A study of black college students to assess whether they are better served by predominantly black colleges or by integrated, predominantly white colleges is discussed. About 3,000 freshmen and seniors at eight predominantly white and seven predominantly black colleges were studied in four states with different social mores and attitudes toward black education: Georgia, Texas, Ohio, and Mississippi. Each student underwent from 4 to 8 hours of intensive testing, involving questionnaires and interviews, cognitive tests, and working competitively under controlled experimental conditions. The higher education dilemma facing blacks in the United States is described, along with current research on the situation of black students who have two sets of schools to choose from. Consideration is given to: student development at three predominantly black schools in the urban South; four studies of black students at two southwest colleges (one predominantly black and one predominantly white); a study of a black and a white school in the deep South; and evidence about conditions of blacks in the North. A comparison of the impacts of college on black and white students considers differences by race and sex. Finally, implications for the education of black students are addressed. Summary tables and detailed information on research measures are appended. (SW)