NAME: U.S. News College data (fixed column format version) TYPE: Census (mostly) SIZE: 1303 colleges, 35 variables DESCRIPTIVE ABSTRACT: Data are from the 1995 U.S. News report on American colleges and universities. They include demographic information on tuition, room & board costs, SAT or ACT scores, application/acceptance rates, student/faculty ratio, graduation rate, and more. The dataset is used for the 1995 Data Analysis Exposition, sponsored by the Statistical Graphics Section of the American Statsitical Association. See the file jse/data/colleges.doc for more information on the Exposition. SOURCE: This dataset is taken from the 1995 U.S. News & World Report's Guide to America's Best Colleges. This dataset is protected by copyright, is reproduced with permission of the copyright holder(s), and may not be downloaded or otherwise copied, except solely for the purpose of analysis in connection with the American Statistical Association's 1995 Data Analysis Exposition. The data are reporduced with the permission of the publisher. Thanks to Robert Morse, Director of Research for America's Best Colleges at U.S. News & World Report for assistance in supplying the data. NOTE: The archives should contain two versions of this dataset. USNEWS.DAT contains the data in a comma delimited format with a single row of data for each college. USNEWS3.DAT contains the data in a fixed column format with three data lines for each school and a maximum line length of 80 characters. The format for USNEWS3.DAT is described below, although the same variables in the order given below are found on each row of USNEWS.DAT. VARIABLE DESCRIPTIONS (USNEWS3.DAT) Fixed column format with three data lines per school Line #1 1 - 5 FICE (Federal ID number) 7 - 51 College name 53 - 54 State (postal code) Line #2 1 - 2 Public/private indicator (public=1, private=2) 3 - 6 Average Math SAT score 7 - 10 Average Verbal SAT score 11 - 15 Average Combined SAT score 16 - 18 Average ACT score 19 - 22 First quartile - Math SAT 23 - 26 Third quartile - Math SAT 27 - 30 First quartile - Verbal SAT 31 - 34 Third quartile - Verbal SAT 35 - 37 First quartile - ACT 38 - 40 Third quartile - ACT 41 - 46 Number of applications received 47 - 52 Number of applicants accepted 53 - 57 Number of new students enrolled 58 - 61 Pct. new students from top 10% of H.S. class 62 - 65 Pct. new students from top 25% of H.S. class Line #3 1 - 6 Number of fulltime undergraduates 7 - 12 Number of parttime undergraduates 13 - 18 In-state tuition 19 - 24 Out-of-state tuition 25 - 29 Room and board costs 30 - 34 Room costs 35 - 39 Board costs 40 - 44 Additional fees 45 - 49 Estimated book costs 50 - 54 Estimated personal spending 55 - 58 Pct. of faculty with Ph.D.'s 59 - 62 Pct. of faculty with terminal degree 63 - 67 Student/faculty ratio 68 - 70 Pct.alumni who donate 71 - 76 Instructional expenditure per student 77 - 80 Graduation rate Missing values are denoted with * STORY BEHIND THE DATA: This dataset is used along with another (see jse/data/aaup.doc) as the basis for the 1995 Data Analysis Exposition. This is a special session at the Joint Statistical Meetings in which uses a common dataset as a vehichle for demonstrating innovative approaches to analyzing and displaying data. Much of the information appeared in the popular U.S. News & World Report special issue comparing colleges. PEDAGOGICAL NOTES: The purpose of the Data Analysis Exposition is to provide a common dataset for individuals and groups to use to demonstrate approaches to analyzing data and displaying statistical results. In keeping with the spirit of this Exposition, one might ask students prepare posters displaying the results of thier own analyses. The dataset contains a wealth of information which is quite naturally of considerable interest to college students. For example, how does a particular school fair in the data? Is your tuition in line with what the other characteristics of your school suggest it should be? SUBMITTED BY: Robin Lock Mathematics Department St. Lawrence University Canton, NY 13617 rlock@vm.stlawu.edu