Data Management University Project
Purpose: Compare five universities based on criteria.
Introduction
University of Toronto
Distance from Home: 49.2km
Tuition Fees: $5750
Total Undergrads: 59,600 Students
Graduation Ratio: 92%
Queens University
Distance from Home: 278.9km
Tuition Fees: $5675
Total Undergrads: 17,000 Students
Graduation Ratio: 92%
Western University
Distance from Home: 222.4km
Tuition Fees: $5550
Total Undergrads: 23,000 Students
Graduation Ratio: 74%
McGill University
Distance from Home: 558.9km
Tuition Fees: $3900
Total Undergrads: 22,160 Students
Graduation Ratio: 71%
York University
Distance from Home: 49.2km
Tuition Fees: $5600
Total Undergrads: 41,100 Students
Graduation Ratio: 62%
Criteria: Entrance Average
Weighting: 30%
Formula: s=10-|(80-x)|
Let (s) represent the score.
Let (x) represent the university data.
Why Entrance Average:
The entrance average is an important piece of criteria for my university selection therefore it has the highest weighting, 30%. This piece of information will allow me to know what marks will be required to gain acceptance to my Universities of choice and will me a standard to strive for in my final year of school. Another benefit to knowing the entrance average is that it will help me judge the type of people who I will be attending my classes with and the competitions I will face.
The Formula:
The (10 -) gives us the highest possible score to be achieved that being 10. The (80) is my constant which represents an 80% final grade. The (80-x) ends up subtracting the constant from the university data input. Finally to ensure that 80-x measures a distance, I take the absolute value of the (80-x) to ensure the result is positive.
Example: University of Toronto
s=10-|(80-x)|
s=10-|(80-81)|
s=10-|-1|
s=10-1
s=9
Criteria: Tuition Fees
Weighting: 20%
Formula: s=10-|((x-4800)/1000)|
Let (s) represent the score.
Let (x) represent the university data.
Why Tuition Fees:
The cost of tuition fees are weighted at only 10% because my parents have been adamant about how they will pay for my university no matter what. However I want to make sure the University isn't outrageously priced so that I am not putting too much strain on my parents.
The Formula:
Just like in every other formula, the (10 -) will give me the final score out of 10 and I also take the absolute value to ensure the end result is positive so that my results don't get skewed. The x again represents the university data subtracted by my constant which is $4800. I choose to make my constant $4800 as after collecting the raw data I created a value roughly in the middle to ensure that my differences would all be in the range of 0-10. Finally to make the numbers smaller, I divided by 1000 bringing the end result closer to my wanted range.
Example: Queens University
s=10-|((x-4800)/1000)|
s=10-|((5675-4800)/1000)|
s=10-|((875)/1000)|
s=10-|0.875|
s=9.13
Criteria: Total Amount of Full Time Students
Weighting: 10%
Formula: s=10-|((x-32500)/10000)|
Let (s) represent the score.
Let (x) represent the university data.
Why Amount of Students:
As I have spent most of my school career at HTS, I have become used to small tight-knit communities which is why this criteria is weighted at 20%. By knowing the total amount of full time students, I will be able to see how close to HTS the university will be. Also the smaller the amount of students, the more I will be able to interact with my professors to create ties to use later on in life.
The Formula:
For this formula I again take the absolute value of the end result to keep my results positive. I made my constant 32500 as I know that Universities have high populations and making my constant high would be taking that into account. Just like my other formula's, I subtract my raw data from my constant to gain my difference and follow with creating a number between 0-10 by dividing by 10000.
Example: Western University
s=10-|((x-32500)/10000)|
s=10-|((23000-32500)/10000)|
s=10-|((-9500)/10000)|
s=10-|-0.95|
s=10-0.95
s=9.05
Criteria: Graduation Ratio
Weighting: 20%
Formula: s=10-((x-60)/10
Let (s) represent the score.
Let (x) represent the university data.
Why Graduation Ratio:
The graduation ratio of universities is important for me as I want to ensure that where I go is good at keeping students and also has a good record of people who complete the whole university process.
The Formula:
First off, unlike the other four formulas this one did not need to take the absolute value as my constant of 60% was lower than all the universities meaning all the numbers would already be positive. The rest of the formula is similar to the others in which I subtract my raw data from the constant and divide by a certain number, in this case 10, to create a number between 0 and 10.
Example: McGill University
s=10-((x-60)/10)
s=10-((71-60)/10)
s=10-(11/10)
s=10-1
s=9
Criteria: Distance from Home
Weighting: 20%
Formula: s=10-|(75-x)/100|
Let (s) represent the score.
Let (x) represent the university data.
Why Distance from Home:
Over my whole time at school, I have been very close to home so naturally I want to keep that trend going through university. To me staying close to home will be able to keep a reality check going as I will be close to my parent who would support me through any issues I have in university. However, I only weighted this criteria at 20% since I do know that I need to become more independent by being far away from home and thus am willing to move away if need be.
The Formula:
First off, I made the constant 75km away to stay in between being far away and close to home. By taking the absolute value of 75 - x, I keep the answer positive allowing my results out of 10 to make logical sense. Finally like the other equations I divide the result by 100 to create a number that can fit the range of 0-10.
Example: York University
s=10-|(75-x)/100|
s=10-|(75-49.2)/100|
s=10-|(25.8)/100|
s=10-|0.258|
s=9.75
The Results:
Standings:
2nd: Western University
3rd: York University
4th: Queens University
5th: McGill University
Conclusion:
Finally I must say that this project while not necessarily changing my university choices, has provided me with much more information about the ones I want to attend along with putting them all into perspective of each other.
References:
http://www2.sd38.bc.ca/~jojones@sd38.bc.ca/fov4-00092a73/?OpenItemURL=S0741EE69
http://futurestudents.yorku.ca/requirements/cmureq
Tuition Fees:
http://www.aucc.ca/canadian-universities/facts-and-stats/tuition-fees-by-university/
Total Amount of Full Time Students:
http://www.utoronto.ca/__shared/assets/UofT_2012_FactFiguresReport_D4836.pdf
http://www.queensu.ca/discover/quickfacts
Graduation Ratio:
http://www.queensu.ca/irp/accountability/regcompliance/osap/gradrate.html
http://www.yorku.ca/oira/CUDO/2011/htmlSectionK.html
http://www.uwo.ca/pvp/common_university2008/k.htm
http://www.crepuq.qc.ca/educq/Per04Dip99McGAngl.html
http://www.utoronto.ca/about-uoft/measuring-our-performance/cudo/cudo_2008/other.htm
Distance from Home: