This survey explored the reasons why 30-40% of prospective students every semester who apply for admission to Santa Ana College fail to register, identified characteristics of non-registrants, and attempted to determine whether aid and/or intervention by college staff could haveprevented these pre-registration drop-outs. A sample of 130 was randomly selected (from the 1,758 persons who applied in spring 1978 but did not register for classes) to participate in telephone interviews; 80% were successfully contacted. Interviewers assigned up to three reasons for non-registration per respondent. Results indicated that 22% failed to register because desired classes were closed; 20% reported classes of interest were not offered or offered at inconvenient times; 16.3% decided to attend other schools; and 13.4% cited employment circumstances, such as changing jobs, as the reason for not registering. Non-registrants were generally older, had more college experience, and applied for admission earlier than registrants. Recommendations on how to lower the non-registration rate included opening additional sections of closed courses during registration and providing clearer registration information and assistance for applicants on late registration and class petitioning. (TR)