I can't hold back the teacher in me today - it's time for a pop quiz. The subject is "Name That College." Read the stories below, then identify the colleges they describe.

>> PAST COLUMNS: The best high school you can go to

>> PAST COLUMNS: There is a bigger picture to consider

>> PAST COLUMNS: Back to our regularly scheduled schedule

1. This college's softball team was playing a league rival. A player on the opposing team hit her first home run ever - but as she got to first base, her knee blew out. She can't run, she can't walk, she can't stand; if a coach or trainer touches her, she's out, and the home run doesn't count.

However, the first baseman from our mystery college knows there's nothing in the rulebook that says she can't help the injured player - so the first baseman and shortstop from our college carry the injured player around the bases, and stop at each base for her to gently touch each one. The opposing team wins the game 4-2-in other words, the run that won the game was the run the injured player scored while being carried around the bases by two players from our mystery college.

2. A recent graduate of this college was asked about her fellow students, and she responded by saying many of them weren't very nice. When asked to explain what she meant, she said "I mean the kind of 'nice' that involves showing compassion not merely because membership in community service groups demands it. The kind of 'nice' that involves lending a textbook to a friend who doesn't have one. The kind of selfless, genuine 'nice' that makes this world a better place - but won't get you accepted to college."

I'm sure you'd like to know the answers - but let's talk about your answers. As you read about College 1, did you say "It has to be an Ivy League school - the students there can see the big picture, and show a lot of class." As you read about College 2, did you say "This must be a college no one has heard of - people this self-centered don't deserve to go to a great school."

Or was it the other way around-did you think College 1 must be a local college filled with students who care more about others than they do about themselves, and College 2 is a typical selective college where self-centered thinking rules?

If you find yourself thinking anything like this, the answer to the quiz is "look more closely." For all we know, the student in College 2 was in a bad dormitory for four years, and the students at College 1 punished the first baseman for blowing the game by making her wash the team uniforms with stones and a washboard. One baseball player's actions or one alumna's views may not represent an objective view of the college - and it may not be the way you'd view either of these colleges if you visited them.

There are more college choices to make than ever before - so many, it's impossible to get in-depth information on all of your 2,600 US options.

As you choose the media, counselors, and acquaintances to help you sort out your choices, make sure you (and they) give up the name game, and start by looking for qualities in a college that are evident to you and to a clear-headed confidant. Label-free living is a great way to see the world, your colleges, and yourself-and it might even find you in a spot where you can score the winning run by thinking outside the baseline.

I really don't want to tell you the names of the colleges, but I must report my sources:

 http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/columns/story?id=3372631

 http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0505/p09s03-coop.html