The popular belief that has been held for many years has been that students who have been identified as gifted would succeed academically in college because of their previous success in high school. However, in countries with a disadvantaged and unequal school system, one that is stratified according to groups' socioeconomic status, such as Chile, this statement could be questioned. Using quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the three studies presented in this dissertation have provided evidence confirming that gifted students had difficulties related to the transition to and persistence in college. Some of these difficulties were related to gifted students' initial academic performance in college and could be explained by their high school academic preparedness. Students who attended public schools had lower scores on the college entrance test (PSU) and had a lower academic performance in college than their gifted counterparts from voucher (charter) schools, as found in studies I and II. However, despite several academic difficulties, such as failing courses and falling behind their classmates, all students showed high levels of commitment, motivation, and a strong overall desire for continuing their higher education studies, as shown in studies II and III. Other difficulties were related to initial problems regarding social adaptation to college, as shown in study II. Implications for research and practice were discussed in all three studies, and include suggestions such as the creation of pre-college and within-college support programs for college gifted students who have not been provided with challenging and/or high-level opportunities to meet college academic expectations. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]