University counseling centers are being asked to demonstrate their effectiveness and, at the same time, to meet the needs of a growing number of students desiring their services. To help centers meet these demands, researchers have begun to examine student needs and to evaluate counseling services. University freshmen (N=2180) interested in different types of counseling or no counseling were compared on attitudinal and demographic items. Students interested in personal-social counseling expected that getting to know others would be difficult. These students were more likely to live in residence halls, advocated more student participation in campus decisions, and were likely to attribute low enrollment of blacks to racism. Students interested in educational-vocational counseling were more likely to have fathers who had college degrees; they were more undecided about majors and considered selection of a major to be a problem. Students interested in reading and study skills counseling cited earning satisfactory grades as their hardest adjustment to school. They were quite sure of their vocational goals and were more likely to attend the university for its academic program. The results suggest that this type of information is useful in establishing optimal student services. (Author/NRB)