LinkedIn by God

LinkedIn now thinks it knows well enough to link up high school seniors with the perfect college. God knows us even better.

It's a spring ritual for college-bound high school juniors and their parents: the college tour. Parents and kids pile into the minivan and make the rounds of the select group of schools that fit the criteria (whatever those criteria may be): large, small; public, private; church-related, independent; artsy, sportsy. If there are younger children in the family, they often come along for the ride -- and to whet their appetites for their own college search in a few years' time.

The college students working as tour guides for the admissions office -- those who have mastered the fine art of walking backwards and talking at the same time -- provide the necessary lore and oral tradition you can't pry out of the catalog or the glossy viewbook.

Much is riding on the decision. Choosing the right college or university can make all the difference -- for the student, but also for the school. Colleges carefully monitor their retention rate -- the percentage of students who persist to earn a degree....