Three nontraditional study programs at the University of Minnesota provide the setting of this study to determine what kinds of persons become students in a given program and what factors make their experience in a program a successful one. A questionnaire was distributed to students in the Experimental College, the University Without Walls, and the General College. The questionnaire attempted to determine the following: (1) what kinds of students become involved in a given program; (2) the extent to which students in nontraditional programs aspire toward traditional outcomes of college education, i.e., are their educational goals and expectations markedly different from those students in traditional programs, and to what extent are they achieving their goals; (3) their post-college goals, particularly those related to their future occupation; and (4) the role interpersonal involvement with faculty and college peers plays in nontraditional programs. The study reveals significant differences between students involved in the three nontraditional programs, including their self-perception, orientation toward future occupational goals, expectations they have of their college, and the relationship they have (or wish to have) with their college. (JMF)