Personal Responsibility in College
Sandra Taylor
University of Phoenix
Foundations for General Education and Professional Success
BSAW1A2SC8
Anne Roter, PhD
December 9, 2013
Personal Responsibility in College

Personal responsibility is the first step to success. A person will not succeed in school, work, or personal life without personal responsibility. If a person does not have success in his or her life they will have nothing.
Personal responsibility defined as taking responsibility for his or her own actions and accepting the consequences of those actions. Personal responsibility also means that when individuals fail to meet expected standards, they do not look around for some factor outside themselves to blame. “Almost everything that happens in our lives is dictated by the choices we make and the attitude we have when things do not go the way we want them to.” (PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, 2011, para. 3)
To succeed in college it is very important to have personal responsibility. When a person depend on others, he or she will limit themselves from learning important skills. When a student is in high school he/she goes to class every day in a learning atmosphere. They are told when to go to class or when to study. When they are in college most of the time, they are on their own. By having more independence they must have personal responsibility and discipline themselves to get the work done and stay on task.
If they do not have personal responsibility a person will not succeed because he or she will not have the work done on time and will not maximize his or her learning skills. This means if he or she does not succeed in college then the chances of getting a good paying job decreases. Living expenses have increased and not possessing a good paying job means he or she will struggle day to day. This is why having personal responsibility in college is important.
Some keys to success in college is time management, motivation, and good study habits. Time management is important to have to stay on track with the schoolwork. Procrastinating is never a good habit to have because it makes a person rush through the work just to get a project done on time. I was the procrastinator but as I matured I have realized how much easier life can be to keep from waiting the last minute to meet deadlines. By having personal responsibility, reading what is assigned, doing assignments on time, and studying will guarantee success. With so much to do and keep track of, strong time management skills can make the difference.
Motivation is another key to success. A person will not get far in college if he or she does not have motivation. He or she could have intelligence, knowledge, study skills, and time management skills, but that does not matter if he or she does not combine these skills with time management. In high school a person would be punished by he or she parents, if they did not get good grades. If a student skips class he or she could get detention. Once a person is in college he or she are on his or her own and expected to have personal responsibility. No one is forcing him or her to go or my case log into class every day. My motivation to finish college is to “climb the ladder” at work. As I am promoted I will receive more income. More income I will be able to save for my children to go to college. My children are my motivation.
Study habits is my last key to success that I will be discussing. To be successful a person needs to have good study habits which is one of the most important personal responsibilities anyone could have during school. Maintaining good study habits will help a student learn his or her material and succeed. Some great study habits to have is organization, note taking, and finding a quiet place to study with no distractions. I know going back to college and having three children good study habits are essential. I have tried to do my work while they are in the same room, but it is