Imagine a high school senior who is trying to decide whether to go to college.

He walks into the office of his school's counselor and asks for help in making up his mind.

The counselor knows that this student's grades are bees and seas, and that his motivation

and industriousness are fine, but nothing special.

He is considering some college majors that sound interesting to him, but he does not have

a passion for any of them.

In fact, as the counselor talks to the student, she discovers that what he really enjoys

is working with his hands.

The idea of sitting in an office does not appeal to him, but his parents have their

hearts set on their sons getting a college degree, and most of his friends will be going

to college next fall.

What information should the counselor give to the student to help him decide?

We know what she is likely to say.

A survey of high school students revealed that more than 90 percent of them were encouraged

by their high school counselors to go to college.

But what does this student really need to know?

Above all, he needs to know whether he can expect to do well in college if he puts in a

serious good faith effort.

And to know that, the student needs to understand the relationship between his level of intellectual

ability and the demands of college courses in the majors he wants to declare.

The counselor is not likely to give that information to him.

He is unlikely even to possess it.

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