i

RESEARCH PAPER

How Students Choose a University: Determining the Factors

Influencing Students’ Preferences in Choosing a University

In partial fulfillment of the requirements in

INQUIRIES, INVESTIGATION AND IMMERSION

Submitted by:

SOLOMON, JESECA A - PRUDENCE

Submitted to:

MS. DAISY JADE M. DATO

Completion:

MAY 2022
 iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to thank first and foremost our dearest God –for guiding us through

this project.

Special thanks to Mr. Jezrael P. Ermas, our research adviser, because he has been

attentive to the difficulties we encountered and given us a lot of valuable advice as to how to

start on and continue our research paper. He posted us questions for us to reflect on, to allow

us to see things from different perspectives. He answers every question we ask about our

research paper. He is always approachable and is very patient with us.

Next, we wish to express our gratitude to Grade 12 students a.k.a our respondents for

giving us their time. They were very obliging in giving us accurate and detailed answers to

our questions, and for keeping the school a clean and pleasant environment for our benefit.

Their time in answering our survey questionnaires has a big contribution to our research.

Also, thank you to Mr. Holden Kenneth Alcazaren and Ms. Anna Victoria Clemente,

for giving us their time and kindly validated our survey questionnaires. Their suggestions and

comments were really helpful for our study.

And lastly, we would like to thank ourselves, for the cooperation of each of us, who

made this research successful.

 iv

ABSTRACT

Being a student is really hard not just because you are bound to learn and achieve

success but because there are also things that you need to decide on that may affect your

future. One of these things is deciding on where to study or what school is better. This study

sets out to determine the overall factors that determine a student’s choice in university, to

find out which factor affect student’s preference the most, and to ascertain students’ sources

of information used for decision making on choice of university. Choice theory by Glasser

guided the study throughout the pace of it. This can widely benefit parents, students,

university administrations, and the institution itself. The study is conducted inside the

University of Perpetual Help – Molino Campus and surveyed 96 Grade 12 students from

different strands. Data were collected using survey questionnaires with 15 questions made by

the researchers. The analyzed data were presented descriptively using tables with numerical

and verbal interpretation. As an overall result, there are many different factors that affect

students’ preference in choosing a university. These factors include prestige, location,

campus, opportunity, knowledge, and costs. The name and privilege of the university are the

most disagreed factor and the safer campus and environment being the strongly agreed factor.

The researchers recommend for the future researchers to conduct a same study in public

schools as the study was conducted on a private institution.

v
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE.........................................................................................................................................i
APPROVAL SHEET............................................................................................................................ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...................................................................................................................iii
ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................................iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................................vi
LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................................vii
DISCLAIMER...................................................................................................................................viii
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS.........................................................................................................ix
CHAPTER 1: THE PROBLEM AND REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Background of the Study....................................................................................................................1-2
Research Objectives…………………………………………………………………………2
Review of Related Literature.............................................................................................................3-6
Theoretical Framework.........................................................................................................................6
Conceptual Framework.........................................................................................................................7
Significance of the Study...................................................................................................................7-8
Scope and Limitation............................................................................................................................8
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
Research Site.........................................................................................................................................9
Respondents of the Study......................................................................................................................9
Research Design and Data Collection.................................................................................................10
Data Analysis......................................................................................................................................10
Research Instrument............................................................................................................................11
CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION..........................................................................12-18
CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion......................................................................................................................................... 19
Recommendation.................................................................................................................................20
References..................................................................................................................................... 21-22
Appendices.....................................................................................................................................23-26
 vi

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1................................................................................................................................................13
Table 2................................................................................................................................................14 vii
Table 3................................................................................................................................................14
Table 4................................................................................................................................................15
Table
DISCLAIMER

The study has been made the product of hard work of the researchers. It has been

approved and accepted by the panel of reviewers. Hence, no part of this paper may be used

without proper citation or approval from the authors.

ix

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
 This survey is intended to find out your views about the factors that may influence

Grade 12 students on choosing a university. This is part of our performance task in Practical

Research 2, a subject of grade 12 students. Bearing this in mind, we respectfully request your

participation by filling out this survey. The first part aims to elicit information on your

background. While the second part requires your insights on the factors affecting the

university preference of the students. By signing your name on the conforme below, this

would mean that you consent to responding to this survey. We assure you that the

information disclosed here shall not be used for any other purposes except for the ones

mentioned above.

