The college preparatory curriculum (CPC) in Georgia, is a state-mandated curriculum required of all high school seniors seeking to enter a University System institution as a regular placement freshman. Students deficient in any of the five CPC areas (English, foreign language, mathematics, science, and social sciences) are required to make up the deficiencies by completing appropriate credit course work at a University System institution. In an effort to assess the impact of CPC, independent of high school grade point average (GPA) or Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, a study was conducted comparing the academic persistence, GPA's, credit hour completion, and transfer activity of full-time, first-time freshmen students at a 2-year unit of the University System, namely Gainesville College (CG) who were either CPC-completers or CPC-deficient. The study population included 1,205 students (719 CPC-completers and 486 non-completers) who entered GC during the fall quarters 1988, 1989, and 1990 and who had graduated from high school the previous June. A subset of 369 fall 1988 entrants were followed over a 3-year period to measure their transfer activity to senior institutions. The study determined that CPC completers earned higher first year GPA's and more first year credits, had (among males) higher quarter-to-quarter persistence rates, and were more likely to transfer to a four-year school within 3 years of entrance to GC than CPC non-completers. In addition, the study concluded that college advisement efforts were enhanced by identifying CPC-deficient students as potentially high-risk. An in-depth review of the literature and the related educational legislation, data tables, and a 154-item bibliography are included. (PAA)