This brief elaborates three social psychological factors that influence student success during college: goal commitment; academic engagement, and social identification. Students glean a sense of direction and meaning from long-term goals related to the completion of a postsecondary credential, a specific timeline for graduation, and the future competencies that will be acquired. Whether students realize a high level of academic achievement largely hinges on the degree to which they are cognitively, affectively, and behaviorally engaged in their academic work. Identification with a campus community fulfills a fundamental human need for belonging, forges an affective attachment to the institution, and helps to align students' academic goals with institutional norms. A robust understanding of such factors is crucial to effectively designing and evaluating institutional policies and practices conducive to student success.