Higher education has explored student retention and success over time and continues to look for ways to improve in these areas. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the correlation between the feelings of fear of failure and a sense of belonging, and their association with retention and student success. The group that was studied was first-year and transfer college students enrolled in the Freshman Seminar Course at a four-year university in a suburb of a metropolitan area. The students who participated in the study did so voluntarily and completed a survey that included individual beliefs in aversive consequences of failure and generalized fear of failure and perceptions of peer support, classroom, comfort, isolation, and faculty support. Students self-reported their feelings of preparedness to achieve their current and future academic goals to measure student success and self-reported plans to return to the studied institution the following school year to measure student retention. The findings in the study suggest students who have a higher sense of belonging have lower levels of fear of failure, which increases student success. Student success and retention were positively associated. Future research similar to this study could include strategies to decrease fear of failure and increase a sense of belonging in an effort to increase student retention and success. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]