This exploratory study examined the impact of location (rural vs. non-rural) and individual characteristics such as age, gender, and risk factors on baccalaureate attainment of vertical transfer students. Descriptive findings indicate that overall few students (12%) who began in a two-year institution transferred to a four-year institution. Thirty-nine percent of students who transferred attended a rural high school while 61% of students who transferred did not. Further, rural students did not attain the baccalaureate degree at rates similar to their non-rural counterparts (36% and 64%, respectively). The logistic regression analyses showed that women and traditional-age students were more successful at baccalaureate attainment than men and nontraditional-aged students. In addition, men who were traditional-aged, had more risk factors, or attended a non-rural high school were more successful at baccalaureate attainment than were men who were nontraditional-aged, had fewer risk factors, or attended a rural high school. (Contains 7 tables and 2 footnotes.) [Additional support was provided by the College of Education Graduate Study and Educational Research Fund at Ohio University. A previous version of this paper was presented at the Association for Institutional Research Annual Forum in Kansas City, MO, June 2007.]