This article explores racial and ethnic differences in adjusting to college and the consequences different adjustment strategies have on college outcomes. The author begins by summarizing the major perspectives in education on the roots of college attrition. In the process of comparing and contrasting these perspectives, she highlights three prominent factors that may affect adjustment and subsequent success in college: minority status, socioeconomic disadvantage, and being a first generation college student. Looking at the social and academic connections students make on campus, she explores the importance of the college transition process. In the course of transitioning to college, students form various connections to others on campus. Here, the author introduces a variety of indicators of these social and academic connections and examines their relationship to college grades and satisfaction with college. She also examines Black and Hispanic students separately to understand how their adjustment to college may be different from that of White and Asian students. (Contains 5 tables and 3 endnotes.)