Introduction: in order to enter higher education, increasingly demanding selection criteria are used in order to guarantee excellence. The institutions look for a specific profile for each academic program using different types of psycho-technical tests. Objective: to determine if the Gordon personality profile and inventory test (P-IPG) is a predictor of academic performance in nursing students. Materials and methods: historical cohort study, the dependent variable was the academic average of the beginning and the middle of the race, the independent variables were the results of the P-IPG test and the sociodemographic characteristics. The data were analyzed in Stata 10. The correlation was calculated with the Pearson correlation coefficient to fit a multiple linear regression model. Results: 202 nursing students were analyzed, 26% (51) from schools outside of Bogotá, 49.2% (99) graduated from private schools and the rest public, qualified 80.8% (84) and 42% ( 85) repeated at least one subject. The correlation between the initial average and responsibility (ρ = 0.17), originality (ρ = 0.16) and vigor (ρ = 0.16) was calculated. A multiple regression model was adjusted for the averages (initial and half of the run), with an R 2 = 0.10. Conclusion: there is a slight correlation between the results of the P-IPG personality test of the students with the academic performance at the beginning and the middle of the degree. It is desirable to establish a profile that can be related to a better academic and professional performance. Abbreviations: P-IPG, profile test and Gordon's personality inventory.