A model for estimating the effect of public policies on the demand for higher education is presented, with attention focused on the influences of public policy and the economic environment, and the interaction of these factors with student ability and parental income. Policy instruments are tuition, admissions requirements, location of different kinds of colleges, and draft deferments. The following economic and social environmental factors are indirectly influenced by government: the social status of the student's neighborhood, the opportunity cost of the student's study time, and the size of the anticipated earnings payoff to college graduation. A binominal logit model was fitted to the college attendance behavior of 27,046 male high school juniors, divided into 20 subgroups defined by student ability and family income, in 1960. Tuition, high admission standards travel costs, and room and board costs had significant negative effects on attendance. The highest elasticities of demand were found for the low-income strata and lower-middle ability quartile, suggesting that an efficient subsidy program should focus on these groups. The powerful impacts of public policy measures and draft pressure suggest that the Vietnam War and public policy shifts that lowered the real cost of college attendance contributed to the high growth rate of college attendance in the 1950s and 1960s. The policies that contributed to this growth were increased student aid, liberalized admission requirements, and the establishment of new community colleges and public universities in previously unserved areas. (SW)