I didn't post bad gouge. You're not listening. I don't know if you are hired yet, a hopeful applicant or some kind of consultant but either way you have a pretty bad attitude and a complete inability to listen.
All things being equal, a shorter time to degree is better. You understand that, right?
All things being equal, a higher GPA is better. Got it?
All things being equal, a better/harder school is better. OK?
All things being equal, being a self starter and working through school is better than being a trust fund party kid. That make sense? Some of the above are at odds with most applicants. IOW, if you buff one it may degrade the other, etc.
Now here's where your Jenga is stacked too high I think: They know what they want and they know what to look for. You don't seem able to comprehend this. Yes there are points. But points are assigned during scoring. MANUAL SCORING. I keep capitalizing that because you're not getting it. They respect working/serving your way through school and if it takes a little longer but you have a good verifiable reason its more of a positive than a negative, including in the MANUAL SCORING portion of your app. -3 points (point value irrelevant) for the extra year, +4 points because you were serving in the National Guard at the same time. Get it?
So keep advising your clients or whatever to get degrees in basketweaving from a community college as long as finishing sooner is their only priority because they should go after THOSE points.
I'm trying to help you understand the process from a wholistic perspective and you are the one trying to invent bad gouge to peddle to whoever you're working with and I'm not sure why you're doing that.