I. Introduction
A. Background of the Study
 Every graduating student is faced with problems in deciding on their future career

paths. For those students considering attending a university, the selection process assumes

high priority. This process typically requires a number of years and may have begun in early

childhood when students develop perceptions of universities and university life. Many factors

probably affect student’s final decision. Graduating high school students may have unsure

ideas of future educational needs and benefits; however, the university selection process

allows students to see different alternatives.

Deciding where to study is a huge task for everyone and is also an important thing to

think of and understand. According to Robbins (2010), “decision making is defined as the

selection of a preferred course of action from two or more alternatives.” Decision making is a

process of selecting the best among the different alternatives. It is the act of making a

choice. Before making decisions, all alternatives should be evaluated from which advantages

and disadvantages are known. This should be the same as choosing a university. A university

that is the best and well suited for everyone.

James et al. (1999) stated that the higher education environments have become

competitive and institutions increasingly have to compete for students when it comes to

recruitments in the markets. The increase of the number of universities in our country, the

idea of reaching the point that was reached by the well-established universities and its’

presence that were founded later and had obtained very good positions in a short time forced

the universities to compete with each other. One of the important reasons for this is that it is

important to be chosen by the students with the desired qualities besides the problem of

filling the capacity for the universities. To provide this, the universities are making an effort

in order to rearrange their structures and operations and be more innovative.

 All countries require accurate information in regards to student choice in attending a

university. Knowing the preferences of students and the factors that influence their choice of

a university has become important for institutions of higher education. This study sets out to

determine the overall factors that determine a student’s choice in university.

B. Research Objectives

The study specifically aims:

a. to determine the factors that affects the university preference of students;

b. to identify which factor affects student’s preference the most;

c. to differentiate students’ sources of information used for decision making on choice of

university.
 3

C. Review of Related Literature

There has been various studies and research analysis about the factors that can affect

university preference of students.

According to Akar (2012), a large number of variables are effective in the university

choices of the students. The most important variables are; the geographical location of the

university, the social opportunities of the city, closeness to the job opportunities after

graduation, closeness to the place that the person lives or works or their parents live, quality

and quantity of the scientific publications of the instructors, and their positive reputation in

terms of public opinion. It can be said that there are choices such as the quality of the

education, the reputation of the university as a prestigious institution in the public, economic

conditions, a campus that is continuously alive with various social and cultural activities,

accommodation opportunities, various academic and financial help opportunities, various

social groups such as family and friends, sex, and guidance in high school education.

Another study by Carnegie Foundation (2012), for a lot of young people, the decision

of entering university is the most important decision that will affect their own lives. This

decision is important in terms of making and shaping person’s life for the next years. When

the fact that there are a lot of factors affecting such an important decision and a choice is also

taken into consideration, the situation becomes more difficult. A more influential university,

universities in which they can enter because of course availability, a university close to their

residence, a university in which the transportation is easy and more other factors are efficient

in university preference. In addition to these factors that may affect in entering a chosen
 4

university, the number of universities in our country is also affecting the students’ preference

in entering the universities they want.

Hsuan and Chi Hung (2008) developed a research under the title "Marketing mix

formulation for higher education" and stated that the purpose of their paper was to examine

how a graduate institute at National Chiayi University (NCYU), by using a model that

integrates analytic hierarchy process, cluster analysis and correspondence analysis, can

develop effective marketing strategies. The results of AHP revealed that the five most

important factors for students’ school selection were employability, curriculum, academic

reputation, faculty, and research environment.

