The first step in the decision making model is to recognize the need for a decision. For me,
this happened when I decided that an associate’s degree was simply not adequate for what
I want to do in life. I decided that I needed to continue my education and move forward
with getting my bachelors degree. I then began to generate alternatives, and narrowed it
down to five potential schools: UF, University of Central Florida, University of Florida,
University of Miami, or UCLA.
The third step in the decision making process involved evaluating each school for pros and
cons. UCLA was my first choice, since I grew up in California., UCLA is a very
prestigious school, and is very well known, which would put me at an advantage. A few of
the several cons, however, included high cost of tuition and living, having to leave my
family and friends, moving to a new area, and other opportunity costs. I began to consider
the Florida schools, since the tuition is much lower. Although University of Miami is a
Florida school, it is “private” and therefore much more costly. Many would consider
University of Florida to be the best school in the state; however, its location was a problem
for me. UCF was affordable, and would be a good fit for me as they have a high level of
tourism and many fine-dining restaurants where I could work. My final option was UF
which was close to my family in Sarasota and had a very good reputation locally. Also, as