This is exactly the kind of thing schools should be doing today--proactively supporting the important life choices that we all agree students should be making.

We need to accept the fact that most young people are nervous, insecure, even a little scared about their future. These are the same reasons why seasoned adults are sometimes unsure about their own life choices. And yet, we still assume, if we just tell students that they should go to college that they'll magically show up. It takes a lot more work than that.

No one does it alone--even the people who think they do. Everyone needs support, mentoring, and even a healthy (and loving) push from behind. Think of those students who come from family backgrounds where they are the first in their family to even consider college as a possiblity. Maybe that is something some of us take for granted, but where would those of us with college-educated pushy parents have ended up without the "support" we received.

Being a small school AMES is able to pull something like this off with good results. Good for them.