Price, Location, and Social Media Marketing In Students’ Choice of Private Universities in Bandung

Abstract

This study examines the associations of price, location, and social media marketing with students’ decision to choose private universities with “Very Good” accreditation in Bandung City. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted using a structured four-point Likert questionnaire and purposive sampling. The analytical sample comprised 132 students from four universities: Universitas Islam Nusantara (30), Universitas Bale Bandung (31), Universitas Informatika dan Bisnis Indonesia (37), and Universitas Langlangbuana (34). The final regression model included 19 retained questionnaire items across the four constructs Price (B = 0.314, β = 0.389, p < 0.001), Location (B = 0.260, β = 0.291, p < 0.001), and Social Media Marketing (B = 0.145, β = 0.161, p = 0.049) were positively associated with the decision-to-choose construct. The regression model was significant, F(3, 128) = 34.398, p < 0.001, with R² = 0.446 and adjusted R² = 0.433. The three predictors explained 44.6% of the observed variance (R² = 0.446; adjusted R² = 0.433), with a large overall model effect size (f² = 0.806). Because the study uses cross-sectional data and purposive sampling, the findings are interpreted as associations rather than causal effects. The study contributes empirical evidence by integrating financial, accessibility, and digital-communication dimensions within a single model of university-choice evaluation in the studied institutional context.