Master of Science / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Shannon Washburn / Each year higher education institutions seek to recruit and attract high school graduates to their institutions. Millions of high school seniors each year are in the midst of the college choice process, attempting to determine which institution is “right” for them. This study explored college choice factors important to high school seniors in the search phase of the college choice process. To carry out this study purposeful sampling was used to select 11 high school seniors participating in individually scheduled campus visits. An interview process was used to investigate what college choice factors were important to them when choosing a university/college. Student responses were ultimately categorized into six areas: interest in a specific major/program area, reputation, ideal distance from home, family interaction with institution, factors related to paying for college, and campus environment.

Thesis advisor: Diana Pullin / As families struggle with the rising cost of college, the federal government attempts to ease the financial burden not only by providing grants and loans, but also by giving families better information about the cost of college and the availability of financial aid. The federal government spends significant amounts of money on collecting and disseminating information with the hope that students and parents will make better decisions about how to save, where to apply, and where to attend. This research stems from the observation that efforts to provide information are not backed by sufficient research. The literature on college choice and use of information does not indicate whether (and when) families seek cost and financial aid information. Moreover, the literature does not suggest whether families' use of information has the intended effect upon their decision making by helping families make better decisions about paying for college. This study takes steps to fill this gap in the literature by examining seven middleincome families' use of information during the college decision making process. The research uses a phenomenological approach to look at both the sources of information families use and the meaning that they make of this in their college search processes. The results show that families rely on cost and financial aid information primarily from colleges, independent websites, and informal sources like other parents, friends or neighbors. The study also identifies themes that play a role in shaping families' ability to use information in their decision making, such as the uncertainty that characterizes the college choice process and the distinct roles played by the parents and students. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.

This study considered whether participation in several out-of-class experiences during high school influenced the odds that a student will aspire to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree. Additionally, this study considered whether these experiences, considered together, had a cumulative effect on the odds that a student will aspire to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree, and whether the influence of these high school experiences on college aspirations was moderated by a student’s race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Results of the study revealed that several high school experiences, including participation in science-related school programs, participation in extracurricular activities, sitting in on or taking a college class, searching the Internet or reading college guides for college options, and talking to a school counselor about going to college, increased the odds that a student would aspire to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree. Additionally, results revealed that participation in four or more of the high school experiences examined in this study had a cumulative, positive influence on students’ eleventh grade college aspirations, and that the relationship between participation in these high school experiences and students’ aspirations to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree was not moderated by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status.

There has been a long-standing debate about the role and place of intercollegiate athletics (Schulman & Bowen, 2003). Often the focus is on whether successful athletic programs lead to ?value-added? outcomes such as increased alumni giving (Turner, Meserve & Bowen, 2001; Sperber, 2000), or enhanced student applicant pools (Tucker & Amato, 1993; Toma & Cross, 1998; McCormick & Tinsley, 1987; Murphy & Trandel, 1994). The empirical evidence on these issues is both limited, and mixed. For example, the findings of a few methodologically rigorous studies suggest some value-added ?applicant pool? benefits of successful athletic programs. In contrast, studies directly examining student college preferences have produced mixed results. This study offers a review of the extant empirical research on this topic in order to assess the impact of college athletic reputation on three key outcomes: size of applicant pool; quality of applicant pool; and university giving.

