In this study data were collected on "major" and "most helpful" sources used by high school students (incoming Syracuse University freshmen at the time of data collection) as they gathered information about Syracuse and other colleges. Sources were both interpersonal (family, friends, high school personnel, college representatives) and impersonal (college catalogs, guides, and the mass media). Personal and environmental data were collected to form a set of potential predicators. Four variables emerged as predictors of information-source response: (1) physical distance from the information object (operationally, the respondent's state of residence in relation to Syracuse University), (2) psychological distance (operationally, whether any member of the immediate family had attended Syracuse), (3) the number of friends and adult acquaintances who attend(ed) Syracuse, (4) and sex. These variables chiefly predicted whether interpersonal or impersonal sources would be dominant; intermedia preferences were ambiguous because of the rarity with which media sources were cited. The study affirms the importance of interpersonal sources and suggests factors on which their use is partly contingent. (Author/CC)