UCLA Higher Education Research Institute:
The responses of 272,036 first-time, full-time students at 356 colleges and universities in 2007 (out of 1.4 million such freshmen), reports that only 17.6% of incoming freshmen considered rankings "very important" in influencing their decision to attend a particular college or university — tenth out of fifteen factors:
- College has very good academic reputation 63.0%
- This college’s graduates get good jobs 51.9%
- A visit to the campus 40.4%
- I was offered financial assistance 39.4%
- Wanted to go to a college this size 38.9%
- College has a good reputation for social activities 37.1%
- The cost of attending this college 36.8%
- Grads get into good grad/professional schools 34.1%
- Wanted to live near home 19.2%
- Rankings in national magazines 17.6%
- Information from a website 17.0%
- Parents wanted me to go to this school 13.0%
- Admitted early decision and/or early action 11.4%
- Could not afford first choice 9.7%
- High school counselor advised me 9.0%
The study includes an interesting look at parent involvement.
Via Paul Caron.
I have not read the report (it is not online — it costs money!), but the look at parent involvement that is described in the report’s brief is not parent involvement but the student’s perception of the amount of parental involvement (too little, just right, too much — like Goldilocks).
If the report is available through some free resource, then perhaps I will be able to evaluate if the study of this topic has anything truly important to say.