In 1989, a study was conducted of the demographic and educational characteristics of honors students in the San Diego Community College District. Focusing primarily on students enrolled in fall 1987 (N=270), spring 1988 (N=285), fall 1988 (N=264), and spring 1989 (N=245), the study gathered quantitative data from the Student Profile Questionnaire distributed during the first week of classes and qualitative data from a survey of student and faculty perceptions of the program. Study findings included the following: (1) dropout rates were 29% in fall 1987, 32% in spring 1988, 25% in fall 1988, and 34% in spring 1989; (2) females were over-represented in all semesters, though differences were less pronounced in the spring terms; (3) Caucasians and Hispanics tended to be over-represented in the honors student population, while Asian, Black, and Filipino students were under-represented; (4) 70% of the fall 1987 students and 76% of the spring 1988 students had previous college experience, with 32% of both groups possessing a college degree; (5) approximately 47% of the fall 1987 students and 37% of the spring 1988 students planned to transfer to a four-year college, while 17% of the fall 1987 students and 21% of the spring 1988 students were taking courses for personal growth; (6) students surveyed in fall 1988 and spring 1989 generally felt positive about their honors classes, citing individualized instruction, smaller class size, the intellectual challenge, and the more demanding nature of the assignments as particularly important; and (7) instructors believed that their honors students were academically superior to regular students in terms of scholastic attitude and performance. (JMC)