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Nathaniel J. Linder

Mrs. Goodrich

Apollo English 3

7 May 2019

College Research Essay

Part 1: U.S. College Statistics.

In the U.S, the average four year in-state college has a price of $20,770 dollars a year

and the average private non-profit four year college costs $46,950 dollars a year (Bridgestock,

2018). The typical U.S. college accepts 65.5% of its applicants (O'Shaughnessy, 2011) although

that number has been lowering in recent years. The average national college graduation is 59%,

with only two percent returning after their first year in college and still failing to graduate. Finally,

86% of young adults (25-34 years old) with at least a bachelor's college degree are employed

and the average salary of someone’s first job with a bachelor's degree is $50,390 annually.

Part 2: What is Important to me?

I want the college I attend to be affordable and to give me an education that will give me

a good chance at getting a well paying career. Because of this, the most important statistics to

me are price a year and the average starting salary. I care less about on campus conditions and

sports/extracurricular activities and would be willing to sacrifice these things for a cheaper

college option or a better job/salary upon graduation. Admission rates are not as important to
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me because I can apply to multiple colleges, but I would like to send an admission to a few

colleges with high admission rates to be certain that I could find a college.

College 1: University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private Ivy league research option that is located in

Philadelphia. The main con to this school is that it has an incredibly low acceptance rate of only

9%. It is incredibly unlikely to be accepted into this school, but someone who is accepted would

be placed into the #32nd best mathematics program in the U.S (U.S. News 2019), although at a

somewhat expensive price due to the average annual cost of $69,340 a year (College Simply

2019). Unfortunately, because this college is located in Philadelphia which is a just under two

hour commute from my current home, I would likely either have to live on campus or in an

apartment nearby which makes this college more expensive. Overall, this college would likely

be worth applying to due to the quality of its programs, but it is unlikely I would be able to enter

it, and even if I was the price may be to steep.

College 2: York College

York College is the most local option, and is only a seventeen minute commute from my

house. They are a private, four year college with a fairly high acceptance rate of 61%. They are

known for their nursing and business programs, and because I am considering a degree in

accounting their programs are almost definitely worth looking into. They have a strong job

placement rate in recent graduates at 91% (York College 2019), and a fairly low annual price of

$33,460 a year (College Simply 2019). The main cons to this college are that it doesn’t have a

very strong mathematics program and that it only has a 61% graduation rate. Nonetheless, I feel

this is a college I could easily get into and it would be an inexpensive pathway to a degree.
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College 3: University of Maryland

The University of Maryland is a public research facility located in Baltimore, Maryland. It

has an incredibly strong mathematics program which is ranked #22 in the country (U.S. News

2019). The commute time to the University from York is around an hour and thirty minutes,

which means I probably would have to pay for rent. This university has an acceptance rate of

48%, which is fairly high considering the prestige of the mathematics program. They also have a

high job/graduate school placement rate at 92%. The main drawback to this school is the price,

which is $47,927 annually for out of state students (College Simply 2019). This college is

probably one of my top choices, and I would be willing to take the extra cost due to the quality of

their mathematics programs.

College 4: University of Virginia

The University of Virginia is a public university in Charlottesville Virginia. It has a very

strong mathematics program, offering a bachelors program, a PHD, and a five-year degree

options (Great Value Colleges 2019). It has a low acceptance rate at just 30%, and a high price

for out of state students totaling about $62,000 a year. This college offers students the ability to

take research grants before graduating, but in my opinion it doesn’t fully make up for the cost. I

would consider this college if I made it past acceptance, but I would prefer the University of

Maryland or Pennsylvania.

College 5: San Diego State University

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San Diego State University is a public research college in San Diego, California. It has a

very large student body, and a fairly low acceptance rate of 35%. This university offers a wide

variety of mathematics degrees on a graduate and undergraduate level, and programs which

encourage specialization (Great Value Colleges 2019). Along with its mathematics programs,

San Diego State University has a fairly low cost at $37,754 a year for out of state students.

Even though this college is far away, it has good programs and costs and would likely be a

worthwhile choice.

Conclusions:

The two largest restrictions placed on my college search are price and acceptance rates.

I do not want to take too much money in student loans, so it is important that I get the best

degree I can at the cheapest college. According to my research, San Diego State University, the

University of Maryland, and York College are likely my best options. They all offer good

mathematics programs for reasonable prices. Other options, such as the University of

Pennsylvania or Maryland offer very high-quality education, but at higher prices and with lower

acceptance rates. Acceptance rates, while they do have a significant impact on my chances of

getting into a college, don’t affect my application choices because I can send as many

applications as I want (excluding colleges with application fees).

Overall, any college on my list is an option, but I should probably speak with my

guidance counselor more to fully understand the pros and cons to each one. I would like to be

able to further discuss things such as scholarship opportunities, the rigor of courses, and

specialization opportunities that I was not able to fully gather just from looking at a college’s

website. Nonetheless, I am glad to have several ideas that I could bring up as good choices for

future conversations later in my school career..

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Works Cited

“50 Great Value Colleges for Mathematics.” Great Value Colleges,

www.greatvaluecolleges.net/rankings/mathematics/.
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“Find Out The 2 Key Statistics On Comparing Colleges - College Raptor.” College Raptor

Blog, www.collegeraptor.com/find-colleges/articles/college-comparisons/2-key-statistics-

for-comparing-colleges-graduation-rate-and-retention-rate-explained/.

“How Much Does It Cost to Study in the US?” Top Universities, 1 June 2018,

www.topuniversities.com/student-info/student-finance/how-much-does-it-cost-study-us.

O'Shaughnessy, Lynn. “Latest Trends in College Admissions: 15 Things You Should Know.”

CBS News, CBS Interactive, 21 Oct. 2011, www.cbsnews.com/news/latest-trends-in-

college-admissions-15-things-you-should-know/.

“The Best Mathematics Programs in America, Ranked.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S.

News & World Report, www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-

schools/mathematics-rankings.
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