This study compared the relative prestige career choices of college men and women and described the differences between black and white men's and women's occupational aspirations. Students' career aspirations were assessed upon college entry and 4-5 years later. Students were asked to report their top career choice from a list of 44 career and occupational fields. Longitudinal changes (1969-74, 1979-80 to 1983-84, and 1985-89) in the aspirations of individual students (freshman to senior changes) were assessed using a series of repeated measures by multivariate analysis of variance. The data used in this study were collected as part of the Cooperative Institutional Research Project (CIRP). Each annual survey involves some 250,000-300,000 students, representing the entering freshman classes at some 500-600 higher education institutions. The study found that students lowered their career aspirations between entry and exit from college. In addition, it was found that white women, generally, enter college with lower career prestige aspirations than white men, black men, or black women; and their performance during college remained lower than that of other groups. Black women, over the past 20 years, were found to have increased their aspirations, while white women have not and black women, in particular, within the 1985-89 group, were found to exit college with higher aspirations than those of any other group. Additionally, it was found that black men's aspirations have increased over the past 20 years while white men's have not. Observations and explanations concerning these findings are discussed, including the effects that cultural and social influences have on aspirations. Contains 48 references. (GLR)