The early onset deaf are a disadvantaged group with educational handicaps resembling closely those of the economically disadvantaged. Most deaf students score poorly on the commonly used verbal tests of college aptitude and their scores on these tests do not predict their college performance. Gallaudet College, an accredited liberal arts college for the hearing handicapped, has developed and validated a new admissions approach, which may be of use to other institutions enrolling disadvantaged students. A multi-dimensional battery which includes many specially designed tests is used as a talent search and has proven capable of determining with a high degree of accuracy which students from a disadvantaged population can, with a reasonable remedial investment, do college-level work successfully. Scores on the admissions battery can also be used diagnostically to tailor remedial work to individual needs in situations where it is impractical or impolitic to use admissions screening. (Author)