This study, done at Syracuse University in 1975, investigated the multidimensional differences in freshman perceptions and experience of the academic and non-academic aspects of college associated with varying amounts of informal contact with faculty. Discriminant analysis indicated that factor dimensions, termed Interest Value, Practical Appeal and Dullness/Apathy, best distinguished between groups of freshmen categorized as high, moderate and low interactors. High interactors were characterized by more positive ratings of their academic program on all three dimensions and by more positive ratings of their non-academic life on Interest Value than were low interactors. as measured by cumulative freshman grade point average, made little difference among the three groups. Analysis of supplementary data also indicated that high interactors ranked faculty members significantly higher as a source of positive influence on their intellectual development and as a source of positive influence on their personal development than did low interactors. In a follow-up analysis of the same subjects conducted during the subsequent academic year, amount of informal contact with faculty was found to be significantly associated with persistence at the institution. (Author/MSE)