My son will be going to college next year and we are working with him to narrow down his choices. After a first cut, we arrived at a list of 6 schools that he would be interested in attending based on location, programs, admissions requirements, and taking a campus tour. He applied to all 6, and we expect that he will get into at least 4 of them, but he could get into all 6. We now need to figure out how to help him further prioritize that list.
To help us make informed decisions, we are going to weigh both qualitative and quantitative criteria to prioritize the list.
Let’s start with qualitative criteria, or what I call the “predictor of enjoyment”. These are the things you usually hear about when taking a tour of the school: How new the buildings/dorms are, how good the food is, when the pool is open, how many different clubs there are, how good the athletic program is, what artists perform at the school… etc. Colleges market those qualitative attributes to create an “emotional connection” with the school. While it is important for your child to feel comfortable, she/he is not joining a country club. The best colleges are the ones that help your child most effectively and efficiently transition into a profession/career.
Qualitative criteria should be considered, but within reason and only if it is really important to your child. As an example, my son loves sports and takes great pride in his favorite teams doing well. He played sports in high school and went to as many sporting events as logistically possible. He and I have been regularly going to college basketball games at my alma mater for years. For him, this is by far the biggest (and possibly only) qualitative criteria, so it will be factored into his prioritized list as a secondary criteria.
Now let’s turn to the quantitative criteria, or the “predictor of value”; with “value” being defined as the expected financial return received from getting your diploma. To figure this out I created the College Effectiveness Score (CES), using data from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard.
The CES is a single number that measures a college’s ability to effectively transition its students to a profession/career. As such, it helps prospective students and their parents more easily compare and prioritize the relative financial value of different colleges. You may be surprised at the scores for the colleges you are considering.
To find the CES for a college, please click here.
To illustrate how CES can be used, I’ve prepared an example using actual college data (see exhibit below for analysis). In this case, a prospective student is prioritizing 4 colleges, all in the state of her/his residence (so in-state tuition used). Colleges A and D were prioritized based on CES score, with College D ultimately being ranked highest due to relative annual cost and importance of qualitative criteria (prowess of athletic program).
Please note that this illustration is a prioritization exercise, and that the final decision may include other quantitative and qualitative criteria, like financial aid package offered, relative quality/value of specific programs, family connections/legacy, proximity to home or major city, etc.