College students' responses to a survey that was part of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 are compared; specifically, South Carolina students' responses are compared with those of students in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. The findings show that the South Carolina group differed in a number of ways: a greater percentage was black, came from families earning less than $9,000 per year, had a father with less than a high school education, and were in the lower aptitude quartile. In addition, a smaller percentage attended public two-year colleges. With the exception of those attending two-year colleges, the total postsecondary education costs were lower for the South Carolina group, although family contributions and financial aid patterns were similar. South Carolina students' reasons for their college choices were similar to those in other states; only for two-year college attendees did the reasons differ substantially. A statistical analysis of the results is presented in extensive data tables. (MSE)