In the study done by Isherwood (2017), college choice was influenced by student

academic average in high school and by student attitude to high school. Better academic

students, and those with more positive attitudes to high school sought colleges with higher

academic reputations; they selected other colleges as their second choice to ensure they

would be accepted by at least one college. He also stated that male high school graduates

were primarily influenced in their choice by their friends in high school and their friends

already at college; parents and school counselors had less influence while female high school

students were primarily influenced by their friends and their mother.

Chung and Shyan Fam (2009) conducted a research about the effects of cultural

values on university consumers' choice of international higher education. This paper

investigates cultural value influences on student's decision about study destinations and the

sources preferred to gathering information about, in Singapore and Malaysia. Kee Ming

(2010) also tested ten purposes in his research in Malaysia. He stated that there are
 5

significant positive relationship between college choice decision and: location, academic

programs, college reputation, educational facilities, cost, availability of financial aid,

employment opportunities, advertising, higher education institution representatives, and

campus visit.

Another study regarding the topic is by Horstschraer (2012), according to their study,

the demographical and personal factors play a big role in academic career choices. These

demographic factors include occupations and education levels of the parents, socio-economic

status, sex, and age of the students. Personal factors are their general talent levels, cultural

backgrounds, values and principles, their respect for themselves, their self-sufficiency, their

interests, and their personalities and they are among the factors that determine the branch that

they are going to choose in the university.

There is an article under the title of "Satisfaction among Current Doctoral Students in

Special Education" by Wasburn-Moses (2008). This article reports the results of a nationwide

satisfaction survey of 619 students from 78 doctoral programs. Findings indicate that

students appear generally satisfied with their programs. However, areas of concern include

program structure, overall workload, and quality of preparation in research.

 6

Synthesis
Each study reviewed and cited concerned with the topic appears to give a response on

the need to understand the selection process and influential factors in choosing a university.

The related literatures provided established lists of factors involved before and during the

process of choosing students’ preferred university. Most of the factors stated are

demographical and personal factors which can determine student’s preference in entering the

university they want. The relationship between the factors has not yet been clarified, so it is

not obvious which one is dominant in student’s mind in choosing a university.

D. Theoretical Framework

Choice Theory is developed by Glasser (1998), it states that although people share

similar needs, the behaviors through which individuals choose to satisfy their needs may

varied. And it may be because starting from birth and continuing throughout our lives, each

person places significant role models, significant possessions and significant systems of

belief.

The theory and the study is somehow related and connected to each other. Glasser’s

Choice Theory is relevant to this study because it simply talks about a person’s behavior in

considering their needs and wants as a being in deciding on some things that matter. In this

theory, it is also stated that the choices we make in our thinking and acting greatly affect our

feeling and physiology. Glasser champions how people are able to learn and choose alternate 7

behaviors resulting in greater personal satisfaction.

E. Conceptual Framework
 To understand and to analyze the factors that affect university preference of students,

the different factors in the scale will be considered and adapted. The following illustration is

a visual representation of the identified factors that affect university preference of students

that will be explored in the study.

Educational Benefits

Knowledge about the

University

Better
Financial Factors Determining the Understanding
Factors for Students in
Influencing Making
Students’
Academic Factors Informed
Preferences in Choices
Choosing a Regarding their
University Preferred
Campus Factors
Universities

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework on Identifying Factors that Affect University Preference of

Students

F. Significance of the Study

This can widely contribute information that can help parents, students, university

administrations, and the institution itself.

A. For the parents: The information obtained will provide better understanding to

them about making informed choice and can help them guide their sons and/or daughters in

choosing their preferred universities.

 8

B. For the students: The research also may lead to the new findings about what

difficulties do students experiencing and how do the affects them on choosing their

universities.

