Estimating the persistence of first-time students from the first year to the second year of college is a growing social and financial concern. Studying how socioeconomic status affects year-to-year persistence may help to identify and assist those students who have socioeconomic profiles most likely to indicate challenges to year-to-year persistence. This study used data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:96/98), a nationally representative survey, to provide additional information about the patterns of educational attainment and persistence for a subset of the more than 51,000 students included in the NPSAS:96 survey. The study used all students enrolled as first-time beginning students at two-year institutions. The purpose of the study was to develop and test a theoretical framework for describing the persistence of students at two-year institutions. The preliminary model included 39 literature-based variables grouped into seven factors: background, high school, college-entry, financial, social integration, academic integration, and college performance. The data were tested using descriptive statistics and logistic regression to determine the predictive value of the models for the students. Social capital variables, particularly student integration to the collegiate environment, were strongly associated with persistence of students. Contact between students and faculty outside of the classroom environment is critical to persistence. (Contains 4 tables.)