| In light of the benefits associated with the internationalization of higher education, multiple universities, states, and countries have made it a strategic imperative to attract international students "in pursuit of development, growth, and sustainability" (Ross et al., 2013, p. 219). Despite the growing numbers of internationally mobile tertiary students, and of international students coming to the U.S. to pursue their higher education, researchers concur that we still know very little about the college choice process of international students. The purpose of the study was to identify the factors affecting international undergraduate students process of college selection at the information gathering stage, as well as the factors that influence their ultimate decision to enroll at a particular higher education institution.;The main findings of this study align with the existing research on the college choice process. They suggests that the selection of a higher education institution is similar to purchasing a high-involvement, high-investment, and high-risk service and represents a complex, multi-stage process that with various factors influencing students decisions at its every step. International prospective students face an even greater challenge as they are deciding on the destination country of their school as well. Researchers have identified a relatively consistent set of institutional characteristics that affects students college choice: institutional rankings and reputation, availability of desired course, program reputation, costs of attendance, facilities, and location, to name a few (Hemsley-Brown & Oplatka, 2015; Ortiz, 2015; Han, 2014; Obermeit, 2012; Rudd et al., 2012; Szekeres, 2010). This study confirmed that, depending on individual students characteristics, such as country of origin, source of funding and program of study, various groups of prospective international undergraduate students experience different influences and are affected by different factors as they inquire about, research, and evaluate their college options. However, cost of study, program availability, and country of origin emerged as the underlining factors in international student college selection. The results of this study point out to the feasibility of student segmentation for effective marketing of higher education institutions based on various qualities relevant to different student populations (Han, 2014; Hobsons, 2014; Choudaha et al., 2012). In addition, the present study highlights the importance of broader internationalization efforts of colleges and universities, namely exchange programs and partnerships, in increasing institutional reputation and visibility, which, in turn, are seen as the main sources for attracting more international students to their campuses. |
