Okay, so I’ve been wanting to do some data crunching, specifically, I wanted to predict something. I’ve heard about this “Sam Houston State” thing, and figured, why not try predicting something related to it? I didn’t even know what kind of data I was looking for but it sounded cool.
Getting Started
First, I fired up my trusty computer. I’m no tech wizard, I’m a blogger, so I used what I was most used to, meaning my browser.
Then I brainstormed:”what should I predict?”. The possibilities were endless. Enrollment? Game scores? I felt overwhelmed.
Finding Data
This was the hard part. I spent hours searching for usable data. I finally managed to find a spreadsheet.
Cleaning the Mess
- Downloaded the spreadsheet. It was a .csv file, so I opened it in Excel.
- Looked at the data. It had columns for years, enrollment numbers, and some other stuff I didn’t understand.
- Deleted the columns I didn’t need. I decided to focus on predicting future enrollment, so I kept only the “Year” and “Enrollment” columns.
Making Predictions
I’m no statistician. So, I used the simplest method I know. I drew the data I had to a chart and then drew the simplest line that I could make.
Then,I added a trendline – a straight line that best fit the data. Excel even gave me an equation for the line!
The “Prediction”
Using that equation, I plugged in the next few years (like 2024, 2025, etc.) and calculated the predicted enrollment. Boom! I had my “predictions.” They probably aren’t super accurate, but hey, I did something.
Wrapping Up
Honestly, this whole thing was more about the journey than the result. I learned a bit about how to handle data, even if it was just basic stuff. It was fun to play around and see what I could come up with, even if my “prediction” is probably way off. Maybe I’ll try something more complicated next time, but for now, I’m happy with my little experiment.
