APPLYING TO HIGHER EDUCATION: INFORMATION SOURCES AND CHOICE FACTORS Roland Lami, Marcela Mele European University of Tirana (ALBANIA) Abstract In general, family structure and educational marketing overlap to considerable extend the preferences of graduates in the selection of their academic courses at the university. The data was collected through a survey, from a sample of 192 first year students, who started their studies at the European University of Tirana (UET), Albania to one particular programmer of study: Psychology, Sociology & Anthropology, Communication and Public Relations, Communication Design, Political Science and International Relations, immediately after their pre-university system. The survey asked questions concerning the early period of who first stimulated them to apply to university (problem recognition), how and when this occurred, through to the final decision of a course selection (evaluation of alternatives). The investigation of different students’ focus groups and survey present the direct, indirect and total effects of the different variables construct their area of study. They show the weight of each variable in the formation of the construct. The construct “influence of others”, seems to be more influenced, by order of importance from the variables - the recommendation of secondary school teachers and the recommendation of parents. Preliminary results indicate that students considered several criteria for selecting an academic course, where most influential factors are parents and job prospect. This study will help universities to promote their institutions and to have a greater knowledge about the underlying motivations of students for furthering study in higher education and its choice process, helping universities to improve their knowledge on how to deal with the influences that can form student expectations and also in recruitment development strategies. Keywords: academic marketing, choice factors, European University of Tirana, first-year students, questionnaire, focus group. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of several variables to the decision- making process of first-year students at the European University of Tirana (UET), Albania, during the period 2011-2014, analyzing different dimensions of this process and explaining those factors which determine students' academic courses choice. Hypotheses: In general, it is observed that the low results provide over the last three years of study by the pre university students and information sources on the education marketing significantly increases the ability of others to influence the course’s selection at the university. Methodology/approach: A hypothetical choice shows the student’s decision making as an independent variable on three factors: personal reasons; the effect of institution image and their counseling activities; and the evaluation of the programmed of study. The consideration, whether conscious or unconscious on the part of the prospective student, of the different elements making up the factors included in this study will determine the final choice made by that student. The limitations of this study stem from the nature of the study itself. As a sociological approach, it aims to integrate the factors identified in the existing literature. Thus, future research must try to examine the existing relationships among the choice factors. In particular, it must analyze the weight of each factor on the student’s decision, and the relative importance of each element for the factor it belongs to. Therefore, determining the relative importance of each element and factor would constitute an important source of information for future work in academic marketing. 1 INTRODUCTION In the last two decades, the sector of Higher Education in Albania has suffered quite profound changes. This way, higher education faces more competitive market structures that threaten the survival of some of the existing institutions and emerging of some private universities with high quality Proceedings of INTED2014 Conference 10th-12th March 2014, Valencia, Spain ISBN: 978-84-616-8412-0 4745