Dana Berghahn

March 6, 2015
MNGT 361-008
Assessment of Critical and Creative Thinking Skills
 As senior year dwindles away, Elizabeth has been planning her college career for

quite some time now. She attends Towson High School in Baltimore County, Maryland

and is a very motivated student who earns As and Bs. Elizabeth is the oldest child in the

family with two younger twin brothers. Both of her parents attended Rutgers University

in New Jersey. Being the first child to leave the nest, she is very nervous but excited to

achieve the goals she has set for herself. Her younger twin brothers, Nicky and Alex, are

freshmen at Towson High School. Nicky is very involved in sports and is already being

scouted by universities for a baseball scholarship. On the other hand, Alex is not quite

sure if school is for him. He is a very independent person who would like to attend a

technical school and start his own company one day.

From being a student athlete to holding a position on student government,

Elizabeth has always been very involved in school. She has been on varsity lacrosse for

all four years of high school and plays on a winter league as well. She was captain for

both teams for three years of her career. Elizabeth led her high school team to national

championships as a junior caption and is determined to take the title again this year.

Being such a strong leader not only shows as a student athlete but academically too. She

has been on honor roll her entire high school career. Along with shining on the field,

Elizabeth is the student body president for her senior class.

This just proves how strong her leadership, communication, and political skills are

already. Elizabeth has always very involved, her favorite hobby is volunteering at the

local senior center down the street from her house.

Being involved within her community has always been a big part of Elizabeths

family morals. The family as a whole has volunteered at local homeless shelters during

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the holiday season for as long as she can remember. She helps coach the girls youth

lacrosse team in her town and loves being able to have such a good influence on the

younger players. They look up to her as a role model and in return she teaches them

everything she has learned to become the amazing athlete she is today. Giving back to the

community and being able to lend a helping hand is what Elizabeth loves. Her favorite

place to volunteer will always be the senior center though; She has made multiple

connections with such amazing people that have changed her life for the better.

From growing up in Towson her entire life, Elizabeth is very well known within

Baltimore County. She has a very wide range of friend groups, from her lacrosse

teammates, to the student government group, all the way down to her best five girlfriends

she has known since diapers. Being her senior year, she tries to spend as much time with

her graduating class and best friends before they all depart on separate journeys in life.

Elizabeth has had the next few years of her life planned out for a while now. First

she is attending college after high school and wants to pursue a career in health care with

a concentration in geriatrics. Elizabeths love for the members at the senior center she

volunteers at has made a huge impact on the path she wants to travel. Being such a strong

student academically, she believes going into the health care profession will help her

reach her full potential and be able to give back by helping save lives and care for others.

During her college career she is hoping to get the opportunity to be and intern at John

Hopkins University Hospital. This would not only give her some of the best hands on

experience but also open so many doors when applying for residences and fellowships at

local hospitals.

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 Because Elizabeth is so intrigued by geriatrics, after college graduation she wants

to start her own clinical trials with experimenting to try and find a cure for Alzheimers

disease. The family does not like many people to know but her grandmother is currently

in the early stages of Alzheimers and from being a first hand witness it is devastating. By

getting an internship as an undergrad student at Johns Hopkins University Hospital,

Elizabeth hopes to make strong connections so she could possibly work there after

graduation. Being so involved within the health care profession, she is worried about

meeting a husband and starting a family but knows not to worry because everything will

work out. Her dream goal in life is to meet an amazing brain surgeon who will work with

her on clinical trials to find the cure for Alzheimers. Clearly they would fall romantically

in love and have an amazing family then live happily ever after.

Being the first child to leave the nest and take their next step in life, Elizabeths

parents are nervous. They would love for her to stay in state for college, but she has

applied to both in and out of state schools. Her parents are very well off, being the

founders of their own family electric business which her father runs and mother helps

manage, money is not a huge factor when looking at tuitions. Her parents are very free

spirited and both majored in business while attending Rutgers University. They

encourage their children to go to college and become the best possible version of

themselves. This might make you worry about her younger sibling Alex, who does not

believe college is for him. Because her family business being apart of what he wants to

pursue in life, he and his father have come to the happy agreement that is Alex attends

technical school and gets certified to be an electrician, his father would love to teach him

about the family business and have him work with them. Hoping that one day Alex can

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take over the business and keep it in the family for generations to come. As for Nicky he

is pretty much set on playing college baseball and becoming and athletic trainer so his

parents believe he is on the right track as well. Elizabeths parents have always taught

their children to be hard working and go after their dreams because you only have one

life to live and being stuck working a job you hate will never bring you happiness in life.

Elizabeth has applied to four colleges, two of which are in state and the other two

out of state. The in state schools are, Morgan State and The University of Maryland. The

two out of state schools were, Penn State and The College of New Jersey. Excitingly

Elizabeth was accepted into all four schools and now needs to make the biggest decision

of her life, picking a school that is compatible with her major and has everything she is

looking for.

