Scaling API-first – The story of a global engineering organization
College Project Period 3
1. B Y: C A R R I E A R R A L D
PERIOD 3
D U E : 1 2 / 1 4 / 11
2. EXPERIMENT OUTLINE
• The purpose of this experiment is to determine which
Purpose college(s) would be best fit for me based on my personal
needs and preferences
•I think a college that is close to my home in Kent, WA so I would be able to visit
often or live at home. I want a school with an active student body that I can
participate in sports events and enjoy my college experience. However I don’t want
Theory there to be so many students that it results in an over flow of classroom sizes
because interaction with my professors is vital to my success. City life near campus
is also important to suffice aspects such as school supplies, food, entertainment,
etc. A college with a high praised psychology and/or business program is important
because I want pursue one of the two.College tuition needs to be affordable and
scholarships/ grants and student loans need to be available.
• I think that University of Washington is the best college for
me because it is close to Kent, WA, has an active student
Thesis body where I can enjoy the college experience, has small
classroom sizes, city life surrounds the campus, has a
recognized psychology program, and scholarships/ grants
and student loans are available.
3. COLLEGE LIST
I want to go
to Central Washington University
Ok to go to
Western Washington
If I have to University
University Of Washington Eastern Washington University
Washington State University Seattle University
Pacific Lutheran University Green River Community
College
Seattle Pacific University Montana State University
4. EXPERIMENTAL EXPLANATION
Procedure
First I chose my the top ten schools that could be a possibility of going to. Then I created a
survey of 20 questions with four possible answers which regarded the different aspects of
an ideal college for me. Next I weighed the questions with the appropriate point value that
matched their importance to me. I continued to survey the ten schools researching them to
find out what scores they would have received on my survey, making an account of the
point given for each school as well as the running total of all the questions. Lastly I
reviewed my results to figure out which college is the best fit for me to attend.
Weighting
The way I weighted each was different according to the importance value to me in a college. I
assigned more desirable questions with higher point value and less desirable questions
with a lower point value. The least important questions were worth 10 points maximum
while the most important questions were worth 20 points. For example, I gave a question
about a doctor always being on call only 10 possible points because it wasn’t as important
to me as a question about having a psychology and/or business major which I gave 20
possible points. The question’s answers were also assigned a certain point value
according to their level of desirability. I gave a higher point value to a an answer that I
wanted the most from a college. For example, I prefer a smaller class size so I gave that 15
points, while having a huge classroom size would result in 0 points because that is the
least desirable answer.
5. PREDICTED SCORES
Categories:
>200 points (Ideal): Colleges in this category are the best fit for me. I know
this because I would be sure that it would fit my needs in a college after
scoring in this category.
150-200 points (Okay for choosing): Colleges in this category would be
okay to attend, but not ideal. I know this because the results might lack
a few aspects that I want in a college.
<150 points (Not ideal): Colleges in this category would not be a good fit for
me. I know this because they did not score well on many parts of my
weighted survey and showed that they were lacking in many areas that
are important to me.
6. SURVEY FINDINGS KEY
Original Survey EXAMPLE: What kind of environment is the
Question campus in?
# of each
a. Rural [7pts]
answer’s
b. Suburban [17pts]
awarded
c. Urban [20pts]
points in pink
d. Wilderness [0pts]
UW = University Of Washington WWU = Western Washington
WSU = Washington State University
University EWU = Eastern Washington
College PLU = Pacific Lutheran University University
abbreviations SPU = Seattle Pacific University SU = Seattle University
CWU = Central Washington GRCC = Green River Community
School UWUniversity SPU
WSU CWU WWU College SU
EWU GRCC PLU MSU
MSU = Montana State University
Points 5 10 15 15 15 5 5 0 15 15
Running
Total 5 10 15 15 15 5 5 0 15 15
Points: # of points scored for each individual question
Running Total: A total of all the points from all the questions answered so far
7. PREDICTED SCORES
Ideal
>200 Points
UW-WSU-PLU-SPU
Okay for choosing
150-200 Points
CWU-WWU
Not ideal
<150 Points
EWU-SU-GRCC-MSU
8. WEIGHTED SURVEY
1) What are the degrees’ offered?
