do you get there? In our special series, "Are You Smart," Alina Cho took an in-depth look at every aspect of intelligence.

Program Note: IQ tests aren't the only way to judge smarts. In fact, some say emotional intelligence is much more accurate in determining whether or not people will succeed in life. Never heard of emotional intelligence? Watch American Morning tomorrow for part two of our series, "Are You Smart?"

Editor's Note: Think you're smart? That depends on what it means to be smart. And how do you become smart – if you're not there yet? This week, in our special series "Are You Smart?" our Alina Cho takes an in-depth look at all aspects of intelligence.

By Alina Cho, CNN

(CNN) – We all know that the college admissions process is competitive. You have to be smart, have good grades, good SAT scores, and if you're applying to Tufts University – a personal video can help too. It's actually part of the application.

So does a YouTube video measure a different kind of smart? You be the judge.

Tufts University near Boston is now accepting personal videos as part of the application process, among the first in the nation to do so. The videos do not replace essays, grades or SATS, but are meant as a supplement. The videos are not required, but students are getting into it.

Already almost 1,000 students have taken part out of the 15,000 applications submitted. Some on YouTube have been viewed by thousands. The videos demonstrate creativity in animation, wilderness survival skills, and in Rhaina Cohen's case, a twist on a familiar phrase: "walk a mile in my shoes."

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Editor's Note: Think you're smart? That depends on what it means to be smart. And how do you become smart – if you're not there yet? This week, in our special series "Are You Smart?" our Alina Cho takes an in-depth look at all aspects of intelligence. Tomorrow on American Morning, colleges are now accepting YouTube videos instead of written essays from applicants, leaving some to wonder if this is an accurate way to measure a student's worth.

By Alina Cho, CNN

(CNN) – We've all heard about IQ: your intelligence quotient. What about EQ: your emotional quotient?

A lot of smart minds are calling emotional intelligence the “other smart.” It’s supposedly so important to success that kids are being taught in schools how to be emotionally smart.

It’s part of the curriculum at Clarendon Hills Middle School near Chicago, where students participate in an exercise in boosting self-esteem.

"It's a different kind of enjoyment than a subject, it's more like a spirit-lifter and it makes you feel good inside," says Kevin, a student.

But what does that have to do with being smart?

“I think it's a horrible idea,” says Ashley Merryman, author of "Nurtureshock." “Do you get graded then for being angry? What does that mean in terms of real life?"

"Emotional intelligence is a different way of being smart and one of the things that we found in research is that children who manage themselves, who can set goals, who are good problem solvers, do better in life," says Roger Weissberg.

Weissberg is a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois and the man behind the groundbreaking research on which the best-selling book "Emotional Intelligence" is based.

The concept: EQ is just as important as IQ.

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Editor's Note: Think you're smart? That depends on what it means to be smart. And how do you become smart – if you're not there yet? This week, in our special series "Are You Smart?" our Alina Cho takes an in-depth look at all aspects of intelligence. Tomorrow on American Morning, we'll examine the "other" smart: emotional intelligence. Some educators say it's a much better indicator than IQ tests.

By Alina Cho, CNN

(CNN) – The most famous measure of intelligence is the IQ test, but how many people have actually taken it? And does it really tell us if we're smart? What does it mean to be smart? And what does a "smart brain" look like?

It's happening all over the country. In some cases, kids barely out of diapers are being tested at 27, 30 months to determine whether they're gifted and talented…smart.

But are these tests accurate measures of intelligence?

"Good God. A kid tested when they are barely over 2-years-old somehow doesn't pass muster and that kid goes down an entirely different track from a more precocious 27-month-old. That is insane," says Daniel Pink, author of "A Whole New Mind."

For adults, the IQ test is the standard. Clear-cut, right and wrong answers. The average score is 100.

But researchers say IQ, your intelligence quotient, is only 25 percent of what makes you successful. IQ misses the other 75 percent.

“So what we have here is we have mechanisms that measure an important part but an incomplete part of what it means to be intelligent,” says Pink. “This ought to alarm us more than it does. Imagine getting into an airplane where the pilot was getting only 25 percent of the data she needed to fly the plane.”

If that's the case, what does it really mean to be smart and how do you get there? Can you make yourself smarter? Or are you born with it?

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