D. For the university administration and the institution: This study will contribute to

the universities administration's understanding about the factors that affect the university

preference of the students. The study aims for the institutions improvement and renovation as

the controlled actions that executed. The outcomes to be considered includes the following;

up skilling the teachers and staff, upgrading the facilities and programs that may help the

students.

G. Scope and Limitation

The study was conducted in University of Perpetual Help – Molino Campus, during

the school year 2018 to 2019. This study limits its coverage on Grade 12 students only. It

will examine every aspect of students’ personal information that has an effect on university

preference such as their age, gender, and amount of their allowance. This study primarily

focuses on how do Grade 12 students choose a university and will probably focus on the

factors that affect their university preferences.

This study has potential limitations. As the study was conducted by the researchers

themselves, this may contain several possible sources of bias like exaggeration when

representing outcomes and enhancing events as more significant than is actually suggested

from other data. The time in studying the topic and the whole research may be constrained as

it is a problem that requires more amount of time.

 9

I. Methodology

A. Research Site

The researchers chose University of Perpetual Help System DALTA – Molino

Campus as the research site. The reason why the researchers chose this setting is because the

said university offers senior high school that the study needed as the characteristics of the

participants. The university is also one of the well-known universities within the Philippines

which may be a candidate for students’ choice of universities. The survey was inside the

university throughout the free time of both the researchers and respondents.

B. Respondents of the Study

The target participants of the study are Grade 12 students of the university from

different strands which are Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM),

Accountancy and Business Management (ABM), Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS),

General Academic Strand (GAS), Arts and Design (AD), Information and Communication

Technology (ICT), and Home Economics (HE). The researchers randomly selected 96

students from two sections in Grade 12 and gave out surveys for them to answer with precise

information. The survey questionnaires were divided into 14 students from STEM, ABM,

HUMSS, GAS, and ICT and 13 students from AD and HE to make up and complete the total

of 96 respondents.
 10

C. Research Design and Data Collection

This study used descriptive research design to assess socio- demographic profile such

as sex, age, strand currently taking and preferences of the students about the university.

Descriptive research is a purposive process of data gathering, analyzing, classifying and

tabulating data about prevailing conditions, beliefs, practices, processes, trends, and cause

and effect relationship and then adequate and accurate interpretation about the data with or

without aid of statistical treatment. The researchers use descriptive survey because the

objective of the researchers is to find out the attitudes and apprehensions of students from

senior high school towards the preferences of the students about the university.

D. Data Analysis

In analyzing the gathered data from the survey questionnaires, the researchers will

use tallying as a method for analysis. After tallying, the total response of Strongly disagree,

Disagree, Agree, and Strongly agree, are multiplied to its’ corresponding scores which are 1,

2, 3, and 4. The product is then divided to the total number of respondents and the quotients

are the final score. The final results were placed in a table with numerical and verbal

interpretation.
 11

E. Research Instrument

Survey form was facilitated in the research as a method for data collection. The

survey consists of two parts. In the first part of the survey, there are questions directed

towards respondents’ background information like name, age, gender, and section that are

needed for obtaining data. The questions prepared by the researchers is in the second part of

the survey. There are 15 questions that were prepared using Likert scale directed towards the

factors affecting the university choices of the students in this part. In the scope of the scale,

the choices related to each expression consist of questions that are prepared as (1) Strongly

disagree, (2) Disagree, (3) Agree, (4) Strongly agree.

 12

II. Results and Discussion

This study is an attempt to determine the factors that may affect students’ university

preference. It was stated in the previous chapter that the researchers randomly selected 96

students from Grade 12 in University of Perpetual Help – Molino. On this representative

sample, a survey was carried out to find out every factor that impacted a student in choosing

a university. The survey questionnaire is comprised of background information and a list of

factors that the respondents may agree or disagree on using a likert scale. The results

obtained were put through statistical analysis and are presented in this chapter.

NUMERICAL
VERBAL INTERPRETATION
INTERPRETATION

1.00 -1.25 Strongly Disagree

1.26 -2.50 Disagree

2.51 -3.25 Agree

3.26 -4.00 Strongly Agree

 13

Objective 1

To determine the factors that affects the university preference of students.

