An increasing number of college-age youth are philosophically and behavioristically separated from the traditional middle class and its values. The nonstudent generally has withdrawn from formal education professing disdain for the academic experience and its stifling effects, but is nevertheless attracted to the university as a source of cultural stimulation, acceptance and asylum. Refraining from entering the conventional world of work, the nonstudent lives a marginal existence reflective of his unconventional role. In a comprehensive sociopsychological study of 151 members of the Berkeley nonstudent population, the sample of nonconforming youth was compared to a random sample of 56 Berkeley students. Approximately two-thirds of each group were male and the average age for both groups was 21. The samples responded to a lengthy questionnaire and other psychological instruments. The extremes that emerged in the hierarchical profile are particularly useful for their help in predicting patterns of behavior. The need scales, in conjunction with other data, suggest definite psychological propensities or dispositions to certain actions. Figures of the need scales and a bibliography are included, and characteristics of the nonstudent are discussed with reference to earlier psychological studies on the subject. (JS)