Pre-selection criteria were developed to obtain a profile of student nurses who would compute a community college nursing program, and student nurses who would leave the program prior to completion. The battery consisted of tests and questionnaires based upon cognitive, personality/attitude, vocational preference, and socioeconomic status domains. A student sample was randomly chosen from applicants obtaining acceptable scores on the General Aptitude Test battery and the Nelson-Denny Reading Score test. These candidates were administered the George Washington University Nursing Test, the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory, the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, the Cattell 16-PF Personality Test, a measure of attitudes towards the nursing profession and academic success, and a questionnaire covering demographic, community, and adult education background. Using 121 variables and data from 1975 test scores and subsequent records of program completion, a simple correlation of each variable with student persistence/non-persistence was obtained. The correlations were used to select a subset of variables which were significantly correlated with the criterion variable. Discriminant analysis was found to be a valid way to obtain weights for a prediction equation, and its use is recommended for counselors and administrators involved in nursing school admissions. (Author/JAC)