'A nurse is sure to get a job upon graduation,' the student might rationalize. Some students take into consideration less academic considerations when maximizing the utility of their college education. The ability to live at home and to save money might be a factor, or the ability to move to a desirable area of the country. Staying with a group of high school friends or following a high school boyfriend might be a (misguided) priority of some students. Economic decision-making, after all, is not always purely rational.

There are also certain constraints on utility maximization. Some students, even if they get into their first choice university, may not be able to attend because they are granted insufficient financial aid. They must make a decision between the schools they can afford, not all the schools that accept them. Also, there are other barriers to entry -- perhaps some student's parents will not let them live far...

A student who goes to an Ivy League school sacrifices his or her college experience at State U, and also the ability to graduate debt-free. A student who opts for a cheaper state school may sacrifice some personalized education at a smaller liberal arts school. And a student who selects a major, or even two majors, sacrifices some of the knowledge he or she might glean about a particular subject area, and the professional opportunities majoring in computer science, as opposed to English, might provide. College is a series of tough choices, and these first choices about simply what college to attend illustrate this fact.
Works Cited

Utility maximization subject to an income restraint." (14 Apr 2003). Consumer behavior. Net-Textbook. Retrieved 21 Apr 2008 at http://nova.umuc.edu/~black/umax100.html