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Huh. I'd have said that if they didn't make the "cut" or like the "geographic" location, then that wasn't there first choice school now was it? How does that work? Harvard is my "first choice" but I decided I didn't want to leave Alabama? I always wanted to go to UCLA but they didn't give me a spot on the team?</p>
<p>They should have asked different questions to rule things like that out. I would wager that the 1/3 number who couldn't afford "first choice college" (defined as "if the money were available I'd pick blank") would go through the roof. Plus there is always the multitudes of kids who never apply to their first choice schools because they make the assumption that there is no way they can pay what will be expected of them.</p>
<p>If they really want to know why kids turn down (or never apply) to their first choice schools they need to change their methodology. IMO, it will almost always be "money".</p>