A volunteer sample of 16 Hispanic first-generation commuter college students, 9 women and 7 men, 18-30 years of age, attending a private college in the Northeast, were interviewed about their first-year college experience, with an emphasis on issues related to cultural capital and habitus. Five aspects of cultural capital were of interest: secondary school academic track, extra-familial social connections, family status and prestige, personal leadership, and linguistic proficiency. Four aspects of habitus were of interest: academic experiences, personal and family attitudes and characteristics, person-social relationships, and personal-social fit at the institution. Data collected from the participants in the study indicated they were weak in cultural capital when they began their first year of college but aspects of habitus, particularly personal and family attitudes and characteristics, provided counterbalancing strengths to enable them to meet challenges and persist toward a degree. Alignment between organizational habitus of the institution and the personal habitus of this group of students seemed to promote comfort, fit, and motivation to go forward with or increase their educational goals. [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.]