The end of high school marks the time when the most number of individuals will end their participation playing sports at a competitive level. For those pursuing higher education, it has been viewed as a stressful experience for many freshmen. Former high school athletes that enter college as "students" and not "student-athletes" potentially face a dual adjustment--having to adjust to the college experience and to no longer being a competitive athlete. Athletic identity is one of the most influential factors relating to the quality of adjustment out of competitive athletics with elite-level athletes. Those with a strong and exclusive athletic identity take longer to adapt, experience more negative emotions, and require more coping upon ending their career. Although the majority of research has focused on elite-level athletes, there has been little research on the adjustment experiences of former high school athletes to higher education. The purposes of this study were to examine (1) whether former high school athletes differ from non-athletes in their academic, social, and emotional adjustment to the college, (2) the extent to which high school athletic identity and academic skills predict college adjustment, (3) the effect athletic identity has on predicting whether former high school athletes miss multiple aspects of being student-athletes, and (4) whether first-semester and veteran students differ in their adjustment to college. A total of 420 community college students participated in this study (N = 228 former high school athletes, N = 189 former high school non-athletes). Former high school athletes were found to have better social and emotional adjustment to college in comparison to non-athletes. Gender differences existed, such that females reported better academic adjustment, and males reported better emotional adjustment. High school athletic identity predicted a significant portion of the variance in students' social and emotional adjustment, and high school academic skills predicted academic adjustment. High school athletic identity also predicted roughly a quarter of the variance in former high school athletes' reports of missing multiple aspects of being a student-athlete. No significant differences in adjustment were found between first-time college students and those who had previously been enrolled. [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://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]