<p>"I'm only saying I had wished it presented the criteria, i.e., what the colleges are looking for to help me maximize aid given to my D (or future kids)."</p>
<p>Yes we would all like to know but the fact is they are not all looking for the same thing. One school might be terribly concerned about increasing the number of URN's while another might be interested in average SAT scores or scores over a cerntain break point, a third might be interested in geographic representation because they want to crack in to distant markets, some might even be interested in finding opportunities for the proverbial poor but honest lad. The point is the same enrollment management tools can be used for any of those ends. They cannot change the marketplace or the hidden hand - to increase one thing you will have to trade off somewhere else if you don't want total revenue to drop.</p>
<p>I think the real lesson to take away is that when the school says they want passionate, selfless, committed students what they don't also tell you is because we are bloodless accountants ourselves :-)</p>