Factors in College Choice
studentPOLL: Research dispels Millennial theories
1. Academic quality and several cost-related factors top the list of factors very important to both students and their parents in college choice. CIRP data also provide evidence of the increasing importance of social activities in students' college choice.
To understand the factors most important in college application and enrollment decisions, studentPOLL asked respondents to rate how important 23 different factors were to them in their college decisions. We then asked students to tell us how important these same factors were to their parents.
Academic quality came in at the top of the list with 84 percent reporting that it was "very important" to them in deciding where to attend college. High proportions of students also rated affordability factors as very important (71 percent rated financial aid and 61 percent cost of attendance as very important), suggesting that cost concerns are very much on the mind of students.
Academic quality was also believed by students to be very important to their parents (85 percent) with campus safety an equally high factor (86 percent). Not surprisingly, financial aid and cost of attendance were believed by students to be even more important to their parents (77 percent and 75 percent respectively). (Chart 1)
Similar patterns are reflected in the CIRP longitudinal data. The academic reputation of the institution continues to be—as it has been for decades—the factor considered most important by the largest percentages of students in college choice. This is true for Millennials as well as their parents' Boomer generation. In 1977 (a year when many Boomer-generation students were entering college) 55 percent of students indicated that the college's good academic reputation was a "very important" reason they chose a particular college. Interestingly enough, CIRP's 2007 American Freshman—National Norms reported that this figure had risen to 63 percent—"the highest it has been in 35 years." (Chart 2)
The affordability concerns reflected in the studentPOLL findings are even more pronounced in CIRP's trend data. In fact, college affordability concerns have risen dramatically from the time Boomers entered college to today. For example, the CIRP data show, in 1977, 18 percent of students entering college reported that financial assistance was "very important" in their college decision. Over the last three decades that figure has risen steadily in importance, reaching nearly 40 percent in 2007, the highest this figure has been in 35 years. It is evident that Millennials have much greater concern about the cost of financing college than their parents did 30 years ago.
CIRP's longitudinal data also chronicle the increasing importance in college choice of a college's social activities. In 1983, the tail end of the Boomer generation entering college, 24 percent of students reported that the college's reputation for good social activities was very influential in their decision to attend a particular college. In 2007, this had climbed to 37 percent.
2. Millennial students are much less cautious than their parents about "sheltering" factors in college choice.
Contrary to conventional Millennial-generation wisdom, today's students are much less inclined than they think their parents are to value protective or sheltering factors in college choice (go to college close to home, have parietal hours and good medical and counseling services). (Chart 3)
The greatest differences between students' own views and their perceptions of their parents' views were found in several factors:
- A college close to home (21 percent of students cited this as very important compared to 44 percent who believed their parents viewed this as very important)
- Has specific rules about visiting hours for men and women in the dorms (9 percent of students compared to a perceived 32 percent of parents)
- Quality of medical and counseling services (37 percent of students compared to a perceived 56 percent of parents)
By gender, a larger proportion of female students compared to their male counterparts were more likely to report these factors very important to them in deciding what colleges and universities to consider or attend:
- The safety of the campus (78 percent women versus 66 percent men)
- Campus location (57 percent versus 47 percent)
- Quality of medical and counseling services (41 percent versus 33 percent)
- High standards for personal behavior (56 percent compared to 48 percent)
studentPOLL published by the College Board and Art & Science Group, LLC. Copyright © 2008 The College Board and Art & Science Group.