Great thread idea--I love seeing the various things that are important to different people.
As a parent, the three things that mattered to enough to me to try to influence DD about were (in no particular order):
1. that it not be a "pressure cooker" school. With a few notable exceptions, most of the time an undergrad degree from a top tier school is not really that much more useful in the real world than one from a school with a lot less pressure and less competition. And if the lower pressure school gives you more time to get real world work or volunteer experience in something related to your field, make connections with people in the industry, etc then often a degree from there combined with that is better than just a degree from a "name" school (again, for undergrad). Plus, the best programs for many majors are not at the big name schools. So, I encouraged DD not to put herself through the stress of going to the best schools she could get into, and find the school she would enjoy that she could get something out of.
2. Cost. We are happy to find a way to make sure the kids graduate without debt (other than loans taken because they can be forgiven by working in their field, so no debt that will actually end up on them) but only if they choose a reasonably priced school and only if they do what they reasonably can to reduce costs via scholarships, etc.
3. Big enough that have a variety of majors so if she changes her mind about what she is currently sure she wants to do, she will have plenty of other options without transferring.
That still left a ton of choices for DD. Here is what she looked for (in no particular order):
1. Big enough to have options but still fairly small and in a small to mid sized city, the only big city she considered was Boston because "it does not have that big city feel"
2. A strong program in her major--not just offering it as an option but one with a full department dedicated to it with lots of opportunity for field experience and a high placement rate for graduates (she ended up narrowed down to 2 schools--both had 100% placement rates for full time work in the field within one year of graduation)
3. Campus and town have decent enough transit options that she will not need a car
4. Atmosphere on campus that fits her (one thing she said about her ultimate choice is that it is a school known particularly for its education and performing arts programs, and people who tend to migrate to those fields tend to be people she gets along well with. Also, their football program is almost an afterthought, sports are much more low key and the big focus is on their arts program, which suits her tastes and personality more.
5. Amount of guaranteed merit aid. This really helped narrow things down early on, before she could know what additional aid might be offered.
6. Location. She prefers snow and cold to heat and humidity. She likes the idea of being able to visit extended family over Thanksgiving, etc. She is majoring in Special Education and while she can move and transfer the license, getting licensed in a state she can easily see herself remaining in is important to her.
Taking in all of the above, she eventually narrowed it to two choices and only applied to those two (she was pretty much guaranteed acceptance to both, as well as quite a bit of merit aid at both, so not applying a lot of places was fine). Interestingly, both schools asked for dorm deposits and applications before acceptance with a promise to return the deposit if you did not attend there. One of the two was able to tell her that she would have a single room in her first choice or buildings and in the learning community she wanted to be in, before she had to make a decision, and I think knowing she could have those things there helped tip the scales in that school's favour. It was pretty smart on their part.
I graduated with a small student loan, but nothing too bad.
