There is increasing evidence that significant personality changes take place during adolescence and early adulthood. Among 10,000 high school seniors tested, the group intending to go to college differed in ability, socioeconomic background, parental encouragement, academic motivation and attitudes from those going on to jobs or homemaking. Students who spent 4 uninterrupted years in college became more intellectual and developed a critical, flexible, nonjudgmental type of thinking whereas few students in the employed group made such changes. Experiences in college seem to nourish greater growth in intellectuality and autonomy when the potential for such growth exists. And a student's potential for growth is largely determined by parental influence early in life. Thus, because parental influence is the student's strongest motivation factor to remain in college, ways should be found to help instill this motivation when parental support is missing. A strong case may be made for counseling to begin in the earliest grades and continue throughout the entire educational experience. (CS)