The process of rural college students' adapting to cities is essentially a process of cultural assimilation of rural students into urban culture. The findings of this study suggest the following: 1) Faced with completely different ways of living and cultural customs, on the whole rural college students want to assimilate into cities and become urban residents, but they generally don't feel they have adapted well and feel there are barriers between them and urban college students. 2) Faced with the difference between reality and expectations, and their failure to adapt to urban culture, rural college students often adopt three coping strategies: cultural adhesion, cultural suicide, and seeking counterbalance. Use of these strategies often puts them into a disadvantaged position. [This article was translated by Jeff Keller.]