(1) Go to the cheapest school. If you've got an edge that will decrease your cost of living you should jump on it. It will pay dividends down the road. Personally, I thought DMU was the cheapest, but perhaps you are an urban-liver who has the big city down to a T.
(2) Go somewhere you can stand to live. I've said this before in the applications threads (where I suggest people shouldn't apply to schools in cities they would never want to live in), but some people only want to live in certain parts of the country. If you hate big cities then don't apply to NY or Temple.
(3) This is a corollary of the above, but attend somewhere that fits your lifestyle. Des Moines resembled the life I was use to. I grew up in the suburbs and I own a car and shop at grocery stores. It wasn't a hard transition moving here.
If you are noting a trend here its my suggestion that there are things outside of school that can be more important than the school itself.
(4) Attend a school where you can deal with the culture. I'll lump into that all the minutia that we put weight on early in the process that probably doesn't matter down the road. If you think the administrators of your school are full of hot air before school begins I would wager you'll believe that even more so down the road. It was important to me that DMU not only had great board scores, but that they were transparent about them. I feel that transparency shows up in everything else I've seen.
(5) Attend a school with the greatest level of freedom. I mean that both academically and
MOST importantly in your 4th year.
Ask during your interview what level of schedule freedom you will have 4th year. Some of the schools allow incredible freedom. Unless things, change I will be out of Iowa doing auditions at places I would actually want to do a residency for the entirely of my 4th year. I don't put much weight to the "amazing east cost clinical experience" because I'm certain I'll see everything I need to see in my sick southern home.
(6) Resources and other little things. There are a host of little things your school can do for you that you will have to talk to someone who goes there to find out about. I like that I don't have to attend class. All lectures are recorded and the majority of classes provided powerpoints and additional notes/outlines. I'm not saying DMU is the only place who does this, but I wouldn't want to attend somewhere that doesn't have this option. I like that we have an on-campus gym.