The purpose of the study was to determine and compare the perceived images of Olivet Nazarene College as reported by related reference groups consisting of administrators, trustees, faculty, students, alumni, parents and prospective students.The population of the study consisted of 924 individuals selected at random from listings provided by the college. A total of 610 individuals responded to the questionnaire providing a 66 per cent return from the population.The instrument used for the study consisted of eighty-one words or phrases that have been used to describe various colleges and universities including Olivet Nazarene College. Individuals were asked to respond on a five-point Likert scale indicating the extent each word or phrase described Olivet Nazarene College.The frequency data were organized into contingency tables and analyzed using the chi square test of independence. Paired reference groups were examined to test the null hypothesis of no significant difference in group responses. Internal and external reference groups were also compared and reported in the study.ConclusionsThe following conclusions were based on a review literature as presented in the study and the results the analysis of data:1. Colleges and universities communicate distinct images to the various publics associated withthe institution. The nature of the images vary significantly from group to group and are often unrelated to reality or actual environments of the institution.2. Images are not necessarily based on personal experiences but are accumulated from a variety of sources with varied levels of credibility.3. Student perceptions of college environments tend to be more critical than other groups, however, student perceptions may be more objective and more related to reality than the perceptions of other groups.4. Due to the complexity and changing nature of institutional images, it appears to be difficult if not impossible, to completely control the type or quality or image communicated to various publics.5. Words and phrases used to communicate college image carry a variety of connotations whichmay negatively or positively affect institutional images. College descriptors are often selected without concern for clarity and credibility creating confusion among institutional reference groups.6. Prospective students view colleges more positively than do other groups.7. Perceptions of prospective students change drastically upon arrival at an institution. Inaccurate images created through communications programs do not sustain images once personal contact is made with the institution.8. Images perceived by groups closely related to a college tend to be different and are usually more critical than external groups with the exception of alumni.9. Despite differences in perceived images held by various reference groups, most colleges have distinctive images which distinguish one institution from another.

College admission has become increasingly competitive in the internet era. This is especially true for the highest caliber of students and institutions. College admission is a process filled with asymmetric information. One of the biggest asymmetries occurs when schools admit students not knowing whether or not students will actually enroll. This uncertainty is economically costly to schools. As national rankings become more and more influential, schools are more sensitive to their rank and the statistics that determine them. One of these is yield, the percentage of admitted students who enroll. This paper examines data on admitted students to Claremont McKenna College and uses a probit regression to predict their enrollment decision. By successfully predicting enrollment decisions schools can eliminate some information asymmetry and therefore raise their yield.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2000. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 194-196).

College choice is often described as a three-stage developmental process where students progress through the following phases: predisposition, search and choice (Cabrera & La Nasa, 2000; Hossler & Gallagher, 1987). Existing research, however, suggests this model does not account for all aspects of Latina/os’ college choice experience (Hurtado, Kurotsuchi, Briggs, & Rhee, 1996; Perna, 2000), warranting further investigation. As such, in-depth phenomenological interviews (Seidman, 2006) were conducted with 20 Mexican American high school seniors from the South Texas Border, an area with postsecondary attainment rates below the state and national average (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008f), to gain a deeper understanding of their college choice experience. Guided by an integrated social capital and Chicana feminist conceptual framework, this study sought to uncover how the intersectionality of students’ social identities shaped their college choice process. Specifically, this study explored how students’ identities influenced their college aspirations and their access to college information, support and assistance via their social networks. Findings revealed that students negotiated among several social identities (generational college status, sibling identity, academic identity, class identity, racial/ethnic identity, co-curricular identity, regional identity) which influenced the development of their college aspirations and their ability to access college knowledge and support from their social networks in both positive and negative ways within the four main spaces (cultural/familial space, community space, school space, and cyberspace) they occupied on a daily basis. Students’ narratives further indicated that the individuals or entities in their social networks that were influential and/or considered sources of college knowledge and support included immediate and extended family members, various community members such as neighbors or members of students’ religious congregations, school personnel (counselors, teachers, co-curricular sponsors), higher education representatives and institutions, peers, and various college oriented websites found on the Internet. Students also noted, however, various challenges in navigating their college choice process that centered around: 1) parents’ limited college knowledge, 2) attending a local/regional institution or one outside the region, 3) combating negative educational stereotypes of Mexican Americans in general and those in the South Texas Border in particular, and 4) accessing adequate college information and assistance at school. / text

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1965. / Title from PDF title page (viewed Nov. 10, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 46-47). Online version of the print original.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-109). Also available on the Internet.