![Education Essay Sample: Number of Students Enrolled in Universities](https://speedypaper.com/essay-previews/b941ca12b51cdf448b4a33c8ddc432e1/number-of-students-enrolled-in-universities.webp)
Type of paper:Â | Problem solving |
Categories:Â | University |
Pages: | 5 |
Wordcount: | 1251 words |
The aim of this analysis was to explore the enrollment trends in 50 of the top national universities in the United States. I love statistics and examination of this variable not only expanded my knowledge in descriptive statistics but also was an eye opener into the trends associated with top enrollments in American Universities. I believe that having knowledge of the top 50 enrollments is very informative, especially with regards to popular education destinations. It will inform my future decisions about the likely universities I can opt to advance my studies. The source of data for my analysis is from a website called U.S.News owned by US News & World Report L.P (a multi-platform publisher of news and information, which includes annual print and e-book versions of its authoritative rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools and Best Hospitals). The information published on the website is current (based on the 2017 enrollments countrywide).
Enrollment is an important variable that tells us about the popularity of a university among both local and international students. The popularity of a university plays a very important role in the perceptions of employers worldwide. For example, the employers are likely to consider a graduate from a highly ranked university than from a poorly ranked university. The Times Higher Education reported in the Universities World Reputation Rankings 2016 publication that Japanese students, for example, opted for the biggest universities because they perceived their potential employers as discriminative in terms of the universities attended (with greater preference for graduates who attended top universities). Therefore, knowledge of the most popular universities by their enrollments is a huge step in making decisions about the potential universities to join vis a vis the career aspirations.
The sampling technique used for the acquisition of raw data is systematic sampling. The criteria included the inclusion of only national universities. Systematic sampling is a type of probability sampling method whereby sample members from a larger population are selected according to a random starting point. The starting point in this analysis was national universities.
The results show that the median enrollment of the universities in the sample is 31,094 (half of the universities have enrollments equal to or higher than this value and the other half have enrolments equal to or lower than 31,094). Most universities have an enrollment that is between 28213.25 and 34797.25, but some universities have enrollments that are as low as 25455 and as high as 55776. Figure 1 shows that the enrollment data is not normally distributed because of the presence of skewness. The boxplot has right-skewed data showing university enrollments. Most of the enrollments are relatively lower, and only a few enrollments are very high. Of all the universities, Georgia State University had the lowest enrollment (25,455 students) while the University of Central Florida has the highest enrollment (55,776 students). The top three universities in enrollments in 2017/2018 include the University of Central Florida (55,776 students), Texas A&M University - College Station (50,735 students), and Liberty University (47,050 students). Some of the other universities occupying the top quartile include Ohio State University-Columbus (45,831), Pennsylvania State University - University Park (41,359), and University of Texas - Austin (40,168). The university closest to the Mean (33080.1) is the University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign (33,932). The University of Maryland - College Park with an enrollment of 28,472 students cuts off the bottom 25% of the data. Other universities in the bottom 25% are New York University (26,135), University of Missouri (25,898), University of Cincinnati (25,860), and Georgia State University (25,455) among others.
The University of Texas-Austin, the University of Washington, and the University of California-Berkeley include some of the best universities in the country and the world as per the Universities World Reputation Rankings report. The present analysis these three universities rank 8th, 27th, and 34th in the top 50 enrollments among the national universities. The enrollment of students at the University of Texas-Austin was significantly higher than those of the University of Washington and the University of California-Berkeley. However, the difference in student enrollment between the University of Washington and the University of California-Berkeley is insignificant. Seven out of the fifty universities had higher enrolment rates than the University of Texas - Austin, which represents 14% of the total. On the other hand, 52% (26 universities) and 66% (33 universities) out of the 50 national universities ranked higher than the University of Washington, and the University of California-Berkeley, respectively. The University of Texas - Austin is contained within the 4th quartile while both the University of Washington and the University of California-Berkeley are contained within the 2nd quartile (within the interquartile range). The University of Washington is closer to the median enrollment than the University of Texas - Austin and the University of California-Berkeley.
This project has taught me how to use descriptive statistics (measures of central tendency) to synthesize large data for easier interpretation. Both the descriptive values and the graphical representation via the boxplot made my interpretation of the data easier. I could immediately check the distribution of the data in the box plot and decided that because of the skewed data, the Empirical Rule does not apply, but Chebyshev's Rule does on the data. In addition, the universities ranked as best in the United States do not necessarily rank higher in enrollments.
