A Study on Selection Processes in Choosing a University: Based on the Case of MARCH Universities

Abstract

This study focuses on MARCH Universities (Meiji University, Aoyama Gakuin University, Rikkyo University, Chuo University, and Hosei University), which have the same level of difficulty in admission, and elucidates the process by which students choose a university.

This study uses data from an interview survey conducted with students at Meiji University and analyzes the process by which students decide which university to enter by categorizing the process into three stages: (1) choosing the universities to apply to, (2) comparing the ranking of aspirations, and (3) deciding the university to enter.

The results of the data analysis can be summarized as follows. In stage (1), choosing the universities to apply to, the students narrowed down their choices by focusing on the “difficulty in admission,” the “academic field,” and the “impression and school culture.” In stage (2), comparing the ranking of aspirations, in addition to the influence of the “difficulty in admission” and “impression and school culture,” the influence of “educational content,” “location,” and “school facilities” became relatively stronger. In stage (3), deciding the university to enter, while “impression and school culture” had a strong influence, factors such as “student life” and “employment” influenced students’ choice.

These findings indicate that the factors that influence students’ selection differ in each process, and as the process progresses, factors with practical value gain more significance.