The illusion of pre‐enrollment counseling

Abstract

Concern about attrition of college students has often led to recommendations that more counseling be supplied to entering freshmen.In the present study, student response to pre-enrollment counseling programs suggests that freshmen are able to consider only informational aspects of their entering status.T h e niimber of students requesting preenrollment coiinseling varied inversely with the amount of such inforniation available outside of counseling conferences. A s long as universities make it incumbent upon the student to adjust to the institution, the student rvho is not emotionally "bound" to attending a particular college will be seen as needing counseling although the opportunify for such cour~seling roil1 be illusory. Institutional changes, as well as student changes, must be encouraged if the oppoi-tuni/y for counseling is to become a reality. THOMAS H. LYNCH and ROBERT P. MONTABA are both Assistant Directors for the Department of Student Counseling at the IJnivetsity of 7.Yisconsin-Milwaukee. This article is partiall) Iiased on the program entitled "The Selective Effects of Different Pre-Eiiiollinent Coiinseling Programs 011 Entering Freshmen" held at the 1968 APGA Convention,