THE NATURE OF THE INTERACTING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INSTITUTIONS THEY ATTEND WAS EXPLORED. STUDENT PERSONALITY WAS MEASURED FOR SAMPLES FROM 55 COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES BY THE ACTIVITIES INDEX, AN INSTRUMENT DESIGNED TO MEASURE PERSONALITY NEEDS. PRESS, CONSIDERED A MEASURE OF ENVIRONMENT, WAS MEASURED BY THE COLLEGE CHARACTERISTICS INDEX. SCORES SUMMARIZED FOR THE STUDENTS IN THE SAMPLES FOR EACH COLLEGE PROVIDED A PICTURE OF STUDENT PERSONALITY AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INSTITUTION. THE PERSONALITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCORES FOR THE 55 SCHOOLS WERE INTERCORRELATED AND FACTOR ANALYZED. THE RESULTING FACTORS INDICATED THAT THERE WERE FIVE DIMENSIONS REPRESENTING THE INTERACTION OF STUDENT PERSONALITY AND INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT. THE FIVE FACTORS, REFERRED TO AS CULTURES, ARE (1) SELF-EXPRESSION, (2) INTELLECTUAL, (3) NUTURANT, (4) VOCATIONAL, AND (5) COLLEGIATE. THE COLLEGES WERE RESCORED IN TERMS OF THE FIVE FACTORS AND THE RESULTS FURTHER ANALYZED. INSTITUTIONS ARE CLEARLY IDENTIFIABLE AND DIFFERENTIABLE ON THE BASIS OF THE FACTORS EXTRACTED IN THIS STUDY. WHEN EXAMINED ACCORDING TO THE PERSONALITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMPONENTS, PARTICULAR CHARACTERISTICS OF INSTITUTIONS MAY BE RECOGNIZED AS BEING CONGRUENT OR NOT CONGRUENT IN RELATION TO THE PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDENTS. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH IN THE AREA OF PERSONALITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONGRUENCE WERE MADE. (TC)