THE SIMILARITY OF JOB CORPS TRAINEES TO THE POPULATION OF THE SAME AGE FROM WHICH THEY WERE DRAWN AND PROPORTION OF TRAINEES COMING FROM EACH STATE WERE DETERMINED. DATA WERE OBTAINED FROM PREENROLLMENT APPLICATIONS, CENSUS REPORTS, AND PUBLICATIONS. FINDINGS INCLUDED -- (1) THE NUMBER OF 16- TO 17-YEAR-OLD MALE TRAINEES WAS DISPROPORTIONATELY LARGE, (2) THERE WAS A PREPONDERANCE OF 18- TO 20-YEAR-OLD FEMALES, (3) EDUCATIONALLY, THE TRAINEES WERE IN THE LOWER RANGES OF THE TOTAL YOUTH POPULATION IN TERMS OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION AND HIGHEST SCHOOL GRADE COMPLETED, (4) THE TRAINEES HAD SHOULDERED MORE RESPONSIBILITY THAN MOST YOUNG PEOPLE OF THEIR AGE RANGE, MORE HAVING BEEN HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD OR PRIMARY WAGE EARNERS, ALTHOUGH MAINLY IN UNSKILLED JOBS, (5) STATES WITH LARGER POPULATIONS PROVIDED MOST OF THE TRAINEES, (6) ON THE AVERAGE, THOSE STATES HAVING HIGHER EDUCATIONAL LEVELS HAD FEWER TRAINEES, (7) IN GENERAL, THE NUMBER OF ENROLLEES BY STATES WAS A FUNCTION OF THE STATE'S SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS A HIGHER AGGREGATE BUT LOWER PERCENTAGE OF NONWHITES, A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF VETERANS AGED 16 TO 21, A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF YOUTH IN THE LOWER 16 TO 21 AGE RANGE, AND A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF ILLITERATES, (8) THE LARGER THE PERCENTAGE OF ARMED FORCES MENTAL TEST FAILURES IN A STATE, THE LARGER ITS SHARE OF JOB CORPS ENROLLEES, AND (9) THE HIGHER PER-PUPIL SUPPORT FOR SCHOOLS IN A STATE, THE SMALLER ITS JOB CORPS ENROLLMENT PERCENTAGE. THE JOB CORPS APPEARED TO BE DRAWING ITS TRAINEE POPULATION SUBSTANTIALLY IN KEEPING WITH THE PHILOSOPHY PUBLICLY EXPRESSED BY ITS LEADERS. (ET)