Despite the fact that increasingly large percentages of Hispanic individuals are being admitted into college programs, the academic success of the students admitted is considerably lower than their non-minority peers. This study focused on the examination of possible causes for the differences in academic performance at the college level for pupils majoring in mathematics and science-related subjects. Forty-nine of the pupils selected were Hispanic bilinguals; the remaining non-minority 53 monolinguals served as a control group. The following three variables were investigated as possible causes for the different achievements of the two groups: (1) academic perparation; (2) motivational factors; and (3) social and economic status. Survey results indicated vast differences between the two groups in areas such as career counseling, role models, motivation, and traditional social and economic indicators. The key to solving the dilemma of improving the academic performance of Hispanic students is viewed as awareness of and compensation for academic deficiencies. (MP)