White, Black, and Hispanic students were studied during their transition from school or work to a community college. Students (N=71) at the College of Lake County (CLC) in Illinois attended focus groups formed according to race or ethnic group (White, Black, or Hispanic) in the spring and fall semesters to discuss their goals, experience, and feelings about the college environment. Findings from the fall focus groups indicated that all groups of students saw a direct connection between higher education and desirable employment. Most students in all three groups planned to get a degree or certificate at CLC. White students were most likely to plan on transferring to another school and least likely to plan on a CLC degree whereas Black students were most likely to plan on a CLC degree or certificate and least likely to plan on transferring. Findings from the spring focus group meetings indicated that many students found college harder than expected and all confirmed the importance of support from parents, family, friends, and faculty. Difficulties reported by many students included attending college part-time, not socializing with other students, and, for younger students, relating to older students in class. All expressed a comfortable feeling with campus diversity although their personal experiences in relationship to their race/ethnicity differed by group. Orientation and extracurricular activities were seen as helpful for students adjusting to college. (Contains 19 references.) (CK)