IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF STUDENT EMPLOYMENT ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, A SURVEY WAS ADMINISTERED TO 1,429 NEW FRESHMEN DURING THE FALL SEMESTER, 1965. APTITUDE TEST SCORES AND GRADE POINT AVERAGES WERE COMPARED FOR NONWORKING STUDENTS AND FOR STUDENTS GROUPED INTO FIVE CLASSIFICATIONS ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF HOURS WORKED PER WEEK. ANALYSIS BY SEX AND BY ACADEMIC LOAD WERE TABULATED. AS THE WEEKLY NUMBER OF HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT INCREASED, THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS EARNING LESS THAN A "C" AVERAGE ALSO INCREASED. WOMEN STUDENTS GENERALLY EARNED HIGHER GRADE POINT AVERAGES THAN MEN. ALTHOUGH MEN STUDENTS WHO WORKED TENDED TO WORK MORE HOURS THAN THE WOMEN STUDENTS. FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT EMPLOYMENT MAY BE CONSIDERED AS A PRIMARY CAUSE FOR LOW GRADES FOR STUDENTS AT ALL LEVELS OF VERBAL ABILITY, BUT ESPECIALLY FOR STUDENTS WORKING OVER 10 HOURS A WEEK. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT MAY BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE FACT OF EMPLOYMENT IN CONSIDERATION OF THE EFFECT THAT PART-TIME WORK MAY HAVE UPON GRADES. COUNSELORS AND ADVISERS SHOULD GIVE CAREFUL ATTENTION TO THE SCHOLASTIC LOAD OF EMPLOYED STUDENTS. (AL)