Based from the data gathered by the researchers, there were five factors that reflected

in each questions and these are the listed in the table below.

FACTORS
Educational Benefits
Financial Factors
Academic Factors
Campus Factors
Knowledge about the University

Objective 2

To identify which factor affects student’s preference the most.

Table 1. Educational Benefits

QUESTION
SA A D SD NI VI
NO.

Q3 24 51 12 9 2.94 Agree

Q4 22 45 22 7 2.85 Agree

Educational benefits consist of questions 3 and 4 from the survey questionnaire.

Question 3 talks about the employment opportunities of students after graduating from their

preferred university and question 4 is all about the success of the university than others.
 14

Table 2. Financial Factors

QUESTION
SA A D SD NI VI
NO.

Q7 24 51 16 5 2.98 Agree

Q8 16 53 21 6 2. 82 Agree

Questions 7 and 8 correspond with financial factors. These talk about attending

universities with affordable and tuition fees and offers scholarships and/or financial

assistance. Nowadays, students’ choices of universities were mainly affected by this factor

since not all people can attend high-end schools.

Table 3. Academic Factors

QUESTION
SA A D SD NI VI
NO.

Q2 33 47 11 5 3.13 Agree

Q13 14 46 25 11 2.66 Agree

Academic factors are gained from questions 2 and 13. Question 2 asks the

respondents if they will attend a university because it offers a high quality education.

Question 13 talks about the length of school hours or classes in a university and the

respondents agreed with this factor.

Table 4. Campus Factors

QUESTION
SA A D SD NI VI
NO.

Q1 12 34 35 15 2.45 Disagree

Q5 21 54 15 6 2.94 Agree

Q6 20 41 27 8 2.76 Agree

Q9 14 46 33 3 2.74 Agree

Q12 27 52 13 4 3.06 Agree

Strongly
Q15 43 40 12 1 3.30
Agree

Questions 1, 5, 6, 9, 12, and 15 are all campus factors. These questions from the

survey questionnaire talks about name, privilege, recognized academic integrity, location,

appearance, facilities, and safe environment in a university.

 16

Objective 3

To differentiate students’ sources of information used for decision making on choice

of university.

Table 5. Knowledge about the University

QUESTION
SA A D SD NI VI
NO.

Q10 10 23 43 20 2.24 Disagree

Q11 8 36 38 14 2.40 Disagree

Q14 12 41 35 8 2.59 Agree

Knowledge about the university is a factor and reflects with the questions 10, 11, and

14. This factor probably talks about the advertisements and promotions of anyone about the

university. Question 10 asks if a student will attend a university because his or her family and

relatives graduated there while, question 11 asks the same thing but with his or her friends

going in that university too. Question 14 is about the effective advertising of the university

through print, television, and social media.

Everyone prefers universities that offer a high quality education, because who

doesn’t? Excellence in teaching is also viewed as a strong determinant of choice. This proves

that high quality teaching or education seems to attract more students because good

universities can magnet good brains. Academic integrity is the foundation of university

success.  Learning how to express original ideas, cite sources, work independently, and

report results accurately and honestly are skills that carry students beyond their academic

career.
 A related factor with finance is distance from home to the selected institution. Drewes

(2006) indicates that students prefer universities closer to home as the additional costs of

living away make further afield institutions less attractive. The results above indicate that

location usually does not have a negative impact on attending a university but rather where

the students will attend, with the nearer institutions receiving the higher rate of attendance.

