The paper examines and tries to establish the ranking of the criteria that determine the selection of a higher educational institute' department by the prospect students in Greece. The methodology applied in order to satisfy the research aim is the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The case study concerns two groups of students. One group consists of students of the central Greek technological educational institute situated in Athens and another from peripheral tertiary institution situated in the region of Epirus. The results confirm that the ranking of students' selection criteria is different in two investigating groups. Most students from the central educational institutions seem to be attracted by 'financial factors' with 'family income' being the decisive sub-criterion, while the selection of a peripheral department is more affected by 'personal factors' among which 'life quality' and 'leisure time options' are the most important.