In contemporary psychology more within-group examinations of psychological phenomena are needed, especially in ethnic minority populations. This paper presents the findings of three separate studies of the relationship of GPA and gender to motivation, all of which are within ethnic group comparisons. One study is conducted with African-Americans, the second with Hispanic-Americans, and the third with Euro-Americans. The instruments used are the Assessment of Academic Self-Concept and Motivation and Assessment of Personal Agency Beliefs. Both measures provide a goal-focused, multidimensional, and comprehensive assessment of motivation. MANOVAs and subsequent ANOVAs are presented for each ethnic group. The findings reveal significant within-group differences that also vary from one ethnic group to another.