This study examines the motivations and environmental influences of 3,112 Deep South Negro students who, despite severe obstacles, were attending predominantly Negro colleges in that area. The students range from a severe poverty level to a comfortable income level. Our data indicate that regardless of the intactness of the home, the lower the family income the greater is the influence of nonfamily figures, especially the high school teacher, in the decision to go to college. While the severe poverty and the comfortable groups differ in income, family structure, etc., they are strikingly similar in their motivations and in the values they attach to educational goals. They do differ, however, in their expectancies of reaching their goals. The data suggest that factors such as family structure and early socialization, which are usually considered crucial, are not necessarily so.