Ours was money. If we couldn’t afford it or couldn’t afford it without a lot of loan debt, our kids didn’t apply.
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My kid recognized it is a big world and was willing to apply to lots of different types of schools on 3 continents. No arbitrary lines for her; she was ready to explore everything.
Not enough Jews. At least 10 percent of the student body was a hard and fast requirement. Both my kids grew up in a place where the fact that 2 percent of the country is Jewish was an abstraction. About 60 percent of their middle school school was Jewish. High school had a very large percentage also. They didn’t want ….as a friend once said who went to a very non Jewish college experienced…to be known as “that Jewish girl”.
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Bubble tea. Any campus that didn’t have a bubble tea place nearby was eliminated.
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Diversity is important to my non white daughter. Her current school district is 90% white. The percentage of students of color is up for debate. Such as is 70% white okay with open diversity breakdown or will she feel more comfortable at a school that is 10 or 20% Hispanic?
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D20 has one within a very short walking distance of her apartment 
sushi and bubble tea spots were near the line in the sand for her
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Didn’t we have a thread like this once? It was pretty amusing to read. I remember reasons such as the school colors were ugly, and students didn’t like the name of the school’s sports teams.
It depends on what she’s looking for. Just a feeling that she’s not one of the few students who are not white? For my kids is was not being completely defined by their religion and also frankly for one the dating pool. My oldest would only date other Jews.
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Yes, it’s linked in post 13 
DD’19 was one who considered colors and mascot! She had quite the want list and it included Chick-fil-A being nearby. Fortunately she met all of her wants (except “no one from HS” which was originally her hard line in the sand but later she decided was okay).
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D23 and S24 both had/have very firm opinions of school colors. We’ve discovered S24 also has strong opinions on school book store swag. And what a school smells like; both inside the buildings and the general outside as well.
My personal theory as to those kinds of lines in the sand is twofold. 1. I do think some people are more drawn to/affected by aesthetics and it is an important piece of the puzzle to them and 2. I think sometimes those ‘petty dealbreakers’ are more an indication that there is something else that doesn’t appeal about the school but the student may not be able to articulate that issue as clearly.
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When D1 visited Williams many years ago, I asked her how she liked it. She said, “I didn’t see any bubble tea place.” The place may have changed since then, but it was something she noted.
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There actually is bubble tea at the Thai restaurant right in town!
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One of mine was convenient Starbucks.
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My daughter insists she will never date a white blonde hair boy (like her 2 brothers). 
She says blonde hair boys are ugly. So brunettes only and a bit of melanin is her preferred. Teen girls!
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Well, I have 2 white blonde hair, blue eyed boys and they are both actually pretty handsome! 
But, your daughter’s dating issues seem quite different than @maya54 's daughter.
As a Latina she has her preferences. I tell her she might marry an albino Nordic man!
I was actually standing in line at a McDonald’s long ago with my very blonde baby when the woman behind me asked me if he was an albino. Her friend was quite embarrassed! Albinism is really no joke.
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My daughters do not care about hair color. Only about religion. Many Jews believe that intermarriage is going to be the end of us.
I think having a preference that some critical mass of people at a college are of your religious background is absolutely acceptable! It certainly was on the list for my children. On the chart we made for the final three colleges left in contention a few weeks ago, not only was the percentage of people of our religious tradition one of the columns for each school, so was ease of access to our religious services.
Wanting to marry within the same religious tradition (whatever it is) is very normal among my peer group- be they Jewish, Catholic, Byzantine, Mormon, etc. Even sub-set considerations (e.g. Reform vs Conservative vs. Orthodox or Latin Mass Catholics vs. English Mass vs. Maronite Rite Catholics)
Edit: It doesn’t always turn out that way, but it is a goal for many young people I know.
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Sharing a common faith in a marriage is certainly more important than sharing a love of something like broccoli. Faith means a lot to some of us. No regrets.
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