EMPIRICAL FINDINGS CONCERNING TRENDS IN ENTERING COLLEGE STUDENTS' CHARACTERISTICS BETWEEN 1961 AND 1965 ARE BASED UPON TWO STUDIES OF 45 INSTITUTIONS. DATA FROM THE STUDIES USED TO FORMULATE THE TRENDS INCLUDE SEX, FATHER'S EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, HIGH SCHOOL GRADE AVERAGE, PROBABLE MAJOR FIELD IN COLLEGE, HIGHEST DEGREE PLANNED, AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACHIEVEMENTS. SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SAMPLE OF INSTITUTIONS ARE SHOWN. THE 1961 AND 1965 MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS FOR 17 STUDENT INPUT CHARACTERISTICS ARE GIVEN. A COMPARISON OF THESE MEANS SHOWS A LARGE INCREASE IN THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS PLANNING GRADUATE STUDY AND SOME VARIATIONS IN STUDENT'S MAJOR FIELD CHOICE. RESULTS OF THE CORRELATION OF EACH 1965 STUDENT INPUT CHARACTERISTICS WITH 1961 DATA SHOW THAT DIFFERENCES IN STUDENT INPUTS ARE RELATIVELY STABLE. ANALYSES WERE THEN PERFORMED TO DETERMINE IF DIFFERENTIAL CHANGES IN STUDENT INPUTS COULD BE PREDICTED FROM INSTITUTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS. DATA LIMITATIONS ARE DISCUSSED. THIS PAPER WAS PRESENTED AT THE MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH (1966). (PS)