American International Journal of Social Science

ISSN 2325-4149(Print), ISSN 2325-4165(Online) DIO: 10.30845/aijss

Using Conjoint Analysis to Estimate High School Students’ Preferences for Selecting a College
Saad Shahid

Abstract
This paper addresses three questions: (1) what attributes do students prefer while selecting a college? (2) How do preferences for colleges develop in high school students? What are the critical success factors for educational institutions? This research aims to identify the attributes and their respective levels which have the potential to influence consumer preference and choice in selecting a college. Perspectives of coordinators of three high schools gathered during in-depth interviews and secondary data helped us find out the factors which impact students’ preferences for colleges. The study was conducted across 3 high schools with 95 students. They expressed their preferences on a five- point likert scale for each set of different attributes related to an educational institution. Full- profile conjoint analysis generated complete profiles of educational institutions for all the attributes and their levels. The findings from conjoint analysis identified image, eResources, HEC Ranking, Dormitory, Playing Fields, Franchises and availability of a Personal Tutor to be the most important attributes.

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