According to Sidin and Soon (2003), the most important criteria for student selection

of university included academic quality, facilities, campus surroundings, and personal

characteristics in Malaysia. As a researcher who conducted in a Philippine university, the

results showed that no matter how big and beautiful a campus is what matters the most is the

knowledge a student may learn inside that university. Everyone says that school is our

second home so it should be safe and reliable for us to stay and learn. This likely proves that

Malaysia and Philippines has different criteria when it comes to student selection of

universities. All students wanted to attend a university with good facilities. As a student,

having good and complete facilities inside the campus motivates you to work and learn

faster. These facilities can help everyone to do their work efficiently. Having laboratories,

libraries, canteens, gyms, and etc., helps students to ponder their knowledge.

A study from an unknown author indicate that similar factors on student choice most

important to students include degree program flexibility, academic reputation and prestige

reflecting national and international recognition, physical aspects of the campus such as the

quality of the infrastructure and services, career opportunities upon completion, location of

the institution and the time required for the completion of the program. Most of the

respondents seem to agree that they will attend a university that can influence their

employment opportunities after the graduation because it is reasonable that they will need a

stable job right after they graduated to survive their lives.

 According to Baharun et al. (2011), there are common elements across nation in

university choice factors and it includes influence of peers. Although, most of the

respondents disagreed, there are still students who agreed on attending a university wherein

their friends will attend too. Having a friend by your side can keep you calm and confident in

doing school and non-school related works. The respondents disagreed and will not attend a

university just because their family and/or relatives graduated there. Most of the students are

given the freedom of choice when it comes to their preferred universities.

Tuition fees are a basic consideration for students. Studies show that demand for

private universities tends to be at a higher level of price sensitivity than public ones (Bezmen

& Depken, 1998). Students tend to choose a university with free or cheaper tuition fees

because of some personal reasons especially financial problems. Scholarships have a desired

impact on student choice although it is usually limited to the high school scholar group due to

the fact that those with lesser grades would find these less relevant to their situation.

III.
 19

Conclusion and Recommendation

Conclusion

While developing the study on the response of Grade 12 students on how they will

choose their preferred universities, a lot of conclusions have been made. The study was

constructed to find out the factors that influence students in their choice of higher

institutions. Specifically, this study aims to answer the question on how these determined

factors can impact students’ preferences in choosing a university.

Results shown that students consider various aspects when it comes to selecting their

future educational institution. These results established in different factors: educational

benefit, financial factors, academic factors, campus factors, and knowledge regarding the

university. These factors were comprised of distinct data that can be seen through the

questions acquired in the survey questionnaires.

Based upon the results, students preferred universities with good facilities, safe

campus environment, great employment opportunities, nearer location, lower tuition fees,

and with higher quality education. Students strongly disagreed on the category of knowledge.

Influence of peers, family, and relatives, and name of the university. This gives the final

conclusion that students will choose universities based on its positive articulations. Students

have this freedom of choice and will not be influenced by others when it comes on choosing

what they really want which is in line to Choice Theory that was developed by Glasser

(1998) and states that although people share similar needs, the behaviors through which 20

individuals choose to satisfy their needs may varied.

Recommendations
 Based from the findings of the study, the following recommendations were formed.

For the government, they should ensure more financial aid for the needy students so

as not to deny their access to higher education which is a basic need in realization of their

valid dreams.

For the universities, the marketing department should come up with more marketing

strategies that could be ideal to both stakeholders and prospective students as they said they

were not familiar with the Internet and website as a source of information as they opted for

friends and fliers.

For the parents and students, having a deeper knowledge about a university is a must.

Do not rely on just what you see but ask for more questions regarding on what you need to

hear from the administrators itself.

Lastly, for the future researchers, they can include other factors that influenced choice

of students from public schools as the study was conducted on a private institution.

Researchers can also survey the honor students to find out how an honor student choose a

future university because the current study just randomly choose people who were

conveniently available to participate. Honor student can give more detailed and smart

answers and ideas regarding the questions asked to them. 21

References:

Akar, C. (2012) Factors affecting university preference: a study on the students of economics
and administrative sciences. Eskisehir Osmangazi University IIBF Journal, 7, 97-120.
Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299516614_Factors_Affecting_the_Univers
ity_Preferences_of_Students_A_Case_of_Kafkas_University.
Baharun, R., Awang, Z., & Padlee, S.F. (2011). International students’ choice criteria for
selection of higher learning in Malaysian private universities. African Journal of
Business Management, 5, 4704-4714. Retrieved from
http://www.academicjournals.org/app/webroot/article/article1381482122_Baharun%2
0et%20al.pdf.

