Write down what you are optimising for

Before comparing anything, write down — actually write, not think — what this decision is supposed to buy you. Almost nobody does it, which is why so many people end up optimising for whichever quality is easiest to observe. That is usually the name.

Answers differ legitimately and there is no correct one. Finishing without debt. Getting into one specific industry. Being close enough to come home on a weekend. The strongest department in a narrow field. Once it is written down, most of the comparison resolves quickly, and what is left is the genuinely hard trade-off — which is where the rest of your time should go.