Appendix A
Source: U.S.News, National University Rankings, URL: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities?_mode=table&_sort=enrollment&_sort-direction=descTop 50 enrollments into National Universities (Alphabetically)
No National University Rank Enrollment
1 Arizona State University--Tempe 42,477
2 Brigham Young University--Provo 30,979
3 California State University--Fullerton 34,576
4 Florida International University 45,813
5 Florida State University 32,929
6 Georgia State University 25,455
7 Indiana University--Bloomington 39,184
8 Iowa State University 30,671
9 Kennesaw State University 32,166
10 Liberty University 47,050
11 Louisiana State University--Baton Rouge 26,118
12 Michigan State University 39,090
13 New York University 26,135
14 Northern Arizona University 26,506
15 Ohio State University--Columbus 45,831
16 Pennsylvania State University--University Park 41,359
17 Purdue University--West Lafayette 30,043
18 Rutgers University--New Brunswick 36,168
19 San Diego State University 29,853
20 San Francisco State University 25,945
21 Temple University 29,275
22 Texas A&M University--College Station 50,735
23 Texas State University 34,244
24 Texas Tech University 29,963
25 University of Alabama 32,563
26 University of Arizona 34,072
27 University of California--Berkeley 29,311
28 University of California--Davis 29,546
29 University of California--Irvine 27,331
30 University of California--Los Angeles 30,873
31 University of California--San Diego 28,127
32 University of Central Florida 55,776
33 University of Cincinnati 25,860
34 University of Colorado--Boulder 27,846
35 University of Florida 34,554
36 University of Georgia 27,951
37 University of Houston 35,871
38 University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign 33,932
39 University of Maryland--College Park 28,472
40 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor 28,983
41 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities 34,871
42 University of Missouri 25,898
43 University of North Texas 31,209
44 University of South Carolina 25,556
45 University of South Florida 31,461
46 University of Texas--Arlington 32,775
47 University of Texas--Austin 40,168
48 University of Washington 30,933
49 University of Wisconsin--Madison 31,710
50 Virginia Tech 25,791
Top 50 Enrollments (Alphabetically)
No National University Rank Enrollment
1 University of Central Florida 55,776
2 Texas A&M University--College Station 50,735
3 Liberty University 47,050
4 Ohio State University--Columbus 45,831
5 Florida International University 45,813
6 Arizona State University--Tempe 42,477
7 Pennsylvania State University--University Park 41,359
8 University of Texas--Austin 40,168
9 Indiana University--Bloomington 39,184
10 Michigan State University 39,090
11 Rutgers University--New Brunswick 36,168
12 University of Houston 35,871
13 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities 34,871
14 California State University--Fullerton 34,576
15 University of Florida 34,554
16 Texas State University 34,244
17 University of Arizona 34,072
18 University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign 33,932
19 Florida State University 32,929
20 University of Texas--Arlington 32,775
21 University of Alabama 32,563
22 Kennesaw State University 32,166
23 University of Wisconsin--Madison 31,710
24 University of South Florida 31,461
25 University of North Texas 31,209
26 Brigham Young University--Provo 30,979
27 University of Washington 30,933
28 University of California--Los Angeles 30,873
29 Iowa State University 30,671
30 Purdue University--West Lafayette 30,043
31 Texas Tech University 29,963
32 San Diego State University 29,853
33 University of California--Davis 29,546
34 University of California--Berkeley 29,311
35 Temple University 29,275
36 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor 28,983
37 University of Maryland--College Park 28,472
38 University of California--San Diego 28,127
39 University of Georgia 27,951
40 University of Colorado--Boulder 27,846
41 University of California--Irvine 27,331
42 Northern Arizona University 26,506
43 New York University 26,135
44 Louisiana State University--Baton Rouge 26,118
45 San Francisco State University 25,945
46 University of Missouri 25,898
47 University of Cincinnati 25,860
48 Virginia Tech 25,791
49 University of South Carolina 25,556
50 Georgia State University 25,455
Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive Statistics
Mean 33080.1
Median 31094
Mode #N/A
Standard Deviation 6949.26333
Minimum 25455
Maximum 55776
1st Quartile 28213.25
3rd Quartile 34797.25
Figure 1. Number of enrolled students in National Universities (Top 50 universities)
Cite this page
Education Essay Sample: Number of Students Enrolled in Universities. (2022, Apr 12). Retrieved from https://speedypaper.com/essays/number-of-students-enrolled-in-universities
Request Removal
If you are the original author of this essay and no longer wish to have it published on the SpeedyPaper website, please click below to request its removal:
- Religion Essay Example: Empathy Simulation
- Muerte De Un Burocrata - Free Paper with a Movie Review
- Free Essay: All University Students in UAE Should Perform One Semester of Community Service
- Solution-Focused Therapy Essay Sample
- Essay Sample Dedicated to Conducting a Research
- Essay Example: Impact of Special Trade Zones in India on a Socio-Economic Level
- Paper Sample on Problem Solving: Lynn and Mark Case
Popular categories