What factor is more important when deciding what school to attend: academics (major, department, resources, etc.) or environment (student population, campus vibe, location, etc.)?
I can see how the logical answer is that the academics of a school are more important, however I wouldn’t want to attend a great school but hate my experience there.
I would say for the best fit college, you need to consider academics, social scene/environment and costs. Successful students are happy students so all will contribute to a good “fit”.
Assuming affordability both academics and environment are important.
It may make more sense to consider whether a college is acceptable or unacceptable in cost, academics, and environment.
For some students, an unacceptable ratings in any one can eliminate the college from the list. Then, among colleges which are at least acceptable in all three, the student can choose, knowing some may be better in some aspects but others may be better in other aspects.
However, some students, particularly those limited by available money / parent finances / financial aid, academic credentials that are not top-end, and/or parental limitations, may have to put up with marginal or unacceptable environment in order to get acceptable cost and academics due to limited college choices available.
All these factors are important in finding a college that’s right for you. Use a website to filter through what you’re looking for in a school.
For example:
http://www.collegeview.com/collegesearch/index.jsp
I’ll try my best to answer, but this question is a little broad since the decision is so related to the individual and because so so so many schools have both. I lean more towards academics because I believe people have more control over the environmental factors you listed
However, like senior respondents of the CC militia hinted towards, many factors must be inherently considered in order to answer this question like costs, personality type, career goals/outlook, academic standards, geographic preferences, etc.
my questions for you are:
why do you think you would hate your experience if you attended a academically great school in any environment? if you earned the grades to get admitted then you deserve to benefit being around other motivated, intelligent students.
what sort of different experiences are you envisioning across schools based on environment? most schools offer roughly the same thing, unless we’re talking cow flipping vs Hollywood red carpet shows.
what sort of environment makes you think “oh yucky, i can’t study or have fun there”? assuming American schools, every school will have air conditioning units, food, gyms, wi-fi, and bathrooms that smell like peaches and cream.
hypothetical plot twist and possible buzz kill, what if you attended a not so academically great school, loved the environment, but hated the experience of underemployment post-graduation? jeepers creepers YIKES!
did you know there is a high college drop out rate among your generation mainly due to flunking courses and financial reasons. dropping out is a huge time and financial loss, sometimes irreversible, so you should be thinking of completing school first, enjoying school second. college is a huge commitment that impacts your future, so hopefully you can handle a little online pressure from a caring CC junior cadet member (I’m still in training camp, please forgive any crudeness, it is not my intention)
Food for thought: Perceptions vary from person to person, so hopefully you’re not basing decisions entirely on what others say and more time is spent self-reflecting about what academic major and environment will make you happy. Take into consideration that self-concept changes as people transition between stages in life (adolescence to adulthood), new environments (high school to college to society) and roles (student to employee), so don’t forget to think about who you will be after school too because essentially you’re going to college to work toward who you will become and at that point whatever thoughts of what you want now won’t matter. I know, YOLO, but it takes a lot of work to succeed in college and life, and like everyone else said, don’t forget about the money, cause a college education ain’t free and somebody got to pay the bills.
Finances are the most important factor for most students unless they can be full pay with no remorse for that decision.
Beyond that, what’s most important in fit (which includes academics) depends upon the individual and what priorities matter to them. For some, it’s high caliber academics and/or research. For others, academics only need to be able to pass their personal bar and other factors (location, vibe, size) matter far more.
No option is right nor wrong. All choices can lead to success - as defined as leading to a life/job/future one desires (or failure). It’s merely personal preference.
@OTTO_thefriendlypony "assuming American schools, every school will have air conditioning units, LOL my D is at a Big10 school and most buildings don’t have air conditioning including their basketball arena which I found unbearable when packed with 14,000 people.
@macb99 all of these factors are equally important. What is good academics for one is different for another, especially depending on your major. And a school that is good for one major is not necessarily good for all majors. Also, if you want to do well at a school you need to find one that will provide life/work balance. I truly believe if you can’t find a way to engage outside of the classroom your grades will suffer. That being said what it takes to achieve that is different for everyone.
If money is an issue, run the numbers here: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletter.phtml
A student who is not interested in drinking alcohol may not find a fraternity/sorority-centered school like Dartmouth, Washington & Lee, or Depauw to be a very pleasant environment. A heavily religious school like BYU may not be a good environment for someone who is not an observant member of the school’s religion.
On the other hand, it is probably true that there are many other environmental characteristics that are greatly overrated by both students and parents posting here. These include distance from home (students commonly want to go far from home or out-of-state, while parents commonly want to keep the students close), size (can be relevant to academics, but often considered outside of academic context), perceived (not always accurately) racial/ethnic/political mix, and first impression from a visit.
For students with tight cost limits and/or unusual academic interests, putting up with a less than ideal college environment may be necessary to get the desired academics at an affordable price.
@Boilermom - you got me! hopefully there are AC units in the dorm rooms. And I agree some schools need an upgrade and studying in unbearable heat isn’t pleasant, down side is upgrade costs will likely be factored into tuition increases 
I just compare our education centers as being much more developed than many schools overseas and international students make up a lot of our most technical graduate programs. so it can be done, just with a little more effort and sweat.
@ucbalumnus - good point about schools with frats/sororities that have a dominating influence over the student community. a lot of unnecessary peer pressure can be placed onto young people who don’t conform. students can still succeed using support systems and make like-minded friends without encountering too many negative experiences in these environments. more so if one were to put a lot of thought into learning about their personal academic interests first, then go about selecting what schools to apply for based on academic department/program strengths, and include the academic resources, extracurricular programs & activities, professors, internship and research opportunities, etc., of each school. I guess this would be more of the steps taken for those looking for an academic fit and place less priority on social life, although, even the most studious find time and fun ways to socialize 
I know there are gaps in my logic, especially for those that are undecided and would have a more difficult time evaluating the academic fit of schools based on each of their academic interests.