Too many choices, too few applications: Decision fatigue and application abandonment in international higher education choice

This study examines whether choice complexity and information overload are associated with decision fatigue in international higher-education choice, and whether fatigue is in turn associated with non-submission of started applications, reliance on university rankings, and delegation of the decision to parents or advisers. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between October and December 2025 among India-based applicants, offer-holders, international students, and recent graduates; of 1,800 responses received, 1,755 were retained after quality screening. Regression, serial mediation, and robustness analyses tested the proposed sequence. Respondents initially considered a mean of 11.92 universities and submitted a mean of 3.17 applications, with a mean non-submission rate of 16.8%. Choice complexity and information overload, with demographic, family, and consultant-use controls, explained 28.7% of the variance in decision fatigue, with information overload being the stronger predictor. Higher fatigue was associated with greater non-submission, reliance on rankings, and delegation. Consultant use was associated with lower non-submission, although the cross-sectional design does not establish causation. The findings suggest that a final application portfolio may reflect process burden as well as preference. Schools, universities, families, and advisers may reduce avoidable attrition by structuring comparisons, clarifying constraints early, and staging application tasks.