Well... this is a good starting point, now this is not information brought from nowhere, it's just a spoiler...
Thank you!
That was in the script I quoted when I raised the question that piqued your interest, so I didn't mention it again - the pertinent points of the rest of the scene are:
- it's hard to get in: n "But I checked some forums and it's a really good college... Even though most of them were complaining about not getting accepted."
- Nika doesn't know what he's going to study: d "I have to think about classes... I don't even know what I'm gonna major in."
- Nami mentions the basketball team, trying to get him interested: n "...They have a D1 Basketball team..." n "Just saying."
- Nika doesn't know why he's going:
d "I don't even know why I'm going to college..."
scene ae1643 with dssa
m "So why did you say yes when I asked you?"
scene ae1645 with dssr
d "I had nothing else."
The reason I don't consider this 100% confirmation of not having a choice, and not explaining the steam page, is because not having a chance to look is not the same as being forced, or being granted acceptance. Nami's words makes it sound like they chose the only possible option, that they didn't even have the chance to consider options, which fits with their characterisation of being financially tight. This still doesn't explain why it's called a mystery. It's no mystery to choose to buy the version of a thing you can afford without seriously checking out all the versions you can't. Even if they looked around, window shopping isn't a mystery. The only mystery is if there was a forced choice or a scholarship, that then adds a question about why. Otherwise, it was just a lack of affordable alternatives.
I can see two mysteries that fit: Noji organises the college for them. Nami wouldn't care much, and neither would Nika, they'd trust her. Maybe it's a deal she has with her friends Z and P via the bookclub. Or, ZPR send the scholarships like Vic, and thye have an easy in. We've already discusse the second one enough (for at least a couple of weeks), and the first option has so many potential angles that I feel it's too early to speculate, without a little more information.