A Research project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree masters of business administration ( marketing option) in the school of business and economics of Meru University of Science and Technology

Higher education in Kenya has experienced an increasingly competitive environment among universities and higher education institutes. This intense competition in the higher education sector has forced many universities to become entrepreneurs and implement marketing strategies in recruiting students both locally and abroad.This study focused on anaysis of factors influencing the choice of University self-sponsored students. The objective of the study was to examine academic programs, location,cost ,promotional strategies and university resources influence the choice of university by self-sponsored students in Kenya. The research design used was a descriptive research design. The design was suitable to answer the questions concerning the choice of university by self-sponsored students in Kenya.The research focused on 4917 self-sponsored students in the universities in Meru county. Stratified random sampling was used to select a sample of 246 respondents.The research employed self-administered questionnaires to collect data.The data was processed and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 17. Descriptive statistical binary logistic regression were used in the data analysis.The results are presented in summary reports and tables.Research findings were used to answer research questions and give recommendations on factors that influence choice of university by self-sponsored students in Kenya.University resources and costs were found to be significant in influencing the choice of university of a self-sponsored students in Kenya. The study recommends universities to invest heavily on human resource,ICT infrastructure, library, sports facilities, buses, land and buildings to create an edge over others.Universities are also recommended to price their tuition fees in a manner that the customers' gets value for their money and effectively communicates any changes in fees to the public. The researcher recommends studies to focus individuals universities to generate specific recommendations for each of them or comparative studies or studies focused on each of the variables to determine their extent of influence.