This study researched the impact of special admissions programs on general admission policies in 5 San Francisco Bay area colleges and universities during a period of 5 years ending June 1971. The study was conducted to determine more specifically: (1) what general admissions policies were waived for special admissions students; (2) what was the quality of services provided students in the area of financial aid, counseling, tutoring; (3) how did the ethnic population of the student body and graduates change as a result of the special admissions programs; (4) how did the special admissions students perform as compared with other students from similar socioeconomic backgrounds; (5) how did the special admissions students perform as compared to the general student body; (6) what were the relative differences in admissions policies of the several institutions studied; and (7) what specific procedures, variations, and policies of the special admissions programs were incorporated into the general admissions policies during the 5-year period. (Author/HS)