A study was conducted to compare the social network characteristics of persisting and nonpersisting students who transferred from the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In addition to determining the composition, durability, and intensity of these students' social relationships, the study examined the students' demographic characteristics; attitudinal and behavioral characteristics, such as degree aspirations, sources of financial support, and living arrangements; and personality characteristics related to locus of control. The study population included 1,001 students who transferred from the LACCD to UCLA between Fall 1977 and Fall 1979 and a contrast population of 400 students who transferred from the LACCD to the California State Universities at Los Angeles and Northridge. Survey data, obtained from 64% of the transfer students who received mailed questionnaires (N=502), were supplemented with interview data from 47 UCLA transfers. The study revealed that: (1) nonpersisters' social networks tended to be composed of older married persons met at work; (2) nonpersisters tended to have fewer contacts with members of their social networks; (3) nonpersisters' networks tended to be more close-knit and of longer duration; and (4) UCLA persisters and nonpersisters differed in demographics, self perceptions, and measures of quality of effort. The study report includes a literature review and the questionnaire. (KL)