The study investigated an area of education in which few studies have been published: the area of the Mexican American college student. Most studies have focused on elementary and high school experiences because these have been the most frequent targets of militant Mexican American groups from California to south Texas; therefore, very little is known about Mexican American college students. Even in areas of the Southwest, where the Mexican Americans may number 50% of the total population, the college dropout rate is significantly high. El Paso, Texas, is such an area, yet only 30% of the enrollment at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is Mexican American. For purposes of this study, 782 students at UTEP filled out questionnaires. Of these, 760 were divided into 2 groups: those marking Mexican or Spanish American as their "predominant ethnic background" and those marking Anglo American. It was found that family background factors affecting Mexican American elementary and high school students seem to have little value in predicting success in college as measured by grade point average. If there is a set of ethnic-related factors which account for differences between the groups, it may be found in sociopsychological relationships on family and peer levels. This study strongly suggests that UTEP, for example, is not successfully recruiting more academically proficient students regardless of ethnicity. (EJ)