Many factors come into play when trying to pick which is the perfect school for

her. The three most important factors consist of, Money, distance from home, and

population of the surrounding area. Money is a very important factor, which is why it is

the first on her list. Her parents have has a college fund set up for Elizabeth but if she

choses an out of state school they worry she may have to take students loans, causing her

to be in debt after graduation. Her parents have agreed to support her education as well as

pay for her expenses while at school like books and extra spending money if she does

need it because they believe she should be focusing on school and making the next four

years the best ones of her life, rather than having to work to pay off her tuition.

Next, the distance of her new dream school from home is the second most

important factor that comes into play. With her grandmother being sick, she would like to

spend as much time with her as possible and clearly she is very close to her family. She

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chose out of state schools that are easily accessible to drive to and from within a few

hours. Being able to have her car is a huge plus, because flying would be completely

unnecessary.

Finally, how large the college town is and what the surroundings consist of is the

last factor to take into account. She wants a big school to attend to be able to branch out,

but with a small feel. Being able to walk around campus or even to a local shopping

center would be a huge plus. Being in a large town will give her endless opportunities to

get involved with many different campus organizations while figuring out where she will

spend her internship, followed by if she wants to remain in that area after graduation to

work.

Statistics of deciding factors to pick which school to attend

Morgan State University of Penn State Hofstra

(In-state) Maryland (Out-of-state) University
(In-state) (Out-of-state)
Average Yearly
Full-time $4,816 $10,292 $29,522 $36,344
tuition
Distance from
Baltimore 18 miles 44.8 miles 153 miles 221 miles
County
School
Population 7,546 37,272 95,973 10,993

To weigh her options, Elizabeth created a spreadsheet of weighted criteria for all

four of her chosen schools. Tuition cost is Elizabeths top decision criteria, having the

heaviest weight of 10. The chart below provides a more detailed explanation of

Elizabeths specific criteria.

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 Morgan Universit Penn State Hofstra
State y (Out-of- University
(In-state) Of State) (Out-of-
Maryland State)
(In-state)
Average
Yearly 5 40 4 40 3 30 2 20
Full-Time
Tuition
(10)
Distance
from 5 25 3 15 3 15 2 10
Baltimore
Co. (5)
Population
of 5 40 2 16 3 24 4 32
City (8)

TOTAL 105 71 69 62

In conclusion, the weighted chart above displays that Elizabeth should choose

Morgan State but this was not her decision. The college she chose was The University or

Maryland. Elizabeth wants to live on campus and experience all the social and learning

experiences of college, without having to be a commuter. Her parents agree that this

would be an amazing experience for her. The school is not that far from home so she can

easily travel between the two. Eventually Elizabeth will move off campus into an

apartment with her closest friends at the University and the apartment complexes within

the college town seem to be exactly what she was searching for. The University of

Maryland seemed to best fit Elizabeth because, it was financially affordable with out

taking out any loans, distance and travel would never be and issue, and the area is very

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populated with Baltimore and downtown areas very close. All three of these

characteristics fit Elizabeths schooling criteria. Johns Hopkins University Hospital is

also very close, where Elizabeth hopes to peruse her career one day in the future.

Elizabeth is very excited to have a fresh start in a new area. Finding all of her top three

factors makes this campus perfect and more. Her parents are also very excited for

Elizabeths. Not only is she in state and not having to worry about student loans, but also

she is happy and has the choice to come home anytime she pleases.

Health care is the major Elizabeth would like to study with her focus in geriatrics.

The university offers real-life internship opportunities for students in a great area. Major

hospitals such as Johns Hopkins and Maryland University Hospital are also located close

to the university, providing more experience and potential job offerings for Elizabeth,

further adding to the success in her future.

With cost is the top priority for Elizabeth. Fortunately, The University of

Maryland is an in-state school, costing $10,292 dollars a year. Staying in- state was a

very smart decision for Elizabeth. Since Towsons tuition is not issue, her parents can

afford extra schooling costs.

The University of Maryland college town is full of shops and social hangouts that

she could enjoy while at school with her friends. Elizabeth is very social but also a very

concentrated headstrong student. Since the university is so close to home, she can always

get always for a weekend and spend time with her family and away from the social scene.

Elizabeth will also never miss a family function, which is something that is very

important to Elizabeth. Therefore The University of Maryland is the perfect choice for

Elizabeth. It is within budget, close to home, and socially surrounded, all deciding factors

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for Elizabeth and she will be able to reach her full potential to have an amazing college

experience.

Works Cited

"Penn State University to Baltimore County, MD - Google Maps." Penn State University
to Baltimore County, MD - Google Maps. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

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Morgan State, MD 21251 to Baltimore County, MD - Google Maps." 1700 E Cold
Spring Ln, Baltimore, MD 21251 to Baltimore County, MD - Google Maps. N.p., n.d.
Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Driving Directions. Google Maps. N.p. 2015. Web. 6 March 2015.

College Park, Maryland. City-Data. N.p. 2015. Web. 7 March 2015.

Tuition & Fees. The Bursars Office. The University of Maryland, 2015. Web. 6 March
2015.

Department of Health Services Administration. The University of Maryland, 2015.

Web. 4 March 2015.

"Penn State Tuition Rates Fall." Tuition Rates Fall. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2015.

Tuition & Fees. The Bursars Office. Hofstra University, N.d. Web. 7 March 2015.