Background: Student success in a baccalaureate nursing program is of utmost importance at a southern College of Nursing (CON).CON faculty wanted to understand better what academic/ social risk factors attributed to attrition in the first year of the nursing program. The purpose of this study was to determine academic and social risk factors related to nursing student attrition using the College Persistence Questionnaire (CPQ). Method: This quantitative, descriptive study used the CPQ to evaluate 163 first year BSN students. Results: There were distinct, statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between the At Risk (AR) and Non at Risk (NAR) groups on 16 questions of the CPQ that are considered to be a risk factor for students. Conclusion: The CPQ has been shown to be a reasonable tool to identify students at risk for attrition in the nursing program.