A total of nineteen student characteristic variables subsumed into four categories--basic classification, demographic, cognitive, and affective--were examined in a study of 2,253 new students in fall 1974 and 2,330 new students in winter 1975 at Essex County College (ECC) New Jersey. The purpose of the study was to allow ECC to determine the areas of the community it served, the strengths and weaknesses of its students, and its effectiveness in meeting their academic and/or vocational needs. Data were compared with two-year college national norms. Analysis revealed: (1) new students were predominantly black; (2) more females than males continued to enroll with the consequence that female graduates outnumbered male graduates two to one; (3) estimated parental income of ECC students fell far short of the national norm for two-year colleges; (4) students were found to have high academic motivation but performance as measured by grade point average did not reflect such motivation; (5) approximately three-fourths of the new students planned to complete the Associate degree and in terms of aspiration to the baccaluareate and the Master's degree, students at ECC exceeded the national norms for two-year colleges; and, (6) students appeared to be primarily influenced in their college choice by practical vocational considerations. Tabular data are included throughout the report. (JDS)