Student success in college has never been more important. The economic advantage to baccalaureate degree holders remains substantial, with college graduates averaging a million dollars more in lifetime earnings than high school graduates. There is also the long list of non-pecuniary benefits of college--intellectual development and critical thinking, civic engagement, appreciation of the aesthetic qualities of life and so on. But there is trouble in the land in terms of educational attainment. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, 2006) reports that the U.S. is dropping in position among developing countries in baccalaureate degree attainment and 10th in HS graduation rates. In this lecture, the author attempts to summarize the various streams of theory and research that help answer the question: What matters to student success in college? Appended are: (1) About the Author; (2) Previous Pullias Lectures; and (3) About CHEPA. (Contains 2 figures.)