The approach a high school takes to college counseling influences the likelihood of a student’s attending college, according to a new study conducted by an assistant professor of education at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

Whether the student is black or white, rich or poor, the chances that he or she will attend college improve when the guidance counselor takes a proactive role in helping navigate the process of choosing and applying to colleges.

A report on the study, “School Strategies and the ‘College-Linking’ Process: Reconsidering the Effects of High Schools on College Enrollment,” by Lori Diane Hill, was based on data gathered from 188 high schools in 30 major metropolitan areas throughout the country. Ms. Hill separated the schools into one of three categories based on how intensely they advised students on the college-application process.

Although students across all socioeconomic levels benefit from strong counseling programs, some groups of students remained unaffected, no matter the quality of advising they received.

The chances of a driven student’s attending college were not diminished by a less-involved counseling office. And high schoolers whose academic performance precluded them from admission to the average four-year college were unlikely to reap any benefits from a more positive counseling approach. —Elizabeth F. Farrell