Executive Summary

In examining the data present in this report, some strong conclusions are visible. First, there is a significant drop-off in the percentage of higher education purchases for sons in their senior year while spending on daughters increases. We also find, unsurprisingly, that these parents are also experienced shoppers; 87% say that they done additional higher educational purchase(s) in the prior 12 months, and while spending is primarily on sons and daughters, a small minority (4%) note that they have also spent money on their spouse. Additionally, when looking back on their purchase, the motivation for attending each year is different - with external pressure on the student substantially higher in their sophomore and senior years, while self-motivation is highest during their junior year.

When it comes to purchasers’ expectations of satisfaction, a large majority expects to be at least somewhat satisfied with their purchase--but a grumpy minority of 14% believes they will be dissatisfied. Shoppers who transfer tend to have slightly higher expectations of satisfaction.   Thus, institutions who seek out transfer students may, over a longer period of time, see a higher amount of repeat business and also see its reputation increase throughout the educational marketplace. Buyer loyalty is an issue with a large minority, as almost half of shoppers continually consider changing their supplier of education - including the shoppers who are very satisfied with their choice. When making the choice of provider, the very satisfied shopper appears to be better educated on the marketplace than the rest of shoppers. The very satisfied shopper also has a larger number of overall choices and put a larger number of educational institutions on their short list.

Conclusion – Executive Overview

The parents purchasing sophomore, junior or senior years for their children have strong segment identifiers as they progress through the college process. Traits like purchase motivations, financial aid considerations and transfer potential are all relevant for the various parents that make up this purchase populace. While it is understandable that buyers of freshman year act in ways that invoke typical behaviors of first-time buyers, it is surprising that there are such strong differences between buyers of sophomore, junior and senior years. Within this report, those differences can be identified, and most importantly, acted upon, to allow the institutions possessing this information to move forward as leaders in the quest to procure the right purchasers of education in the future.

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The 2010 Survey on Higher Education:

Purchase Behaviors of Parents Buying Sophomore, Junior or Senior Years of College for their Children

Published by Atenga, Inc.

July 2010, 37 pages

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