Of the 1454 students who withdrew, 48.2 per cent eventually graduated from Harvard, with 2.8 per cent being elected to Phi Beta Kappa;

The dropout sample had a significantly higher percentage of divorced and deceased parents than the general undergraduate population;

The psychiatric dropouts tended to return to college and to graduate as frequently as the non-psychiatric dropouts-they returned to college sooner, but tended to drop out more frequently a second time;

The psychiatric dropouts have higher academic potential (and intelligence) than the non-psychiatric dropouts;

Students who leave college because of emotional illness are over-represented in the social sciences, math, and biological sciences, and under-represented in history-economics-government;

The psychiatric dropouts who did not return tended to enter the military more frequently than the non-psychiatric dropouts;

Dropouts with a diagnosis of schizophrenic reaction are least likely to return to college; dropouts with a diagnosis of adjustment reaction of adolescence, passive-aggressive personality, and sexual deviation (in that order) are most likely to return;

Dropouts with a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive reactions ranked highest in intelligence (as measured by PRL), followed by unstable personality and sexual deviation. The categories of anxiety reaction and schizophrenia reaction ranked lowest-but the schizoid personality had by far the highest score on the SAT verbal test;

The longer a student waits before returning to college, the less chance he has of obtaining a degree.

Of the 256 black students admitted to the 20 classes of 1950-1969, 76, or 28.7 per cent, had dropped out by the time of graduation. This figure is "significantly above" the general dropout rate of 24 per cent, Nicholi said, and "focusing merely on the American black dropouts, the percentage [30.3 per cent] is even more striking." (Only 16.7 per cent of African black students withdrew).

However, Nicholi said, although black students tend to drop out more often in general, they drop out less often for psychiatric disorders-the conflict is more likely to be environmental rather than personal.

"He finds himself in a bind," Nicholi said of the potential dropout. "He can no longer tolerate the loneliness of his work; neither can he tolerate the competitive anxiety provoked by close contact with colleagues. He withdraws into himself. His work rapidly deteriorates. He becomes overwhelmed with guilt and despair... A paralyzing state of depression ensues and leaving college appears the only recourse that promises relief."