Opposite of the Stupidest reason child won't look at a college thread - what’s the silliest or most trivial reason someone you know had for picking a college?
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A friend’s daughter applied to Stanford because she liked its “Instagram value” when she visited the campus.
(in case you’re wondering - no, she didn’t get in)
My oldest son visited Auburn on a day when they were auditioning mascots. A red pick up truck drove by blaring music with a tiger dancing in the back. My son looked at me and said “well that’s just awesome.” He just graduated with an engineering degree and is gainfully employed. So I guess it all worked out for him. Interestingly, he chose Auburn over Clemson because "Clemson’s tiger looks like it is on crack."
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The hundreds of thousands of students who have chosen one college over another solely because of a higher rank on USNR.
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Tanks. Our son preferred colleges with tanks.
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The guys are hot.
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^Nothing wrong with that one.
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“Lots of pretty girls who are smart and emotionally stable” is on my sons list. 
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My older d - “my hair will look so good here”. I tried to explain to her how many hair treatments the $250k price tag would pay for, making this perhaps not the most significant consideration…
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Couldn’t agree more. This is such an overlooked “silly reason”!
Good fishing spots nearby - kid just wants to fish
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I have to admit, that I was swayed by a horse riding program…
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I do hope she was kidding, but when I called my daughter while she was touring Clemson, she said she was going there because there were girls with long blond hair wearing gymshark gear running all over campus, she she’d fit in perfectly. My oldest applied to a bunch of small schools near Boston because her boyfriend was in college in Boston (I had no idea, she was going major in business, she ended up having to choose between UMASS and Rutgers).
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Oh man, too many I’ve heard of.
-great tailgating
-cool mascot
-so much fast food on campus (a distinct disadvantage IMO)
-amazing outdoor pool
I could do this all day.
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I actually don’t think this is silly - feeling like you fit in and can easily find your people is important…
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Or, as Jimmy Buffet puts it, “I want a smart woman in a real short skirt.”
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Things we have overheard on tours or from kiddo’s friends 
- Water park- Lazy River on campus
- Proximity to bars
- Ice cream on campus
- Chic-Fil-et in student union
- Tailgate scene
- Student bookstore is awesome
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My daughter could go to GMU almost full ride but they don’t have a football team…seriously
Football team may be a big factor for my son as well.
But money will talk and if he wants to do music, there aren’t as many potential free tuition schools he could get into that have well attended football games and good music opportunities. The schools that have both are too much money or he wouldnt get in with his 3.4/3.5 gpa.
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At school I’m stunned by how many consider a school great from a visit due to their gym, dorms, or gifts they got (free t-shirt, mug, etc). When I ask about classes/profs or similar I get the basic, “Oh they’re good” type of response with no details like I get about the rock wall in the gym. The number of mailers can give kudos too - making kids “sure” they are loved by that school.
People wonder why colleges send out mailings, spend money on “extras,” and more. I can see exactly why. The school with just the basics (aka education) doesn’t attract nearly as many - parents or students.
Perhaps the oddest one (vs multiple students like above) was the gal who chose a community college in Nebraska (we’re in PA). Why go to Nebraska I asked? “I just wanted somewhere different than here.” She met a guy in Nebraska and is now happily married there - or at least was last I heard. I’ve had several want to get out of the area to experience someplace new, but only one Nebraska.
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