Kayla Cooks College Project

Heritage High School

Honors Pre-Calculus
Fall 2016
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Step 1: Identify Criteria and Measures

Criteria Measures
Average SAT Score/GPA
Academics
U.S. News & World Report Ranking
Tuition
Cost
Room & Board
Athletics
Social Life
Size
Near Home
Location
City or College Town

Step 2: Collect Data

UNC Chapel William &

Criteria Measures Wake Forest Elon
Hill Mary
Average SAT Score/GPA 1385/4.63 1430/4.19 980/3.88 1300/3.97
Academics #1
U.S. News & World # 30 #32 #27
(Regional
Report Ranking (National) (National) (National)
South)
Tuition $8,566 $41,718 $49,308 $33,104
Cost
Room & Board $11,218 $11,382 $13,404 $11,495
Athletics Division 1 Division 1 Division 1 Division 1
Social Life 18,350
Size (undergraduate) 6,301 students 4,871 students 5,903 students
students
Near Home 37 miles 168 miles 118 miles 75 miles
Location
City or College Town College Town College Town City College Town
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Step 3: Find the Range of Each Measure

Criteria Measures Scale Range Type

Average SAT Score/GPA 800-1500/3.5-5.0 Continuous
Academics U.S. News & World Report Nationally Ranked
Categorical
Ranking Regionally Ranked
Under $10,000
Tuition $10,001-$35,000 Categorical
Cost Over $35,000
Under $12,000
Room & Board Continuous
Over $12,000
Athletics Division 1 Continuous
5,000-10,000
Social Life students
Size (undergraduate) Categorical
Over 10,000
students
Under 100 miles
Near Home Categorical
100-300 miles
Location
City
City or College Town Categorical
College Town

UNC Chapel William &

Criteria Measures Wake Forest Elon
Hill Mary
Average SAT Score/GPA 1385/4.63 1430/4.19 980/3.88 1300/3.97
Academics U.S. News & World Report 1
1 1 2
Ranking
Tuition 1 3 3 2
Cost
Room & Board 1 1 2 1
Athletics Division 1 Division 1 Division 1 Division 1
Social Life
Size (undergraduate) 1 2 2 2
Near Home 1 2 2 1
Location
City or College Town 1 1 2 1
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Step 4: Rescale Each Measure to a Common Unit

UNC Chapel William &

Criteria Measures Wake Forest Elon
Hill Mary
Average SAT Score/GPA 0.836 0.900 0.257 0.714
Academics U.S. News & World Report 1
1 1 0.5
Ranking
Tuition 1 0.33 0.33 0.67
Cost
Room & Board 1 1 0.5 1
Athletics 1 1 1 1
Social Life
Size (undergraduate) 1 0.5 0.5 0.5
Near Home 1 0.5 0.5 1
Location
City or College Town 1 1 0.5 1

Step 5: Conduct an Interview to Calculate Weights

Least Most Rank Points Weight

Criteria Measures
Preferred Preferred Order (1-100) (Points/Sum)
Average SAT
980/3.88 1430/4.63 2 90 0.176
Score/GPA
Academics
U.S. News & World Regionally Nationally
7 35 0.069
Report Ranking Ranked Ranked
Tuition $49,308 $8,566 1 100 0.196
Cost
Room & Board $13,404 $11,218 3 85 0.167
Athletics Division 1 Division 1 5 60 0.118
Social Life Size 4,871 18,350
4 75 0.147
(undergraduate) students students
Near Home 168 miles 37 miles 6 45 0.088
Location City or College
City College Town 8 20 0.039
Town
Sum: 510 1.000
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Step 6: Calculate Total Scores

Weight UNC William & Wake

Criteria Measures Elon
(Points/Sum) Chapel Hill Mary Forest
Average SAT
0.176 0.147 0.158 0.045 0.126
Score/GPA
Academics U.S. News &
World Report 0.069 0.069 0.069 0.069 0.035
Ranking
Tuition 0.196 0.196 0.065 0.065 0.131
Cost
Room & Board 0.167 0.167 0.167 0.084 0.167
Athletics 0.118 0.118 0.118 0.118 0.118
Social Life Size
0.147 0.147 0.074 0.074 0.074
(undergraduate)
Near Home 0.088 0.088 0.044 0.044 0.088
Location City or College
0.039 0.039 0.039 0.100 0.039
Town
Sum: 1.000 0.971 0.734 0.599 0.778

Step 7: Interpret Results

Based on my results, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill would be the best college

choice, as it is the college with the highest overall sum. Elon University and The College of William and

Mary are the second and third largest sums, respectively, but the University of North Carolina seems to be

the best option; UNC Chapel Hill scores the highest in each of the categories that I ranked with the

highest priority. This data shows that UNC Chapel Hill fits my criteria well, but the College of William

and Mary and Elon University are two other good options. It also shows that Wake Forest University may

not be the best choice for me because, based on the data, it doesnt fit well with my criteria. This data

helps give me a tangible comparison of how these colleges fit my criteria. I can use the information from

this data to help me make a smart decision in choosing which colleges to seriously consider.