Brandon and Brenda are at each other's throats after their parents reveal that they can only send one child to an out-of-state college. Jim and Cindy decide to take a second mortgage so that they won't have to play favorites, but Brandon and Brenda each decide to apply to local California University. Brenda fears that she and Dylan are growing apart, while he and Kelly bond over their mutual ambivalence toward college. Andrea believes that Gil is discouraging her from applying to his alma mater (and her dream school), Yale. She has nightmares about Gil trying to knock her off a tightrope. Mrs. Teasley tells Steve that he doesn't have the grades to attend USC. He accepts the legacy key, but finds that it does not work. The janitor catches Steve trying to steal a master key, then sells it to him. Donna's art teacher raves about her talent and encourages her to apply to art school. David accidentally sees Kelly naked, and can't get the image out of his mind.
This long-running drama dealt with the experiences of a group of young people in Beverly Hills, CA as they navigated high school, college and ultimately the real world. The series focused on their travails as they tried to maintain their friendship while dealing with romances, family and personal crises, tragedies and countless drug addictions.