Real reasons people pick a college (Hint: It isn't always about academics)

At Elgin Community College's college fair last year, Larkin High School senior Anna Flores scanned the stacks of brochures and picked up ones from Eastern Illinois University, Columbia College and Carthage College.

Then, for some strange reason, she grabbed a brochure from Winona State University in Minnesota.

Flores had never been to Minnesota. She didn't know a single person who had ever attended that school. The art program there wasn't particularly strong, and Flores wanted to major in studio art.

But something about the school intrigued her, and after two campus visits, the Elgin teen was convinced that this was the right college for her. She enrolled there last fall.

"It was a four-hour drive ... not too close, not too far away. What really got me was how gorgeous the campus was. Even in the freezing, snowy, icy winter, it was still beautiful," she said. "As a studio art major, I like things that are aesthetically pleasing."

Flores also liked the fact that she could see Wisconsin from her dorm room window; that there was a Jimmy John's and Pizza Hut in town; and that she could secure about $2,000 in grant money if she chose Winona State.

"It just felt like I belonged there," she said.

That gut instinct -- a "this is where I fit in" feeling -- is often what prompts high school seniors to select a college.

In many cases, seniors have to commit by May 1. So if they haven't already accepted an offer, the next few weeks can be a time of debate and indecision.

While it might seem that academic offerings and tuition costs are what drive students' choices, the real reasons they pick a college are sometimes arbitrary.

Some students choose Arizona State University because it's sunny and warm. Some apply to Duke because they're fans of the school's basketball team.

Parental pressure can influence a student's choice, as can peer pressure -- because many kids want to go where their friends are going.

"There's a prestige factor, too," says Bob Burk, director of admissions at Northern Illinois University. "But sometimes they choose a school because they like the school colors."

Is there anything wrong with making a decision based on these factors? Sometimes, says Rachel Korn, a college adviser and consultant who edited the new book "How to Survive Getting Your Kid Into College" (Publishers Group West, $14.95).

Korn said fast, spontaneous decisions based on minor details -- like selecting a college because it "sounds like a cool place to go" or rejecting one because the campus tour guide was a dork -- can end up in a mismatch that wastes time and money.

"If (something minor) is one of the reasons, you hope that there are other reasons to go along with it," Korn said. "Students need to understand that it's much bigger than a temporary decision. Everybody is 17 or 18 years old, though. We expect really mature decisions, but they're not always able to make those decisions."

Picking a college based on nonacademic or cost issues is not always a disaster. Some students will do well and make the most of their college experience regardless of where they go, Korn said.

"A good fit includes other kinds of stuff, too, including personal interests," says Kevin Scotellaro, assistant principal of student services at St. Charles North High School. "If their interest is being in the sun, then Arizona State might be a good fit for them."

Knowing that personality plays into a student's choice, East End Psychological Services (www.eepservices.org), a New York-based company, offers a new "personality testing" service to help match students with the right college.

Colleges are well aware of the power mitigating factors have, and as a result, they try to woo students in a variety of ways. Korn said she's heard of schools offering free iPhones and iPods to new students. Others make sure their dorms and Web sites are attractive, so prospective students are impressed.

"Colleges around the country spend millions of dollars on this," Burk said.

NIU tour guides Mike Fornaciari of Romeoville and Amber Wilk of Oswego said they've seen students' eyebrows raise in delight when they tell them certain things -- like that NIU students can see a doctor for no charge, or that they get free admission to sporting events.

Fornaciari said the common area in the Neptune dorm, which includes a cozy seating area and a fireplace, seems to impress a lot of prospective students because they can picture themselves sitting and studying there. So does the school's nicely landscaped lagoon area.

College admissions and high school guidance counselors say that students put a lot of weight on aesthetics -- and tend to pick prettier campuses over less attractive ones. They're also less likely to select a school when they visit the campus in bad weather.

Wilk gave a tour of NIU this past January when it was 10 below zero. She didn't think the students were too impressed.

"You end up giving a modified tour, or walking really fast to get inside the buildings," she said.

The reason Amy Dolezal, 18, a senior at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, chose to enroll at Western Illinois University this fall was because she liked the school's numerous volunteer opportunities.

"Both my parents went there. So I always said I did not want to go there. I wanted to go somewhere different," she said. "Then, when I went to visit, got to stay in the dorm for two nights, eat in the cafeteria, and I felt like I fit right in. I knew I wanted to go there after that."

There is rarely just one right school for anyone -- many colleges boast good business schools or good art programs, for example. So it often comes down to details to help a student make his or her decision.

Alex Brewer, a senior at Prospect High School, got a good vibe from his visit to Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. While he liked their English and psychology offerings, he also liked little things -- like that they have a Soup Club that makes soup and invites everyone on campus to try it. He also liked that the co-ed dorms had funny lists of hot guys, girls and movies.

"It's refreshing to see personality. It shows that the kids are having fun and being creative and enjoying themselves," Brewer said. "That made a very good impression."

Macalester is now in his top three choices of college, he said.

Getting students to spend time researching a college is often the biggest hurdle for parents. But if they can convince them to do it, students will often select a school based on sound reasons.

"Picking a college is a lot like picking a spouse. You pick it because its personality complements your own," Burk said. "Students should take more than 10 minutes to think about what's really important to them. This is a big decision and there's a lot of money at stake."