The purpose of this research was to describe and better understand the experiences of first- and second-year college students (18-21 years old) attending a university catering to a rural population in a mid-Eastern state. A 31-question survey addressed 6 areas of development: building friendships, community, exclusive relationships, self management, support, and academic behavior, and was administered during the first week of classes in the first semester and during the last week of classes before final exams to 101 first- and second-year education majors to track changes in development. Respondents lived within a 60-mile radius of the university or in residence halls. Analysis found a significant correlation between friends and classmates for second-year students, but not for first-year students, a finding which suggested that first-year students did not consider academic classmates as "friends." Alcohol consumption was reported for every age group, indicating significant alcohol use during the first week of college and continuing throughout college. There was a high correlation between close friends and residence hall friends for both first- and second-year students, although this was not the case when analyzing friendships formed with academic classmates. (Contains 30 references.)(JLS)