This is the report of a study conducted to determine the effect of six variables on the career choice of 995 black college students, most of them from rural South Carolina. Study design, sample selection, and data collection methods are outlined; and related literature is briefly reviewed. The relationship between career choice and each independent variable is then presented and discussed. It was found that (1) rural residents, despite career choice, come from lower socioeconomic level families and are more concerned about the cost of post-baccalaureate education than urban and out-of-state residents; (2) students who choose nontraditional majors have more positive concepts of their leadership, academic, and athletic abilities than do their cohorts who choose traditional careers; and the nontraditional majors express less concern about the cost of post-baccalaureate education; (3) political participation of parents is not a factor in student career choices; and (4) secondary school environment exerts little influence on career choices, aside from some measure of teacher influence. Recommendations relating to increased assistance and counseling for rural minority students are made. Appendices include a bibliography; the survey instruments; histograms of most frequently chosen majors; a rank order of traditional and nontraditional majors; and a table showing distribution of subjects by county of residence. (CJM)