How Kids Really Choose a School

“When families are paying $200,000 for an undergraduate degree, they want that diploma to have some ‘brand value’,” said Paulo DeOliveira, a former assistant director of admissions at Brown. “That’s why rankings such as the U.S. News list hold so much sway.”

After parents and friends “browbeat” them about where to apply, what really influenced their decision about where to go?

Students reported that their own “gut feelings” were most affected by a campus visit and the opportunity to see the college’s students. Surprisingly, very few ever sat in on a class or spent the night on campus. For most, the college visits were a blur of short trips with parents in tow. The walking-backward student tour guide was the single largest influencer.

“I hated the tour guide,” reported more than a few students. Said one Manhattan boy after his USC visit, “She thought she was on stage.” He didn’t apply there.

A majority of kids admitted to applying to at least one college solely because someone else—usually a parent—wanted them to.

“Recognizing this tension between where kids think they want to go and where their parents want them to apply, I usually recommend a Solomonic compromise at the outset,” said Michael Muska, the dean of college relations at Brooklyn’s Poly Prep. “The student should apply to one college solely to please the parents. And the parents must allow the student to apply to one school they absolutely think is wrong. In the end, it usually works out pretty well because the compromise reduces the stress and allows them all to get on with the process.”

Indeed, the Zinch survey results seemed to reinforce Muska’s strategy. After visiting colleges, 64 percent of students said that they and their parents were usually or always in sync about whether a school was a good fit.

Yet despite the importance of visiting the college, more than 77 percent reported applying to schools they never saw.

Perhaps the biggest shock most students are bound to encounter once they reach college involves majors. Fully 79 percent of students said they “definitely knew” or were pretty sure what they wanted to major in. But according to a study by Penn State, 70 percent of students change their major at least once while in college, and 20 percent change it two or more times.

What advice do graduating seniors have for those about to go through the process?