Sure, but for the average 22 year old who has (up until then) gone through life moving from one exactly delineated set of expectations to the next, complete wit

Sure, but for the average 22 year old who has (up until then) gone through life moving from one exactly delineated set of expectations to the next, complete with quantification of the quality of the result (grading) and 'will this be on the test' expectation management, the PhD unboundedness is as alien as it is frightening.