Bezmen T. & Depken C. A. (1998). School characteristics and demand for college.
Economics of Education Review, 17, 205-210. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4835944_School_Characteristics_and_the_
Demand_for_College.

Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching: Distribution of Institutions and

enrollments by classification category (2012). Retrieved from
http://classifications.carnegiefoundation.org/summary/enrollment_profile.php.

Drewes, T. & Michael, C. (2006). How do students choose a university? An analysis of

Applications to universities in Ontario, Canada. Research in Higher Education 47,
781-800. Retriebed from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225667798_Rationality_Information_Searc
h_and_Choice_in_Higher_Education_Evidence_from_Greece.

Glasser, I. (1998). Choice theory: a new psychology of personal freedom.Retrieved from

http://wglasser.com/our-approach/choice-theory/.

Gulluce, A. , Yilmaz, T. and Kaygin, E. (2016). Factors affecting the university preferences
of students: a case of kafkas university. American Journal of Industrial and Business
Management, 6, 357-372.Retrieved from doi: 10.4236/ajibm.2016.63032.

Horstschraer, J. (2012). University rankings in action? the importance of rankings and an

excellence competition for university choice of high-ability students. Economics of
Education Review, 31, 1162-1176.  Retrieved from
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.07.018.
 22

Hsuan‐Fu Ho, Chia‐Chi Hung, (2008) Marketing mix formulation for higher education: An

integrated analysis employing analytic hierarchy process, cluster analysis and
correspondence analysis. International Journal of Educational Management, Vol.
22 Issue: 4, pp.328-340. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1108/09513540810875662.

Isherwood, G. (2017). College choice: a survey of English-speaking high school students in

Quebec. Retrieved from
journals.sfu.ca/cje/index.php/cje-rce/article/download/2595/1905.

James, R., Baldwin, G., & McInnis, C. (1999), Which University? The Factors Influencing
Choices of Prospective Undergraduates, Evaluation and Investigations Programme.
Higher Education Division, Australia. Retrieved from
https://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv%3A20817.

Kim‐Choy Chung, Kim‐Shyan Fam, David K. Holdsworth, (2009) Impact of cultural values

on young consumers' choice of international tertiary education. Asia-Pacific Journal
of Business Administration, Vol. 1 Issue: 1, pp.54-67. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1108/17574320910942178.

Robbins, S. (2010). Essentials of organizational behavior. Pearson Education, Inc.

Publishing as Prentice Hall. Retrieved from
www.kau.edu.sa/Files/0055520/Subjects/XRobbins_EOB10_Basic_PPT_CH03.ppt.

Sia, Joseph & Ming, Kee. (2019). Institutional Factors Influencing Students' College Choice
Decision in Malaysia: A Conceptual Framework. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266034382_Institutional_Factors_Influenci
ng_Students'_College_Choice_Decision_in_Malaysia_A_Conceptual_Framework.

Sidin, S., Hussin, S. & Soon, T. (2003). An exploratory study of factors influencing the
college choice decision of undergraduate students in Malaysia. Asia-Pacific
Management Review. 8, 259-280. Retrieved from
http://apmr.management.ncku.edu.tw/comm/updown/dw0712070542.pdf.

Wasburn-Moses, L. (2008). Satisfaction among current doctoral students in special

education. Remedial and Special Education, 29(5), 259-268. Retrieved from
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0741932507312014.

23

Appendices:
Appendix A (Letter to Conduct Research)
FOR : MR. HOLDEN KENNETH G. ALCAZAREN
Learning Area Coordinator, Research Department

THRU : MR. JEZRAEL P. ERNAS

 Research Adviser, Research Department

FROM : ESQUEJO, PATRICIA E.

