THREE COLLEGES JOINED IN A STUDY OF STUDENT WITHDRAWAL. THE HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY PROPOSED THAT SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES EXIST AMONG STUDENTS IN THEIR LEVELS OF COMMITMENT TO HIGHER EDUCATION AS THE MAJOR OPPORTUNITY OF POST-HIGH-SCHOOL YEARS. STUDENTS WITH HIGH LEVELS OF COMMITMENT FACE PROBLEMS AND EITHER SOLVE OR TOLERATE THEM, WHILE THOSE WITH LOW LEVELS OF COMMITMENT TEND TO FIND THE SAME PROBLEMS ADEQUATE REASONS FOR WITHDRAWAL. DATA WERE GATHERED FROM SEVERAL SOURCES AND ANALYZED. FOUR CATEGORIES OF STUDENTS (PERSISTERS, TRANSFERS AND RETURNEES, "REAL" VOLUNTARY DROPS, AND ACADEMIC DROPS) WERE DISCRIMINATED RELIABLY AND IN MEANINGFUL TERMS BY MULTIPLE DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS. ATTRITION-PRONE STUDENTS WERE IDENTIFIED FROM THE RESULTS IN A REASONABLY HIGH PERCENTAGE OF THE CASES. (TC)