The Impact of University Branding on High School Students' College Choice

Abstract

This study aims to explore the role of university brand factors in influencing high school students’ decisions to choose a university in the context of a transitioning economy. Grounded in theories of service marketing, brand equity, and consumer behavior in education, the proposed research model includes seven key components: brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality, reputation and rankings, brand trust, brand attachment, and brand loyalty. The study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining focus group discussions and a quantitative survey of 527 twelfth-grade students in Da Nang and neighboring provinces. Analytical techniques include Pearson correlation analysis, simple linear regression, and multiple linear regression. The findings indicate that brand-related factors significantly influence students’ university choices, with reputation and rankings having the strongest impact. These results offer both theoretical foundations and practical implications for universities in developing effective branding strategies.