a. Bachelor’s [5pts]
b. Master’s [10pts]
c. Both a and b [20pts]
d. None of the above [0pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 0 20 20
Running
Total 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 0 20 20
2) What kind of environment is the campus in?
a. Rural [7pts]
b. Suburban [17pts]
c. Urban [20pts]
d. Wilderness [0pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 20 7 20 7 17 7 20 17 17 7
Running
Total 40 27 40 27 37 27 40 17 37 27
9. WEIGHTED SURVEY
3) Is there campus security?
a. 24 hours a day [20pts]
b. Only in the day[4pts]
c. Only at night [10pts]
d. None [0pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
Running
Total 60 47 60 47 57 47 60 37 57 47
4) What is the size for first-time degree-seeking freshmen?
a. <1,000 Small [7pts]
b. 1,000-3,050 Medium [10pts]
c. 3,050-5,000 Large [5pts]
d. >5,000 Huge [3pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 3 5 5 3 10 10 10 7 7 10
Running
Total 63 52 65 50 67 57 70 44 64 57
10. WEIGHTED SURVEY
5) What percentage of total applicants is admitted?
a. >85% Most [10pts]
b. 70-85% Many [7pts]
c. 55-70% Some [5pts]
d. <55% Few [0pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 5 5 7 7 7 7 7 10 7 5
Running
Total 68 57 72 57 74 64 77 54 71 62
6) What is tuition for a Washington resident?
a. <$10,000 [20pts]
b. $10,000-$14,999 [15pts]
c. $15,000-$20,000 [10pts]
d. >$20,000 [0pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 20 15 0 20 20 20 0 20 0 10
Running
Total 88 72 72 77 94 84 77 74 71 72
11. WEIGHTED SURVEY
7) How many organizations are there to get involved in?
a. >750 [20pts]
b. 650-750 [15pts]
c. 450-650 [10pts]
d. <450 [0pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Running
Total 108 72 72 77 94 84 77 74 71
8) What is the population of the city the campus is in?
a. <50,000 Small [5pts]
b. 50,000-249,999 Average [7pts]
c. 250,000-500k Large [10pts]
d. >500k Huge [3pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 3 5 3 5 7 5 3 5 10 5
Running
Total 111 77 75 82 101 89 80 79 81 77
12. WEIGHTED SURVEY
9) What type of school is it?
a. University [15pts]
b. Community College[10pts]
c. Liberal Arts College [5pts]
d. Vocational-Technical (Vo-Tech) and Career Colleges [3pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 10 15 15
Running
Total 126 92 90 97 116 104 95 89 96 92
10) Does the school gives scholarships for cheerleading or soccer?
a. Both [15pts]
b. Neither [0pts]
c. Only Cheerleading [10pts]
d. Only Soccer [10pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 0 10
Running
Total 136 102 100 107 126 114 105 99 96 102
13. WEIGHTED SURVEY
11) What is the graduation rate?
a. >85% [15pts]
b. 70-85 [10pts]
c. 55-69 [5pts]
d. <55% [0pts]
School0 UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 10 5 5 5 5 0 10 0 10 0
Running
Total 146 107 105 112 131 114 115 99 106 102
12) What is the most frequent class size?
a. <20 Small [15pts]
b. 20-29 Average [7pts]
c. 30-40 Large [5pts]
d. >40 Huge [0pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 5 15 15 7 7 7 15 7 15 15
Running
Total 154 112 120 119 138 121 130 106 121 117
14. WEIGHTED SURVEY
13) Is psychology and/or business major offered?
a. Both [20pts]
b. Neither [0pts]
c. Just psychology [15pts]
d. Just business [10pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 10 20 20
Running
Total 171 132 140 139 158 141 150 116 141 137
14) Is a doctor always on call?
a. 100% [10pts]
b. 99%-75% [7pts]
c. 74%-50% [5pts]
d. <50% [3pts
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 10 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Running
Total 181 139 147 146 165 148 157 123 148 144
15. WEIGHTED SURVEY
15) Is there a campus-wide network and wireless internet connections available?
