Race and socioeconomic background are strong predictors of postsecondary educational attainment and persistence in the United States.  Do public postsecondary institutions themselves exacerbate these disparities, or ameliorate them?  We address this question using longitudinal data linking students at North Carolina’s public four-year universities to their public K-12 records.  In terms of race, we find that North Carolina’s university system boosts college enrollment by African-American students relative to white students with similar backgrounds, largely as a result of its historically black universities.  After students are enrolled, however, we find evidence of racial disparities in grades and graduation rates.  Regarding socioeconomic background, we use parental education as an indicator of socioeconomic status and find that lower-status youth are less likely to enter the system and less likely to succeed once entered.  By some measures, socioeconomic disparities have lessened considerably in recent years.