ABM 12 - 06

SUBJECT : RESEARCH PROPOSAL

DATE : October 23, 2018

Greetings!

We are Group 4 of ABM 12 – 06. As part of our academic requirement, we are conducting a
research study entitled How Students Choose a University: Determining the Factors
Influencing Students’ Preferences in Choosing a University. In this regard, we are
respectfully requesting permission to conduct a survey among Grade 12 students, in which
will be conducted inside the school premises. We are requesting to have our data gathering
on November 2018 to December 2018 at 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. Thank you!

Respectfully yours,
ESQUEJO, PATRICIA E.
ESPIGA, SIMOUNE CAMILLE T.
ESTOCHE, MARIANE L.
ESGUERRA, JENNY M.
ESPERANZATE, EAGLE ROSE B.
Researchers, ABM 12 - 06

Endorsed by:

MR. JEZRAEL P. ERNAS

Faculty, Research Department

Recommending Approval:

MS. MARIANNE L. CUARTO

Student Research Coordinator, Senior High School Department
 24

Appendix B (List of the Respondents)

The following are the sections list of respondents on the Grade 12 students who
provided for our research.

1. ICT 3
2. 1CT 5
3. HE 1
4. HE 5
5. AD 1
6. AD 2
7. GAS 3
8. GAS 4
9. HUMSS 2
10. HUMSS 4
11. STEM 1
12. STEM 2
13. ABM 5
14. ABM 7
 25

Appendix C (Survey Questionnaire)

Dear Respondents:

This survey is intended to find out your views about the factors that may influence Grade 12
students on choosing a university. This is part of our performance task in Practical Research
2, a subject of grade 12 students. Bearing this in mind, we respectfully request your
participation by filling out this survey. The first part aims to elicit information on your
background. While the second part requires your insights on the factors affecting the
university preference of the students. By signing your name on the conforme below, this
would mean that you consent to responding to this survey. We assure you that the
information disclosed here shall not be used for any other purposes except for the ones
mentioned above.

Respectfully,

Esguerra, Jenny M.
Esperanzate, Eagle Rose B.
Espiga, Simoune Camille T.
Esquejo, Patricia E.
Estoche, Mariane L.

Part I. Personal Information/ Conforme

Name: ______________________ Section: ____________

Gender:____ Age: _____

My signature would mean that I have understood the aims of this survey and I allow the
researchers to use my responses as part of the investigation. Likewise, I consent to the use of
my responses solely for research purposes and shall be assured that my identity shall not be
disclosed. 26

______________________________
Signature of Respondent
Part II. This section attempts to determine your views of different aspects on the factors that
may affect the university preference of the students. For this section, check the box (√) to
indicate your answers rating from (1) Strongly disagree, (2) Disagree, (3) Agree, and (4)
Strongly agree. Observe honesty. Rest assured that your answers from this questionnaire
will be taken in full custody of the researchers and will not be released for confidentiality.
 1 2 3 4
Description/Statement Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
1. I will attend the university because of its
name and privilege.
2. I will attend the university because it offers a
high quality education.
3.  I will attend the university because it can
influence my employment opportunities once I
graduate.
4. I will attend the university because of its
success among other universities.
5. I will attend the university because of its
recognized academic integrity.
6. I will attend the university because it is near
to my house.
7. I will attend the university because the tuition
fee is affordable.
8. I will attend the university because it offers
scholarship and/or financial assistance.
9. I will attend the university because the
campus is big and beautiful.
10. I will attend the university because my
family and relatives graduated there.
11. I will attend the university because my
friends will attend there too.
12. I will attend the university because it has
good facilities.
13. I will attend the university because of the
length of school hours.
14. I will attend the university because of its
effective advertising through magazine,
newspaper and information on the Internet.
15. I will attend the university with safe campus
and environment.