The efforts of eight private four-year colleges to deal with revenue declines in the 1970s are described. The major social, political, and economic developments that contributed to the decline and recovery efforts are briefly reviewed. Attention is directed to strategic management responses to the financial stress. The colleges, whose identities are not revealed, experienced a net decline in total revenues over at least a 3-year period from 1973 to 1976. Characteristics of the colleges are as follows: a Protestant comprehensive college, located in a rural area; a liberal arts college that tailors programs to community needs in an unprosperous blue-collar town; a Protestant liberal arts college emphasizing teacher education; a liberal arts college in a major city that has many other colleges and universities; a selective Protestant liberal arts college in a thriving midwestern city; a highly selective college with a national reputation as a liberal-arts institution; a moderately-selective woman's college attracting students mainly from well-to-do and wealthy families; and a two-year college founded by a Catholic order. (SW)