Although the drop-out problem is particularly acute at the community college, there is very little research on student attrition that is specific to community colleges. Differences between the community college and four-year institutions stems are accented by entrance requirements that are traditionally much more rigorous at traditional colleges and universities. Less demanding entrance requirements at the community college provide students little with which to gauge their readiness for college study. Students' perceptions of their readiness before, and after they began studies were compared to determine the potential for cognitive dissonance, a factor which may help explain why students drop out of community colleges in such large numbers. (Contains 2 tables.)