A sociologist and clinical psychologist presents portraits of the conflicts that men, women, and institutions confront in their experience of contemporary higher education. Parents, students, and faculty talk about success and failure, frustration and achievement in the academic world. Drawing these portraits together are discussions of the changing social and psychological climate that has influenced the expectations of American students; primarily the extraordinary transformations in the family structure, such as divorce rates and changing roles. Two institutions, Earlham College and Columbia College, are profiled. (Editor/MSE)