Spring and Fall are the popular times for reports to be issued about higher education institutions and/or their students. A recently issued report from EAB, The New Path to Enrollment: Three Shifts Shaping College Choice, offers a useful window into the college decision process among last year’s high school graduates.
Based on 9,516 responses from students who were prospects for Entering Class 2025 (students who entered college in the Fall of 2025), the survey shows that college choice is not a simple ranking exercise. It reveals a longer, more fluid process in which students discover institutions through new tools, compare those schools across practical measures of value, and keep their options open later into senior year.
Why Do Students Choose a College?
For colleges, the most important lesson is that “why students choose” has become less about a single campus feature and more about confidence. Students want confidence that a degree will lead somewhere, that the cost will be manageable, that the campus will feel right, and that the institution can answer highly personal questions quickly. The winning college is increasingly the one that reduces uncertainty better than its competitors.
The clearest finding is that career value is central. When students were asked what characteristics best represent the value of higher education, successful job placement after graduation ranked first at 44%. Internships, co-ops, and other active-learning experiences followed at 35%, tied with availability of scholarships. Generous financial aid awards came next at 30%, moderate tuition at 29%, strong career services at 24%, and a comprehensive set of academic programs at 23%. By comparison, “well-known school” came in at 19%. This matters because it suggests that institutional prestige still has value, but it is not the dominant proof point. Students are asking: Will this college help me get a job, gain experience, and justify the investment?
That emphasis is especially important because the report frames college choice against growing uncertainty about artificial intelligence. Students are not simply wondering whether college is “worth it” in the abstract. They are wondering whether the careers they are preparing for will exist in a recognizable form. In the survey, 42% of students said AI would influence the job or career they pursue, while another 23% were unsure. Students were also divided over whether AI would change the number of jobs requiring a college degree: 32% expected fewer jobs to require one, 25% expected more, and 29% were unsure. In other words, uncertainty itself has become part of the decision-making environment.
That uncertainty is already reshaping academic choices. About 10% of students reported changing their intended major due to AI. Among those reconsidering majors, concerns about job security were a major driver, especially in fields such as technology (39%), creative work (23%), business (14%), and engineering-related (9%) roles.
For enrollment leaders, the takeaway is not that students are abandoning career-oriented majors. It is that they need clearer evidence that a college is preparing them for the labor market they expect to enter. Messages about “career readiness” must become more concrete: examples of internships, employer partnerships, AI-integrated coursework, alumni pathways, entry-level job outcomes, and transferable skills.
Affordability is the second major reason students choose one institution over another. The report shows that financial concerns are not limited to tuition. Among students who opted out of college, “I couldn’t afford college” was selected by 25%, while 12% said they needed to work and college was not an option.
EAB also notes that practical financial concerns have grown more prominent, including a rise in students citing cost of living as a primary financial concern from 51% in 2025 to 67% in 2026. For enrolled students, cost still appears throughout the value equation as scholarships, financial aid, moderate tuition, total budget, and expected debt all factor into family decision-making.
Parents and guardians remain deeply involved in this part of the choice process. The report finds that parent influence is strongest in areas of total college budget and anticipated debt, more than in the number of applications submitted or even the major a student studies. This reinforces the fact that colleges are not only recruiting students. They are recruiting family decision systems. A student may love the campus, but a parent may be focused on debt, net price, and whether the degree will lead to a stable job. Colleges that communicate affordability clearly, early, and repeatedly will be better positioned than those that make families decode price late in the process.
The third reason students choose specific colleges is fit, but fit now has a more digital and comparative character. Students still appreciate communications from the college that assist their search process. Asked how they would like the school to share information at the start of their search, 68% preferred emails, 61% preferred college websites, 52% chose mail/personal letters, 49% chose college visits, and 29% chose text messages.
The report highlights virtual tours as an important tool for evaluating campus experience. Forty percent of students took a virtual tour during their college search, and among those who did, 40% viewed the same school’s tour more than once. Virtual tours served multiple purposes: 18% used them to replace an in-person visit, 30% used them to compare schools, 39% used them to prepare for an in-person visit, and 24% used them to show a school to family members. EAB connects this activity to key enrollment-decision factors such as campus environment and location.
This is an important nuance. Students may describe their final choice emotionally: “I could see myself there.” But the path to that feeling is increasingly mediated by digital tools. A virtual tour, a campus video, a residence hall walkthrough, a student Q&A, or an interactive map may help students test whether a place feels real to them. The effect is especially important for students who cannot easily travel. First-generation students were more likely than their peers to take virtual tours, and use was higher among Black, Asian, and Hispanic students than among White students. Students from households earning less than $60,000 were also among the most likely to use these tools.
AI’s Role in the College Choice Process
AI is becoming another tool for discovery and comparison. The report finds that 67% of students use AI tools at least a few times per week. Within college search specifically, the share using AI tools rose from 14% to 26% between the 2025 and 2026 surveys. The share naming AI as a top one or two helpful resource also increased, from 3% to 5%. Those numbers may still look modest, but the pace of change is the signal. Students are learning to ask tools for customized comparisons: Which schools are good for my major? Which colleges offer strong internships? Which campus is affordable for someone like me? Which school is close to home but still has a strong program?
The equity implications are notable. EAB reports that students of color are more likely than White students to use AI in college search, find it helpful, and discover a previously unknown school through AI. That means AI may expand the set of colleges some students consider, especially when they lack access to traditional counseling or travel resources. But it also creates a new visibility challenge for institutions: a college that is not accurately represented in AI-generated answers may lose a student before direct communication ever begins.
Finally, students are choosing later and comparing more. The report shows that students now submit an average of 7.1 applications, up from 6.1 five years earlier. They receive an average of 5.2 acceptances, while deposits have held at 1.4 for four consecutive years (students with family income greater than $120,000 have a deposit ratio of 1.5). This means applications and admits are weaker signals of intent than they used to be. More students are building portfolios of options, comparing offers, and delaying commitment while they wait for clarity on price, program fit, and personal confidence.
Demographic patterns add another layer. Students of color are applying to more schools than White students, with Black and Asian students submitting the highest average number of applications. Higher-income students are more likely to submit multiple deposits, suggesting that financial flexibility can extend the decision window. For colleges, the implication is straightforward: the work of persuasion does not end at admission. In many cases, it begins again there.
How Should Institutions Respond?
The report ultimately points to a more demanding enrollment environment. Students choose colleges that make value visible, cost understandable, fit tangible, and answers immediate. They are less willing to accept broad promises and more likely to compare institutions across evidence that feels personal to them. A beautiful campus, a strong brand, or a generous scholarship may still matter, but each is part of a larger question: Can I see myself succeeding here, academically, socially, and financially, in a world that feels uncertain?
For enrollment teams, the response should be equally clear. Lead with proof of career preparation (this may be easier said than done for campuses that have not tracked the career outcomes of their alums). Explain cost in family-friendly terms. Invest in digital experiences that help students imagine campus life. Make institutional information easy for both students and AI tools to find and interpret. Stay engaged after admission, because students are still comparing. The colleges that win will not be the ones that merely say they are a good fit. They will be the ones that help students and families believe it.
