The characteristics and experiences of college freshmen who entered private black colleges in 1976 and 1985 were compared, based on data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program's "The American Freshman: National Norms." Attention was focused on socioeconomic status (SES), academic preparation and confidence, reasons for attending college, financing an education, majors and careers, and important objectives and values. Findings include: the typical private historically-black college and university freshman had higher SES than the 1976 freshman; the percentage of 1985 freshmen with high school grade point averages of "B" or higher was significantly lower than their 1976 counterparts; the 1976 group of black freshmen had a greater concern about financing college than the 1985 group; business had increased significantly as a major and as a career expectation, and there has been a major revival of interest in engineering; for the 1985 group, the most important life object was to be well-off financially; and belief in personal popularity, leadership ability, and social self-confidence showed considerable growth since 1976. (SW)