This book traces the development of competitive admission and financial aid policies at a selected group of 16 liberal arts colleges in Ohio and Massachusetts over the period 1955 to 1994. Exploring the way institutional decisions reflect and respond to broad demographic, economic, political, and social forces, the book considers the challenges arising from dramatic fluctuations in applicant pools, decisions of powerful universities nearby to become coeducational, the impact of the civil rights movement, changes in the demographic profile of the college-age population, major shifts in federal financial aid policies, and changing recruitment modes. Numerous figures illustrate the many dimensions of the data. Part 1 covers enrollment pressures, the admissions process, and student quality in three chapters. Part 2, on responses to social forces, takes up the coeducation movement and minority recruitment. Part 3 discusses the evolution of financial aid in a chapter on the development of need-based aid and another on the growth of merit aid. A concluding section discusses implications for women's colleges, liberal arts colleges, independent colleges, private colleges, and small colleges. Appended are survey forms (covering admissions and first-year student profiles, financial aid information, undergraduate enrollment information, and competitor information) and a list of persons interviewed. (Contains approximately 140 references.) (BF)