Changes in high school graduates' college choices between 1972 and 1980 were investigated, with attention to the importance of different enrollment influences and the distribution of these influences. Analysis of the National Longitudinal Study (NLS) of the High School Class of 1972 and the High School and Beyond (HSB) surveys revealed that 46.4% of the NLS subsample attended two- or four-year colleges in the fall of 1973, compared to 46.0% of the HSB subsample. The data suggest that high school seniors decided whether to enter college in 1980 much as they had in 1972, which means that the Middle Income Student Assistance Act and the end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam had no substantial effect on students' decisions. The effect on college attendance of the following high school graduate attributes were assessed: race (Black/Hispanic), sex, geographic region, local cost in 1980 dollars, parents' education, family income in 1980 dollars, test scores, grades, academic programs, college-going peers, and receipt of financial aid. The strongest zero-order correlates of college entry in both 1972 and 1980 were academic track placement, test score, college-going peers, and grades. Bivariate regression coefficients corresponding to the correlations were also determined. (SW)