Drawing on 1988-89 transfer data provided by the California Postsecondary Education Commission, the University of California (UC), and the California State Universities (CSU), this paper provides a comprehensive portrait of the flow and performance of transfer students statewide and of transfers from the San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) in California. First, statewide data are examined, revealing a resurgence in the number of community college students transferring to the UC and CSU systems; a 20% increase in the rate of transfers to the UC system; a 6% increase in transfers to the CSU system; and a significant role being played by the state's community colleges in preparing underrepresented minorities to continue to the university level, with 73% of Hispanic college students and 70% of Black college students enrolled in a community college. Next, the SMCCCD's transfer function is compared to state norms, revealing the following: (1) SMCCCD transfer students in 1988-89 were more ethnically diverse than the statewide transfer group; (2) in 1988-89, approximately 80% of SMCCCD's transfer students enrolled at a CSU campus, 13% attended a UC campus, and 7% transferred to private institutions; (3) SMCCCD students who transferred at the junior level to CSU had a continuation rate of 91%, compared with the 87% rate of all community college transfers; (4) the average grade point average (GPA) earned by SMCCCD students during their first year of coursework at CSU campuses (2.66) was higher than both the statewide figure for all community college transfers (2.62) and the figure for CSU native students (2.64); and (5) the group of SMCCCD students transferring to the UC system in fall 1988 reported a persistence rate of 93.3%, compared with 91.8% for all community college transfers. (JMC)