HOW DO HIGH-SCHOOL-STUDENTS STRUCTURE AN IMPORTANT LIFE DECISION - A SHORT-TERM LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF THE COLLEGE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

This study details the processes students use and the information they consider as they confront what is likely to be their first major life decision. Over the course of a year, 322 college-bound high school st udents participated in up to three survey sessions in which they descr ibed their thinking about college decisions. At each session, students rated the frequency with which they had consulted various sources of information or engaged in different decision-making activities. They a lso listed and rated the importance of the criteria they were using, a nd listed the schools they were actively considering. Responses were a nalyzed as a function of time of survey, level of parental education, academic ability, and gender. Throughout the year, students considered roughly the same number and type of criteria. There were expected shi fts in the kinds of information sought and activities undertaken. High er-ability students listed significantly more criteria and slightly (b ut nonsignificantly) more schools than did students of other ability l evels, especially early in the process. A variety of gender difference s emerged in the information sought and the criteria used to make this decision.