Choosing Colleges
Problem Solving Methods to Help Make Your Decision
Trial and Error
When choosing a college you're going to face failure. Some colleges are going to deny you, and some colleges you won't even be able to apply to. When applying for colleges people often choose more than one so if they get denied by one they still have a chance of being accepted by a different college.
Did you know that Harvard is the oldest college in the U.S. It was founded in 1636 and is even older than calculus.
Algorithms
By using step-by-step processing you'll be able to make a smarter decision on what college you'll want to attend. You'll need to know what you would like to major in, and then you'll need to make a list of colleges that provide the best education for that major. You'll need to know the acceptance rate of the college. Like for Harvard I'll have a 5.9% chance of being accepted. However when applying for colleges, knowing whether you have the grades or the financial support is key. Then you'll need apply to the colleges you choose, and take a tour of the campus if the college that accepted you. Also ask around for financial aid to pay for your student loans and your education in general.
Heuristics
Using this tactic will allow you group things together. So you could group colleges based off of what you want to major in. You could group colleges for engineering or for the medical field. You could also narrow down what colleges you will want to attend by doing this. You could group colleges that would be a miracle to get into like Harvard, and then you can group colleges that you know you'll be able to attend like TCC.
Insight
Sometimes you'll just realize what college you'll be attending. Without using any problem skills you'll just suddenly realize that you'll. So all of a sudden I'll know that I want to attend Harvard without using heuristics or algorithms.
Confirmation Bias
I know that Harvard is a prestigious college but to support my argument that it is I'm going to research things to show that it is. Harvard having a 5.9% acceptance rate, which is the third lowest acceptance rate in the U.S goes to show that its prestigious. Also being a private Ivy League school would help support my argument.
Mental Set
When choosing Harvard I'm going to do that same things that I would do when I approach any other problem. Im going to list the pros and cons of it. A pro of Harvard is that Harvard is the second most prestigious college in U.S. Attending Harvard will also be more appealing to managers when applying for jobs. However though Harvard has a low acceptance rate, and cost a little over $60,000 a year.
Intuition
When choosing Harvard I used my immediate feelings. I felt that Harvard would be an amazing school to attend. However I also knew that Harvard is known for being the second best school in the U.S. Whatever thought that went through my head made me feel like attending Harvard.
Represenative Heuristic
If you had to choose between attedning Harvard or a community college which one woud you choose? Of course you would choose Harvard because you know its the more prestigious college. When making that choice you used what was represented to you. Choosing between Harvard and a community college is obviously a no brainer. Thus, you made a snap decision without needing to do any research.
Availabilty Heuristic
When choosing Harvard I think of all the geniuses and presidents that attended there. I think of Barack Obama in his dorm talking with his friends about how he's going to be president one day. I also remember the movie "A Beautiful Mind". Even though the main character went to Princeton, but just because of how he smart he was it makes me think of Harvard.
Overconfidence
When choosing Harvard I was confident in my choice. I overlooked all other things besides the things that I know. I felt like I know everything there is to know about Harvard, and by doing this I based my decision on what I felt. I judged Harvard only with what little I know.
Belief Preserverance
I personally believed that Harvard was the school for me. Even despite other people showing me evidence that a different school was clearly the on for me. Im basically preserving my belief even if someone tells me that a different school was better for me. I ignored what other people considered for me just so I could stick to my beliefs.
Compensations
While doing this project i realized that I'll never be able to attend Harvard. I most likely apply to a school that is more in my parents budget or a school where I'll be able to get a scholarship. Harvard without a doubt is a great school, but UNT is more likely where I'll be going.