This study investigated the relationship between ways of coping, ego-resiliency, optimism, gender and adjustment of first year students. Participants of the study were 420 Department of Basic English students (173 female, 247 male) from Middle East Technical University in Ankara. The results of multiple regression analysis for the total sample indicated that all the predictor variables (ways of coping, ego resiliency and optimism) were found to be significant predictors of college adjustment. The study found that participants who reported high resilience, optimism and fatalistic and helplessness/self blaming coping scores had better adjustment to college. In addition, the results of the multiple regression analyses conducted for female and male students showed that whereas ego resiliency, optimism, and seeking social support coping, helplessness/self-blaming coping predicted adjustment of female students; ego resiliency, problem solving coping, seeking social support coping, fatalistic coping and helplessness/self-blaming coping were significant predictors of male students college adjustment.