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Shimer College Recruitment Analyses Shimer College Students The following map shows Shimer College students represented by icons. The map was developed by geocoding the Shimer College student addresses and assigned latitude-longitudes coordinates to each student record. View a larger version of any of these graphics by clicking on the map of interest. 
Shimer College Students -- Zoom in to Chicago Area Shimer College is located north of Chicago in Waukegan (Lake County), Illinois. The College is represented as a pentagon symbol in the following map depicting a zoom in to the Cook/Lake County area. 
Shimer College Students and Prospects -- Zoom in to Chicago Area The purpose of these analyses is to examine methods that can improve the opportunity for Shimer to identify prospective students who might enroll at Shimer and be successful in their educational pursuits. The following map is a variation of the map presented above. This map shows persons who have taken the PSAT exam (red icons) and might be prospective future Shimer students. The map was developed in the following steps. Shimer acquires a set of address and related attribute data for persons who have recently taken the PSAT exam from the College Board. This group of PSAT takers was selected in part based on geography of interest to Shimer and attributes of the student (e.g., major) that leads Shimer to think they might be interested in attending Shimer. Like the Shimer students, the PSAT/prospect student addresses were then geocoding to obtain the latitude-longitude. The geocoding was performed using the Proximity Geocoding facility. 
Shimer College Students and Prospects -- Chicago/Lake County Zoom -- with Block Group Areas From the above maps, very little is know about the PSAT/prospect students other than their location and data recorded in connection with the PSAT exam. More information can be added by examining characteristics of the block group in which the student resides. This information can be used to tell us more about the characteristics of the neighborhood where the student lives. A "block group" is a set of contiguous census blocks. Averaging 1,000 population, the census block group (BG) is the smallest area for which "richer demographics" from Census 2000 are tabulated. Compared to ZIP code areas, which can be 10-to-20 times larger than a BG and much more demographically diverse, block groups provide a very fine geographic mosaic covering the U.S. earth surface more suitable for understanding characteristics of the neighborhood where the student lives. The following map shows BG areas (polygons). 
Shimer College Students and Prospects -- Chicago/Lake County Zoom Thematic Map of Percent High School Graduates by Block Group Area To add value to use of the BGs, thematic maps can be prepared that show demographic patterns. The next thematic map shows one example of this. In this map, the BGs take on a color corresponding to the percent population in the BG who are high school graduates. BGs that are blue have a higher educational attainment while areas that are red have a lower educational attainment. Educational attainment is one of many demographic items that might be useful in assessing the degree of a match-up between a PSAT/prospect and Shimer. If, for example, we know that more successful Shimer students come from households with higher than average educational attainment, this BG demographic attribute might help determine which PSAT/prospect student might be preferred to others. Of course, the analyses are not this simplistic. This description is provided to make the underlying concept and puspose of using this approach clearer. 
Shimer College Students and Prospects -- Chicago/Lake County Zoom with Street Overlay Thematic Map of Percent High School Graduates by Block Group Area Profile of a Selected Block Group Area (where cursor located) Using the power of the Geographic Information System (GIS), we are able to "drill down" and take a closer look at the geography and student locations. The next map is a zoom based on the above map. Note location of the cursor in the above map and how the following map shows a zoom in to that study area. What else can we say about the BG where a student or prospect is located? Proximity has developed a core database of approximately 500 subject matter items for each block group. These subject matter items are organized into these categories: 
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