The purpose of this study was to explore the writing experiences of at-risk college freshmen. The term at-risk applies to students who entered college deemed under prepared for success with college level writing demands. An examination of previous high school writing courses was explored in hopes of understanding the experiences that shaped their writing confidence and how their writing confidence was demonstrated in initial college level writing products. The goal of the research is to improve effectiveness of instruction and the quality of experiences for college freshmen in writing courses. In order to gain insight into these areas, the researcher implemented a case study approach with six college freshmen students who were identified as at-risk by college admissions standards. The students engaged in two separate open-ended interviews designed to elicit valuable information to the research questions. Results indicated that at-risk students form their writing confidence based largely on the quality of teacher feedback, interest and choice in the writing topic, caring and supportive teachers, explicit writing instruction, and extra support from their teachers. In addition, participants reported a lack of opportunities to write often in past writing courses (less than six pages a semester) and did not feel well prepared for college level writing demands as they were not required to engage in research writing more than twice a semester. Findings support further exploration with college level writing demands and the connection between high school writing experiences to college level writing performances. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]