The following questions are investigated: Are there identifiable dimensions along which resident and commuter students systematically differ? If there are differences, will the commuting student appear to be educationally, socially, and attitudinally disadvantaged as suggested by several studies? Can subgroups of commuters be defined with characteristics and needs sufficiently diverse to merit special program attention by student personnel workers? Using the 1975 University Student Census, data were gathered on 1,532 incoming freshmen students at the University of Maryland, College Park. The original sample was categorized into students who expected to be living at home or with relatives (dependent commuter), students living off-campus apart from relatives (independent commuter), and students living in residence halls, fraternities, or sororities. The general conclusion is that there are differences between resident and commuting students, but that commuters are not clearly disadvantaged. Subgroups of commuters differ more from one another than from resident students and should be considered a heterogeneous group. (Author/LBH)