Choice #17 Decisions, Decisions

1. Worksheet

To guide you in your decision-making process, phrase the question: “What, if anything, should I (we) do about choosing a college.

Define the decision: Choosing which college to attend next fall.

Is it personal or a group-based decision? Be very detailed. What is the situation, how do you know the problem really exists? What are some facts to prove it is a problem? Who is effected? For how long?

This is my personal decision. It is my choice of which college I attend next fall. This decision exists, because I wish to continue my education and receive a Ph.D. some day. I think that both my family and myself will be effected. Myself, because I will be in a different place with different people. My family, because I will no longer be at home to help out or whatever. I will be effected for the rest of my life.

List the criteria for a good solution. This is the same as “standards a good solution must meet in order to be considered.” Items such as, “It must be solved in a specific time limit (then name, for example, a decision of what school to attend in the fall should be addressed prior to the end of the previous semester), “It must only require certain resources.” Or “Fit in a specific budget,” etc. are usually starting places for the criteria.

Campus is walking distance from a grocery store/Walmart Campus has a gym with workout equipment College has an accredited AE program Dorms Far enough from home, but not too far Campus card for laundry, vending machines, etc. Tutoring program Financial aid package RCTC credits will transfer

Wrestling cheerleading Not too big of a campus Enough computers, that I don’t need my own Dorms allow lofts, refrigerator, microwave/toaster oven City bus pass/discount Professors not TA’s teaching class Small classes Professors with office hours Intramural sports Activities in dorms

Now group the criteria into “absolute” criteria and “desired” criteria. Absolute must be met, desired are criteria you would like this solution to meet. I can help you with this process if you have questions.

Absolute Criteria—What must we consider?	Desired Criteria—What would we like to consider?
Accredited AE program Enough computers Professors, not TA’s Financial aid package Dorms Walking distance from “Walmart” Tutoring program Professors with office hours	A good workout gym Wrestling cheerleading Intramural sports Not too big of a campus City bus pass/discount Campus card for laundry, etc. Dorms allow lofts etc. Credits transfer

Brainstorm and Generate Solutions- list them here: Milwaukee School of Engineering, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Kansas State University

Evaluate the options- list the pros and cons of the possible solutions here and then rank order the solutions, picking the best.

MSOE Pros Accredited AE program Walking distance Small campus Dorms Laptop purchase program 6 hours away financial aid package small classes

UNOmaha Pros Nice workout gym Professors 6-8 hours away computers in every building shuttle bus between campuses financial aid package

K-State Pros Accredited AE program Dorms Beautiful campus Financial aid package

Cons No microwaves aloud Tuition $20,000+

Cons Not accredited yet Only one dorm 100 student class travel only by bus

Cons 10+ hours away not many computers travel only by bus

The order of rank would be MSOE, UNOmaha, and K-State. I have visited all of the campuses and talked to the counselors except for K-State. I have only walked around that campus. Therefore I still would like to shadow a student at both UNO and K-State.

Develop a plan of action to implement your solution: I will visit the campuses, shadow a student in the AE program, talk with the admission counselors, and apply to the school.

Develop a Means to Evaluate the Results: My top priority school is MSOE from the beginning. This is the only school that I have shadowed a student, so I know a lot more about the school than just getting a tour. I would like to also shadow a student at the other two schools to make a fair decision. After that, if I am accepted to two of the schools I would compare them based on my stay. How the professors taught, the size of the classes, the dorms, the classes themselves (do they apply to what I want to go into), etc.

2. When it comes to making decisions such as this I do a good job. On the other hand, when it comes down to writing a paper for my English class, or reading a story for my English class I am a procrastinator. I would like to not procrastinate as much as I do for my English class in particular.

4. I can’t make my final decision until I have received an acceptance letter. According to this model I would choose MSOE. This model was very helpful in making my decision. First, I had to define my decision, which was choosing a college. Then, I needed to say whether it was a personal decision or group decision and why it is a decision that I need to make. I believe that it is a personal decision, and that is because I am the one who wants to receive a Ph.D. Next, I listed what I expected from each college. Such as an accredited AE program, dorms, small classes, etc. Then, I divided this up into absolute criteria and desired criteria. Some of the things I listed in absolute could go into the desired criteria. My solutions from this were MSOE, UNOmaha, and K-State. Next, I listed the pros and cons of each school, and develop a plan to implement my solution. Such as, visiting the campuses, shadowing an AE student, etc. Finally, I had to develop a plan to evaluate my results. If I am accepted to two of these colleges this plan will help me chose the better one. This model was very helpful; I may use it in other big decisions that I have to make.

I think that this could help in the way we make perceptions. Wood says that perception is an active process of creating meaning by selecting, organizing, and interpreting people, objects, events, situations, and activities (pg. 80). In this case I was selecting my situation: choosing a college, organizing it: listing criteria, pros and cons of each school, and finally interpreting the model to make a decision. In my organization process I separated the schools by their prototype. A prototype is the knowledge structure that defines the clearest or most representative examples of some category (pg. 83).