The transition to college introduces many challenges for students, at times creating uncertainty about the meaning of those struggles. Students wonder: “Do I belong?”, “Can I do it?”, “Is all this worth it?” When students come up with negative explanations for these challenges, they eventually tire and disengage from their academic pursuits. Fortunately, decades of research has identified powerful strategies to keep students engaged by targeting both their psychological vulnerabilities and the contextual cues that shape their perceptions. In this workshop, faculty and practitioners will learn about the psychological forces that impact student success, as well as empirically-proven principles and practices to help foster greater student engagement and better performance in college.