STUDENTS EXPERIENCES OF THEIR FIRST YEAR IN A GRADUATE ENGINEERING PROGRAM- a longitudinal study of the expectations and experiences of four cohorts of graduate engineering students. In previous ECER conferences we have presented data from this longitudinal study, where four cohorts of students are expressing their expectations and experiences of being students in a graduate engineering program in Linkoping University, Sweden. In this paper we present comparative data from the students´ expectations and first year experiences. The four cohorts entered the program in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002. In 1998 the program was marketed as "the toughest" graduate engineering program, the attrition rate was high but so was the drop out rate. The study was initiated in order to give the study board some idea of what the problem was. Both students and lecturers were dissatisfied and the drop out rate was one indicator of the students dissatisfaction. Between 1999 and 2003 great efforts was made to transform the study program from a theoretical elite program to an projectbased, learning environment, where engineering skills were in focus. In order to monitor this change the study was extended to include four cohorts, from start to one year after graduation. The design of the study: Within the first two weeks the students filled in one questionnaire (Q1; N=702) about their study background and their anticipations of the years to come. After the first semester the second questionnaire (Q2; N=596) was filled in about their self reported study results, workload, thoughts of dropping out, experiences of cooperation with lecturers and peers, well being and identification with the study program, during the first semester. At the start of their second year the third questionnaire (Q3; N=486) was filled in, where they were asked to report their experiences of the first year, in the same areas as in Q2. Ten students in each cohort were interviewed twice during the first year and in the first two cohorts we also interviewed the first semester drop outs. The results show that the study context and the students self reported wellbeing are related to self reported study results and thoughts of dropping out. There is an increase in students who enter the study program with experiences of study related health problems from upper secondary school. This is in line with public health studies, where there is a dramatic increase in self reported psychological problems in the age group 19-29 years. Working in groups seem to have a buffering effect on study related stress when the students choose their peers and choose when and where they work together. When they were assigned to project groups the satisfaction with cooperation and well being increased, but decreased when the projects ended. The results are discussed in relation to other studies of students´ experiences of their first year in Higher Education study programs. The concepts of motivation and retention are discussed related from an interactionist and critical perspective.