The members of the College Follow-up Staff did their Work with painstaking care. They learned all they could about each student, treating alike the students from the Study and their matchees. Their sources of information were official college records, lists of honors or prizes won, reports from instructors, samples of written work-, results of various types of tests given by the college, and the student himself. Each student was asked to reply to three questionnaires a year. After the first, which was filled out early in the school term, interviews lasting from fifteen minutes to two hours were held with each student.

The conversation usually began with a discussion of the questionnaire, which asked about the student's academic, social, and personal problems; his health; his activities, athletic and otherwise; his reading, attendance at lectures and concerts, radio listening, and movie attendance. Also, the student was asked to discuss his preparation for college and his reaction to college life as he found it. The conversation soon shifted to all sorts of topics: from raising puppies to world affairs. In most cases students welcomed the chance to talk freely with a friendly person who showed interest in them. From these written replies to questions, from long, informational talks, and from information secured from college records and college instructors, deans, and other personnel officers the College Staff came to know each student well. Upon this intimate and abundant knowledge they base the report of their investigation.

Altogether, 1475 pairs of students were studied-those entering college in 1936, for four years; those entering in 1937, for three; those entering in 1938, for two; and the class entering in 1939, for one year. A vast amount of data was accumulated, and the Staff gave their summers and most of 1941 to analysis of the collected information.

What did they discover?

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