This book reports the findings of a national survey of college student experiences in the 1980s, particularly focusing on what students do and what they perceive to have gained from their college experience. Data for this book are from the responses of 24,427 undergraduates from 74 colleges and universities to the "College Student Experiences Questionnaire" (CSEQ). The first two chapters introduce issues and describe the study. Twelve chapters analyze and discuss the data on: (1) types of colleges and their similarities and differences; (2) activities common to diverse types of colleges; (3) different experiences at different colleges; (4) student perceptions of their progress; (5) campus and curriculum characteristics; (6) student experiences year by year during their college tenure; (7) influence of age, gender, and ethnicity; (8) time spent on reading, writing, and study; (9) characteristics of the one third of students who are disengaged; (10) relationships between student effort and attainment; (11) student diversity and student development; and (12) current criticism of higher education. Major conclusions of the study are that the selective liberal arts colleges are uniquely powerful environments for student learning and development and that, for other types of institutions, there are few differences in student activities or outcomes that can be attributed to institution type. Contains a copy of the CSEQ. (JB)