School is back in session, and that means many Lexington students are starting their final years of high school. Although they may be preoccupied with fininishing off their time in town, two major questions loom: “should I go to college? And if so, where?”

These decisions can impact the rest of a student’s life, and making the right choice is crucial, according to two fellows at the The Clayton Christensen Institute, an education-focused nonprofit based in Lexington and San Francisco. In their new book, “Choosing College,” Michael Horn and Bob Moesta have compiled over 200 stories from those who went through the process. Their research is an ideal tool for students nearing college and their families. Ahead of the book’s release, Horn, a Lexington resident, shared his professional outlook on the college-selection process and offered helpful tips for those in the middle of it.

This interview has been condensed for publication.

Where did the idea for this book come from?

For a long time we had wanted to understand why students enrolled in college, what caused them to choose the way they did, using their language. We had the suspicion that they were attending for many different reasons and that colleges were set up as one-size-fits-all places trying to serve people with incredibly different needs. When the Gates Foundation funded the Clayton Christensen Institute to do the research, the individual student stories of people from all walks of life that emerged from the research were beyond fascinating and informative. We felt we had to write a book to help parents and students learn more and help them make better decisions.