Studies about engineering students and their success and attrition in college are numerous and diverse. One set of research efforts has focused on the differences between academically successful and unsuccessful engineering students. Personality characteristics, academic preparation, and work values are among the variables which have been analyzed in these studies. Researchers have used the Holland Vocational Preference Inventory, the Strong Vocational Interest Blank, and researcher-developed surveys and questionnaires to differentiate between persisters and nonpersisters. Although this past research may be used as a foundation on which to base current research, sample differences make it difficult to find a common thread among all the results. Self-analysis and local research are necessary to understand the students at a specific university. A second set of studies has focused on academic prediction and attempts to distinguish potentially successful students from those who will leave the field of engineering. An analysis of academic prediction studies indicates that the best method for differentiating successful from unsuccessful students involves multiple predictors such as grade point average, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or American College Test (ACT) results, interest inventories, and personal interviews. (NRB)