Career counseling of college students requires utilization of information that considers a student's degree of comfort in an academic setting as well as their academic performance. The relationship between the Learning Environment Scale of the 1994 Strong Interest Inventory and the twelve scales of the College Student Inventory (CSI) was examined using data obtained from 115 first year students at a large Midwestern university. These students were recruited to participate in a program to enhance their academic performance and promote their career exploration. While the Learning Environment Scale offered valuable information, the findings suggest that it may not be an accurate indicator of academic comfort for first year college students. The College Student Inventory may be the more valid measure of academic comfort for this population. Research that continues to contribute to understanding the relationship between academic preferences and comfort is necessary to further illuminate and account for the occupational decision-making processes for students. Addressing the learning environment is an important consideration for college administrators for many reasons, including retention. More importantly, the environment must provide students with ample opportunities to help make future career decisions that are effective and consistent with their interests; expectations; academic comfort; and performance in related areas. (Author/JDM)