FOR EXPERT ASSISTANCE.

The problem of choosing a vocation, which is the subject of an editorial in the current Advocate, probably presses upon the serious undergraduate more persistently and causes more mental anguish than any other question. There are some men, no doubt, who enter college with a permanent interest in some definite field. Most students, however, come to the University with no strong preference for any definite pursuit. The intellectual stirring which they receive in their Freshman year destroys their preconceived ideas. And henceforth they suffer most from a lack of knowledge, not only of the nature of various occupations, but also of their own special aptitudes. They flounder about from one study to another, immersed at the same time in a welter of distracting undergraduate activities, with no guiding purpose. On graduating some, merely following the line of least resistance, become teachers, without regard for the special qualifications needed for high success in that profession. Others drift into business positions, in which they are dissatisfied; and frequently they lose several years in continued drifting before they find a permanent calling.

Could not a great deal of this waste, in college and out, be saved by some expert guidance in the University? Psychology is fast becoming an applied science. A board working under the direction of the department of Psychology, with perhaps the aid of other divisions, such as that of Education could render great service by discovering and pointing out to men any special aptitudes they may have. Vocational guidance is becoming prominent in primary and secondary education. Applied to college men, of course, it would be in the nature of giving information rather than advice. In order to be successful every man must undoubtedly, choose his vocation with a passionate love for the work; but he must also bestow that love upon a calling for which he is fitted. Besides aiding men in choosing their life-occupation such guidance would give purpose to many undergraduate programs.