Weights, and what a zero means

Every factor on the questionnaire has two parts: your answer, and a weight from 0 to 10. The answer says what you want. The weight says how much it matters to the final decision.

Picking a weight

A 10 is a dealbreaker. If the school misses on a factor you weighted 10, its fit score drops hard no matter how well it does elsewhere. Use it for one or two things, not five.

A 5 is a normal preference. Most factors belong here.

A 1 or 2 is a tiebreaker. You would notice the difference between two schools, but it would not change your list.

A 0 means the factor does not apply to you. It is removed from the score completely, and its tile turns gray on the report. A player who has no religious preference, or who does not care about campus size, should set those to 0 rather than picking a middle answer.

Weights are personal

Two players with the same answers and different weights get different lists. That is the point. A pitcher who must stay within 100 miles of home for family reasons sets distance to 10. A pitcher who would go anywhere sets it to 1. Same answer, different list.

Changing weights

You can change any weight and run the report again. The fit score for every school is recalculated. Consultants often run two or three versions with a family to show how the list moves when one factor is turned up or down.