Assessment of Critical and

Creative Thinking Skills

Erin Gannon
MNGT 361-001
October 13, 2015

Elizabeth A. is a senior at a Baltimore County high school, currently weighing her

options in order to decide which college she should choose to further her academic career. On
top of being a successful high school student, academically, Elizabeth enjoys participating in
clubs and sports at her high school. Elizabeth writes well and can communicate efficiently. As a
result, she has placed high in a few county and state debate competitions as a member of her high
schools Debate Team. Additionally, Elizabeth has participated in the schools female soccer
team, 2 years on JV and 2 on Varsity. Though not a starter on the team, she still enjoys the game
and its atmosphere.
Though growing up in a diverse area, Elizabeth does not really enjoy the country side.
She is more of a city-girl. She likes to be close to everything, not in the middle of nowhere. She
also does not enjoy small schools. Though Elizabeth has lived in Baltimore County her entire
life, she has moved a few times and attended schools of different sizes. She did not enjoy the
smaller schools where everyone knew each others business.
Elizabeth believes that she could capitalize on her debate team success as a good
communicator. She enjoys watching Ted Talks on Youtube and believes that she would do well in
advertising or public speaking. Over the course of the next 10 years, Elizabeth hopes to obtain a
Bachelors degree, acquire a full-time job in a field she is interested in, and be financially stable.
With this in mind, and the career path she thinks would be a good fit for her, attending
college right after high school would be the best path for Elizabeth. Careers in mass
communication field typically require a college degree, so there is no work experience Elizabeth
could choose that could replace that requirement.
After her application process, Elizabeth was accepted into St. Marys College of
Maryland, University of Maryland College Park, York College, and University of Delaware.

Based on Elizabeths interests, she should pursue a degree either in Mass Communication or
English, depending on what her school of choice offers. Both of these majors would tone
Elizabeths verbal and written communication skills, and present her with the qualifications to be
successful in her intended career path. In addition to having her major, Elizabeth is also looking
at other criteria in her decision on which college to attend. Though her parents will support her,
after she has graduated, her student loans will be her responsibility. As a result, tuition cost
(including on-campus room and board) is a major criteria for Elizabeth. Additionally, she would
like to continue to participate in a debate team in college, though it is not required. Though she
does not intend to compete on a colligate level for soccer, or join a college club team, Elizabeth
would like to enjoy rooting her schools soccer teams on. Though Elizabeth prefers to live near a
city and attend larger schools, the extracurricular activities the schools provide would aid more to
her level of enjoyment at college than location and size.
Based on these determined decision criteria, the following information was found
regarding the four schools Elizabeth was accepted in to:

St. Marys College of Maryland (smcm.edu)

- Major: English
- Cost: $25, 754
- Debate Team: No
- Soccer: Mens and womens teams, D III
University of Maryland College Park (umd.edu)
- Major: Communication, English
- Cost: $24,587
- Debate Team: Yes
- Soccer: Mens and Womens, D I
York College (ycp.edu)
- Major: Mass Communication, English
- Cost: $28,400
- Debate Team: No
- Soccer: Mens and womens, D III
University of Delaware (udel.edu)
- Major: Communication, English
- Cost: $43,566

Debate Team: Yes

Soccer: Mens and womens, D I

To better assess the colleges and their fit with Elizabeth, weights need to be developed for each
criteria. So that Elizabeth does not waste any time at a college that will not help her in her career
pursuit, having her major choice is the most important and holds a weight of 5. If an alternative
has Mass Communications/Communications, it receives a score of 10, has English, a score of 7,
and neither, a score of 0. Total cost is the next most important factor. If Elizabeth is too far over
her head in debt when she graduates, she is going to have a hard time getting ahead in her life.
Cost receives a weight of 4. If the cost is greater than $35,000, the score is 1, $25,000-34,999 is a
score of 3, $15,000-24,999 is a score of 7, and less than $15,000 is a score of 10. Since
involvement in related clubs is important, the inclusion of a debate team receives a weight of 2.
If the college has one, the score is 10, if it does not, a score of 0. Lastly, for her social enjoyment,
the soccer team criteria has a weight of 2. In terms of scoring, colleges receive 2 points for a
mens team and 2 points for a womens team. Additionally, D III schools receive 2 points, D II 4
points, and D I 6 points. The criteria spreadsheet with the results is attached.
Based off of the results from the weighted criteria spreadsheet, Elizabeth should attend
University of Maryland College Park. Maryland received the highest overall score, as well as
scored high in each separate criteria. This school has everything Elizabeth is looking for.
Additionally, Elizabeth may be eligible for certain in-state scholarships, which could help reduce
her tuition costs. Her second choice, according to the spreadsheet, should be Delaware. One
problem with this spreadsheet is that though Delaware scored high in 3 of the 4 criteria, it has the
highest overall cost, totally over $40,000. This is overshadowed some in this particular matrix.
Though Delaware may be second in overall score, she would need to greatly consider looking
into scholarships if she believes that Maryland would not be a good fit for her. Since having a

debate team was not absolutely necessary, nor the division level the school competed at in sports,
Elizabeth may find that the tradeoff of an established debate team and a D I school would mean
for a greater focus on her studies. She also could be a founder for a debate team for either York
or St. Marys, which would look great on her professional resume. In the end, Maryland is the
best choice for Elizabeth. Maryland has the major she is looking for, the lowest overall cost, an
established debate team, and has competitive soccer teams for her leisure entertainment.

References
St. Mary's College of Maryland." St Marys College of Maryland, 2014. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.smcm.edu/>.
University

of

Delaware.

University

of

Delaware,

2015.

Web.

Oct.

2015.

<http://www.udel.edu/>.
University of Maryland College Park. University of Maryland College Park, 2015. Web. 7 Oct.
2015. <http://www.umd.edu/>.
York College of Pennsylvania. York College of Pennsylvania, 2015. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.ycp.edu/>.