The financial viability of private colleges was assessed by examining the relationship of expenditures to endowment to voluntary support (nongovernment gifts and grants). A sample of 284 private coeducational colleges was drawn from the Council for Financial Aid to Education's (CFAE) annual survey of voluntary support (1976-1977 to 1980-1981). The three variables (expenditures, endowment, and voluntary support) were obtained from the CFAE report and were used to calculate an index for each institution. The sample was segmented into six categories: Carnegie classification, date of founding, size of enrollment, number of alumni solicited for purposes of fund raising, geographic region, and religious affiliation). The index was used to identify characteristics from the six segments, which are indicators of financial strength and weakness among institutions in the sample. Of the six characteristics, two factors were critical in determining a private college's financial viability: the size of the alumni base and enrollment at the institution. Data analysis identified institutions that are insured of long-term survival and institutions whose future remains doubtful. (Author/SW)