This study sought to answer the following questions: Are commuting students different from resident students? Are commuters a heterogeneous population? Do trends in commuter concerns from 1973-75 persist in 1976? A sample of 1475 incoming freshmen at the University of Maryland, College Park, who attended the 1976 two-day freshman orientation sessions were administered the University New Student Census, and response difference among three sub-groups were compared: resident students (living on campus in dorms or fraternity/sorority houses); dependent commuters (living off-campus with parents or relatives); and independent commuters (living off-campus apart from parents or relatives). Of the 56 items analyzed, 20 items discriminated between dependent commuters and resident students, 17 items discriminated between independent commuters and resident students, and 17 items discriminated between dependent commuters and independent commuters. It was concluded that commuters were significantly different from resident students, and the two commuter groups were significantly different from each other. It was not found that the two commuter groups were more different from each other than they were different from resident students, as had been found previously. It was found that commuter concerns need to be interpreted from the perspective of commuter sub-groups rather than considering commuters as a homogeneous group. Commuters did not seem to be more disadvantaged than resident students in personal abilities and resources, but some evidence was found that due to lack of access to external sources of support such as peer groups, commuter students may need more supportive services than resident students. (Author/MSE)