STUDENTS WHO HAD COMPLETED THE RETAILING PROGRAM IN 1959-61 AND OTHER GROUPS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA GENERAL COLLEGE WERE COMPARED WITH RESPECT TO BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS AND OCCUPATIONAL EXPERIENCE PATTERNS. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT IN HIGH SCHOOL RANK, A COLLEGE APTITUDE TEST, AND AN ENGLISH TEST. IN THE GENERAL APTITUDE TEST BATTERY-GENERAL, THE RETAILING GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER SCORES. ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT BY THE RETAILING GROUP WAS BETTER THAN THAT OF AN UNSELECTED GENERAL COLLEGE GROUP, BUT DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THAT OF A GROUP WHICH COMPLETED TWO YEARS OF GENERAL STUDIES. ON THE STRONG VOCATIONAL INTEREST BLANK, THE RETAILING GROUP HAD A STRONGER TENDENCY TOWARD THE BUSINESS-CONTACT SCALE. NO OTHER SIGNIFICANT INTEREST DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND, AND ALL GROUPS TENDED TOWARD LOW INTERESTS IN THE SOCIAL SERVICE OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS. NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND IN THE TYPE OF THE STUDENT'S FIRST JOB, OR THE METHOD OF OBTAINING IT. THIS DOCUMENT IS VOLUME 4, NUMBER 2 OF "THE GENERAL COLLEGE STUDIES," 1967-68. (WO)