The purpose of this paper is to present some preliminary findings on the effects of racial status, socioeconomic status (SES), and measured ability (MA) upon academic performance of students in a liberal arts college. Preliminary analyses of academic performance (cumulative grade point averages and semester-by-semester grade point averages) among black and white students by SES and Mental Ability are reported for 95 black and 263 white students from the entering classes of 1964, 1965, and 1966 at Oberlin College. Findings suggest that grades among black students are not dependent on SES or upon mental ability measures to a significant extent. Some relationship between SES and MA to grades is found in the case of white students (subsequent, unreported analyses suggest that racial status predicts to grades when SES and MA are partialled out). The systematic, mean differences in grade point averages in the earlier semesters of a student's college career (lower mean points among black students, higher mean points among white students) is associated most closely with racial status when SES and MA are controlled. It is suggested that categorical discrimination in pre-college opportunities limits the grade attainments of black students at Oberlin College. Given the selective pool of black students, their later semester grades begin to reflect on their tested potential. (Author/JM)