Answer: Location (28%), Reputation (20%) and Price (7.5%)

Questions:

• What are the most important factors to YOU in selecting a college? Rank them from most to least important. Explain your answer.
• Why do you think that so few people actually consider price? 
• Do you think if more people considered price that it would have an impact on the cost of college? Why or why not? 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (from CNBC):

Researchers are working to understand why people land at one college over another. Not too many people, it turns out, make their decision based on price. Just 7.5 percent selected a school because it was affordable, according to the Strada-Gallup Education Consumer Survey. (Last year, more than 85,000 people ages 18 to 65 were interviewed.)

Location is the most common major reason students choose a school, with 28 percent of respondents listing it as such. School reputation and fit was a deciding factor for another 20 percent, while 19 percent said they landed at their school because they believed it would lead to a good job or career. Another 5 percent chose their college because they received financial aid or scholarships.

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Want your students to be more cognizant of price when making college decisions? Have them play PAYBACK and they will!!!

About the Author

Danielle Bautista

Danielle is a native of Southern California and a recent graduate from the University of Maine, where she braved the frigid winters—a feat in and of itself—and earned her Bachelor's degree in International Affairs. She has a passion for working with non-profit organizations and serving populations in underprivileged communities. When Danielle isn't writing NGPF blog posts, spearheading various outreach projects, or managing contests and flash surveys, you can find her doing some sort of outdoor activity, learning a new hobby, or cracking what she thinks are witty puns!