While much is known about the role of student involvement in various d
imensions of student change and development, considerably less is know
n about how students become involved as they make the transition from
work or high school to college. This paper describes the results of a
series of focus-group interviews with 132 diverse, new students enteri
ng a community college; a liberal arts college; an urban, commuter, co
mprehensive university; and a large research university. The study ide
ntifies the people, experiences, and themes in the processes through w
hich students become (or fail to become) members of the academic and s
ocial communities on their campus.