This qualitative study described and examined the characteristics, components and theoretical design of the Student African-American Brother (SAAB). The SAAB is a national program that seeks to increase the academic and social integration of African-American males in higher education to increase their potential to graduate with an undergraduate degree. The SAAB's academic and social integration strategies were compared to Bean and Bennett's conceptual model of black student attrition to determine the congruency between the organization's strategies and the theoretical framework. The methodology was case study. Thirty semi-structured interviews were held with past and current members of the organization to gain a broader knowledge of the SAAB strategies and interventions used to promote their academic and social integration. The research revealed the SAAB applies a three dimensional approach which consists of providing a supportive environment, supporting academic goals, and encouraging campus and community involvement. This approach increases the students' understanding of the organization and structure of the higher education setting to yield successful matriculation through a four year college or university.

In this exploratory study of 95 counseling program master's students at a large southwestern public university, students' scores on an admissions Group Interview Sociometric Rating did not correlate with their GRE Analytic Writing (GRE-AW) scores nor their basic skills course instructors' end-of-course assessment of students' counseling-related personality traits (Personality) or mastery of basic counseling skills (Mastery). However, Mastery was predicted by both Personality, with a large effect size, and GRE-AW, with a medium effect size. This study provides promising preliminary evidence that counselor educators may use Counselor Personality Assessment Ratings and GRE-AW scores to screen master's applicants by predicting students' abilities to master basic counseling skills early in their counselor preparation. Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are discussed.