College attendance patterns, areas of study, and abilities of Asian Americans are considered. Asian Americans pursue higher education at somewhat higher rates than average, and the rate is increasing. They concentrate in business, the physical sciences, and engineering in greater than expected numbers in comparison with the general student population. Asian Americans are present in larger than expected numbers in selective institutions such as Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and the University of California, Berkeley, but also concentrate in large numbers in urban community colleges. Abilities important to success in college, primarily verbal and mathematical reasoning abilities, have consistently been shown to be distinctive in patterns among Asian Americans at virtually every level of education; while Asian Americans' average quantitative scores are higher than those of whites, their verbal abilities are much lower than whites. The problem of relatively low verbal abilities have been particularly marked among economically disadvantaged Asian Americans. Also considered are factors that influence medical and law school admissions decisions for this population, and length of U.S. residence and science career plans among college-bound Asian Americans. (SW)