Two studies were conducted by a New England university during the 1986-87 school year to gain a better understanding of the factors influencing individuals' decisions to attend graduate/professional school. One purpose of the two projects was to develop school-specific databases to: provide graduate school administrators with information regarding their applicant pools; highlighting influential factors in the matriculation decision process; identifying applicants' sources of information regarding the schools; and identifying major competitors. For the Graduate School of International Affairs, accepted applicants (166 matriculants and 187 non-matriculants) were surveyed by mail, with response rates of 63% and 45% respectively. For the School of Dental Medicine, 592 prospective applicants were contacted by telephone, of whom 87% completed a telephone interview. Results of both projects indicated that issues of quality were of primary concern, and admissions activities with a personal touch (contact with faculty or students, tour of facilities, attending classes) appeared to be important influences. Contains 2 references. (Author/KM)