This paper focuses on college students' views of the American class system and the extent to which they see it as an open system of contest mobility, in which individual effort and ability determine achievement and social standing, or as a system of sponsorship, in which family connections determine class position. The effects of family class position, income, gender, and other status variables are examined. The data come from a confidential survey questionnaire administered to a random sample of 154 undergraduates from a mid-Atlantic liberal arts university. Conclusions and implications of the data are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)