A study of attrition after the first year of college was conducted with the 1984 entry class (N=233) of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). A path-analytic model of nine factors affecting student persistence was tested. The nine factors were: cumulative grade point average, a composite academic performance index, ability in oral skills, social satisfaction, participation in college-sponsored extracurricular activities, scores on the Stanford Achievement Test, distance from NTID to home, percent of elementary and secondary education spent in mainstreamed programs, and participation in high school sponsored extracurricular activities. Results indicated social integration was an important factor in college persistence. Grade point average was not a critical factor in first year attrition. Results were somewhat different than those of studies with hearing students but may have been specific to NTID. (Author/DB)