An extension of Tinto's model of the college dropout process was proposed and tested with a sample of 332 freshmen at an Australian university. The college entrance examination was found to be a relatively valid predictor of whether students will pass, achieve honours, or strike trouble in the form of failure or withdrawal. Non-intellective factors were found to be lacking as valid predictors of academic progress. None of the potential predictors was effective in differentiating between failure and withdrawal outcomes. This study casts doubts on the applicability of Tinto's model to tertiary outcomes other than withdrawal.
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