a. Both campus-wide network available & wireless internet connections [10pts]
b. Only a campus-wide network [5pts]
c. Only wireless internet connections [7pts]
d. Neither [0pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 7 10 10
Running
Total 191 149 157 156 175 158 167 130 158 154
16) What percent of first-year students live in college housing?
a. >85% [10pts]
b. 75-85% [7pts]
c. 50-75% [5pts]
d. <50% [0pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 5 10 10 10 10 5 10 0 10 7
Running
Total 196 159 167 166 185 163 177 130 168 161
16. WEIGHTED SURVEY
17) Are parking facilities are available on campus?
a. Yes for free [10pts]
b. Yes with a fee [7pts]
c. Yes with restrictions [5pts]
d. No [0pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Running
Total 203 166 174 173 192 170 184 137 175 168
18) What percentage of transfer students is admitted?
a. >85% Most [15pts]
b. 70-85% Many [10pts]
c. 55-70% Some [5pts]
d. <55% Few [0pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 5 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 15 10
Running
Total 208 176 184 183 197 180 194 147 190 178
17. WEIGHTED SURVEY
19) How many students attend the school?
a. <5,000 Small [7pts]
b. 5,000-9,999 Medium [10pts]
c. 10,000-15,000 Large [5pts]
d. >15,000 Huge [0pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 0 0 7 5 5 10 7 10 7 5
Running
Total 208 176 191 188 202 190 201 157 197 183
20) What is the driving commute time from Kent, WA?
a. <1 hour [20pts]
b. 1-4 hours [15pts]
c. 4-8 hours [10pts]
d. >8 hours [0pts]
School UW WSU SPU CWU WWU EWU SU GRCC PLU MSU
Points 20 10 20 15 15 10 20 20 20 0
Running Final
Total 228 186 211 203 203 200 221 177 217 183 score
18. GRAPH OF FINAL SCORES Ideal
Not Ideal
240 228 221
211 217
220 203 203 200
200 186 183
177
180
160
140
University Of Washington Washington State University
Seattle Pacific University Central Washington University
Western Washington University Eastern Washington University
Seattle University Green River Community College
Pacific Lutheran University Montana State University
20. CONCLUSION
Experiment Summary
From researching the questions for all ten colleges I have a very good idea of
where I will attend, based on the results of how they will fit my needs. The
weighing system made sure that colleges with a more desirable quality got
higher points then those that didn’t.
Process Improvement
A way I could have improved my experiment was including the sports aspect in
my hypothesis. Also, I assigned a few questions with high point values that I
felt in the end should have been lower because they were not as important
as other questions. If I would have done this my results would have had a
greater range, thus giving me a better picture of how the colleges compared.
21. CONCLUSION CONT.
In the end my hypothesis was supported because University of Washington
showed to be the best fit for me according to my results. This was not
surprising to me because most of my questions gave higher points to
schools that were near me. I was however to see that Seattle University
was a close second because I haven’t even considered going there until
I did this experiment. Instead of being dead set on going to the
University of Washington I may look into attending Seattle University as
well.
Overall I found this experiment extremely helpful to me. As I said, all my life
I have been set on going to the University of Washington because my
dad attended there and our family has always rooted for the Husky
football team so we practically bleed purple and gold. As a senior in
high school I am currently applying for colleges and after this
experiment I plan on applying to a few that I wasn’t going to before.
22. WORKS CITED PAGE
College Admissions - SAT - University & College Search Tool. (n.d.).
College Admissions - SAT - University & College Search Tool.
Retrieved December 13, 2011, from http://collegeboard.org
College Search - Find a College That is the Best Fit for You at
Petersons.com. (n.d.). College Information - Peterson's - The Real
Guide to Colleges and Universities. Retrieved December
13, 2011, from http://www.petersons.com/college-search.aspx
College Reviews by Students for Students - College Prowler. (n.d.).
College Reviews by Students for Students - College Prowler.
Retrieved December 13, 2011, from http://collegeprowler.com/
College Education | Scholarships | Admissions. (n.d.). Test Prep:
GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, SAT, ACT, and More. Retrieved December
13, 2011, from http://www.princetonreview.com/college-
education.aspx