Community college students take circuitous routes through their education; very few enroll full-time and continue until they graduate. Erratic enrollment patterns have been negatively linked with academic progress and eventual credential completion--students enrolled continuously and on a full-time basis are more likely to attain their academic goals than those not enrolled continuously or who drop to part-time status. Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this analysis followed students through three regular academic years to identify their varying attendance patterns. Determining students' reasons for changing their enrollment status may help colleges become more sensitive to how they might help students who are intent on their goals, but inconsistent in their pursuit of education. The analysis suggests that, in addition to leaving college without credentials, students often shift among full-time, part-time, and non-attendance. Measuring persistence simply by determining if a student enrolls over successive enrollment periods misses the complexity indicated by these data, as community college students take many diverse paths to achieve their goals. (Contains 9 footnotes and 4 figures.)