Ensuring Collegiate Success - Essay Example

Although many people are gifted intellectually, there are also those that lack the natural mental ability. However, this does not mean that academic success in college would be elusive for these people. There are many ways by which students' mental ability may be enhanced so as to prepare them for the rigors of college. For instance, recent study conducted by ACT, a non-profit organization that issues the widely administered college aptitude test, shows that improving reading skills is strongly correlated with academic performance in college (Brand).

In this regard, students, even in the early years of schooling, may acquire the habit of reading voraciously so that they may train themselves in focusing and absorbing the voluminous reading materials they would encounter in college. Such would aid in honing their comprehension skills and would enable them to have full grasp of lessons in college. Apart from cognitive ability factors, certain personality traits also consistently predict academic performance (Ridgell & Lounsbury). This means that collegiate success is not only determined by a student's natural abilities but more so by his/her attitude about studying.

As posited by Barrick and Mount, the personality traits identified that students would have to imbibe include extroversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience. These traits are dubbed as the "Big Five" (Barrick & Mount). To illustrate how the "Big Five" figures in college life, it is vital to recognize that these traits hone students' mind frame in facing academic challenges. For example, extroversion in students helps them focus their interest on people and things.

This makes it easier for them to be aware of the components of their environment and facilitate learning with an outward perspective. Similarly, emotional stability makes students more adaptive as they deal with the complexities brought about by college life. Emotionally stable students are better able to cope with the ups and downs of college and remain focus on the main goal of academic accomplishment. Another relevant trait that should be emulated by college students is agreeableness. This attitude enables them to innovate and discover means by which they could make studying conditions more conducive.

In this regard, students possessing this trait aim to establish good study habits. Such may include going through lessons recently taken up so that new and difficult concepts may be easily absorbed even before major exams. Furthermore, they intend to read ahead of discussions so they could actively participate in, follow lectures, and be prepared for surprise quizzes. Aside from these, conscientiousness is also deemed significant especially during college. A conscientious student exerts great effort in fulfilling course requirements.

Such student, who is geared for academic success, painstakingly ensures that he/she has accomplished homework, papers and projects, among others. Note that someone, who is conscientious, is not satisfied by merely completing these requisites. This is because conscientious students go beyond simple completion of requirements, rather they strive to meet the said requirements such that above average results are obtained. Openness to experience is also important for college students to succeed