After their freshman year in college in 1966, 1744 outstanding black high school students who had reached the Commended stage of competition in the first National Achievement Scholarship Program were followed up for study. They were classified according to the type of 4-year college attended: public or private predominantly Negro colleges, or low, moderate or high selectivity predominantly white schools. There were marked differences among the students attending the different types of colleges in socioeconomic status, performance on a standardized test of educational development, and regional and high school background. The public Negro colleges tended to enroll those who were most disadvantaged, both economically and educationally, while students at the highly selective white colleges tended to come from the most advantaged families and educational backgrounds. Overall freshman performance was quite high in all institutions, but students in the predominantly Negro colleges had higher grades than those in the predominantly white colleges. College type was also associated with the career choices and goals they expressed. (Author/AF)