Predictors of success for black freshmen entering Xavier University of Louisiana with an interest in the health professions were studied. Health professions were considered as the mainline fields of medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, podiatry, and pharmacy. Students majoring in biology, chemistry, or pre-pharmacy (pre-health) who entered the predominantly-black institution in 1981, 1982, and 1983 were investigated. Success was defined as both persisting in pre-health and maintaining a grade point average sufficiently high to provide a reasonable chance of gaining admission into a health professions school. The following traditional variables were chosen for study: high school grade point average, composite score on the American College Testing Program and scores on its four subsections, scores on the three portions of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test in terms of grade-level equivalents, and sex of students. Complete data were available for 324 students (210 females and 114 males). Of this number 85 were successful by the defined criteria and 239 were not. Almost all the variables distinguished successful from unsuccessful students to some degree. Specific findings are reviewed, along with the question of whether the predictive power varied for black males and females. (SW)