Essay on "Personal Responsibility for College Students"

Essay 4 pages (1260 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Personal Responsibility in College

The Significance of Personal Responsibility in College

Academic success in college is, naturally, largely a function of academic aptitude and talent. But there are other factors that may be even more important than innate intellectual ability. Consider that the vast majority of college students who are neither at the very top not at the very bottom of the range of academic ability (Gordon, Habley, & Grites, 2008). Those in the top few percentiles are so naturally gifted as students that they may not necessarily have to be particularly responsible to achieve success. Some of them may, in fact, be considerably irresponsible, yet their ability allows them to get away with it. The bottom few percentile may have too little natural intellectual ability to excel at some area of academic study. In theory, they could improve their academic performance by developing disciplined study habits, but in reality, the lowest performing percentile in academics are almost always also least likely students to be willing or able to make the commitment to personal responsibility, especially in the academic realm (Gordon, Habley, & Grites, 2008).

For the vast majority of college students who are not close to either far end of the academic performance spectrum, personal responsibility can make all the difference between academic success and failure (Gordon, Habley, & Grites, 2008). In principle, one could make the argument that there are six principal components of self-responsibility in college students: (1) Prioritizing Commitments, (2) Time Management, (3) Purposefulness, (4) Moral Development, (5) Public Image Management, and (6) Financial responsibility. The first emphasizes establishing an appropriate balance of all interests and obligations. The second relates to conscious planning but must carry through to implementation. Planning is the easy part; planning realistically and adapting proactively to difficulty in implementation is the harder part. The third is a general perspective that corresponds to seriousness and expense of matriculating in an institution of higher learning by choice and simply means maintaining an appropriate awareness of what one's reason is for being in college. The fourth means that college is a place for developing patterns of personal relationships with others that are moral and ethical. The fifth is a function of the interconnectedness of modern digital communications media. One only has to Google one's self or check one's Facebook to see the first impression we are building upon that our potential future employers will probably see of us before they meet us in person. The sixth is a reflection of the importance of establishing good credit and good financial habits, including an appropriate appreciation of how important it will be to repay college loans in a responsible and timely fashion.

Plan to Incorporate Effective Strategies for Academic Success

Prioritizing Commitments, Time Management, and Purposefulness

The sheer number of possible interests that can be pursued in college offers tremendous opportunity but also potential conflicts with optimal academic performance (College@Home, 2011; Lucier, 2008). It is very easy to over-commit to too many obligations and to allow them to encroach on our primary reason for being in school. In that respect, the concept of purposefulness works together because it provides the reason for prioritizing various interests with academic performance at the top (College@Home, 2011; Lucier, 2008). This is one challenge that I intend to be as mindful about as possible because I already know that it is very easy to allow other commitments and interests to interfere with academic responsibilities.

Time management responsibility is largely about recognizing unrealistic or impractical scheduling and planning and then adapting our schedules and plans appropriately afterwards. It would be more unusual than usual for college students, especially first-year students, to be able to accomplish everything that one plans to do in advance. What is much more important than whether or not one's… READ MORE

How to Reference "Personal Responsibility for College Students" Essay in a Bibliography

Related Essays:

Personal Responsibility Essay

Personal Responsibility

Generally, personal responsibility means simply recognizing the obligations that fall on us and undertaking objectively reasonable approaches to meeting those obligations. Situations calling for the acceptance of personal… read more

Essay 3 pages (898 words) Sources: 2 Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

College Student Development Term Paper

College Student Development: Bridging the Gap Between Recruitment and Retention

The transition from high school to college can be a rocky one for many young learners, and the unacceptably high… read more

Term Paper 10 pages (2916 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

College Students and Alcohol Use Research Proposal

College Students and Alcohol Use

THE CONNECTION AND THE SOLUTION

International Perspective

Findings of studies conducted in 13 countries found that college students are at a high risk for heavy… read more

Research Proposal 17 pages (5292 words) Sources: 15 Topic: Drugs / Alcohol / Tobacco

---

College Admission and Financial Aid for Illegal Term Paper

College Admission and Financial Aid for Illegal Immigrants

Illegal immigration is one of the most controversial topics in modern society. Some people advocate severely punishing illegal immigrants, increased border patrols,… read more

Term Paper 20 pages (6362 words) Sources: 15 Style: APA Topic: College Admissions / Financial Aid

---

Academic Dishonesty Among College Students Research Paper

Academic Dishonesty Among College Students

Academic Dishonesty: Social Perception

A factor that has considerable influence in the phenomenon of academic dishonesty is social perception. This can occur from a variety… read more

Research Paper 9 pages (2917 words) Sources: 8 Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>