A student told me last week that she is passionate about working with animals in a zoo, and that she needs a 4-year degree in Zoology to achieve that life goal. So why is she in my Massage Therapy program? She had a vague idea that she might want to do massage on the animals, and maybe she could support herself doing massage while she worked her way through her Zoology program. But now she's wondering why she is here. I think what she needs is a specific vision for her future and a roadmap to help her get there. And in my opinion these should have been in place *before* she enrolled. So that when the inevitable stresses come, she could look on her fridge and see exactly what her plan is and why she's doing it. As program director, it falls to me to become her de facto guidance counselor and help her clarify her goals. If we determine that massage therapy is not a good match for her goals, she will leave with my blessing and our retention numbers will take yet another hit. She is not alone; a great many of my students only have a vague idea of why they are here. I'm wondering if a screening interview is needed to set expectations before we accept them into the program. Any thoughts?