Can most of us envision ourselves as using such kind of analytical approach to buying a car, or buying a house, or choosing a career, or choosing a school for our kids?

FORBES: Connect

And they're paying closer attention to their impact on the environment as students increasingly consider a school's environmental stewardship in choosing a college.

FORBES: America's Greenest Colleges

Winston wound up choosing Columbia over Harvard, feeling a kinship with the school's longtime head coach, Bid Goswami, as well as Goswami's assistant, former Lions star Howie Endelman.

WSJ: Jason Gay: At Columbia: Linsanity Part II

In contrast to secondary school, primary school children were found to be choosing books which had a reading age above their own.

BBC: Teenagers' book choices 'go for easier reads'

They find a a positive effect on test scores, compulsary school grades, choosing an academic high-school track, high-school grades, probability of attending college, and average education by age 24.

FORBES: Lessons on School Choice from Sweden