The question asks us to compare the difference between demand (applications received) and available seats (intake) for College E with that of College A. Specifically, we need to find out how much lower the difference is in College E compared to College A, expressed as a percentage of College A's difference.

Analyzing College Demand and Intake Data

First, let's look at the provided data for the colleges:

Calculating Differences for Colleges A and E

We need to calculate the difference between demand and intake for College A and College E.

• College A:
  • Demand = 3000
  • Intake = 1500
  • Difference = Demand - Intake = $3000 - 1500 = 1500$
• College E:
  • Demand = 3300
  • Intake = 2200
  • Difference = Demand - Intake = $3300 - 2200 = 1100$

Comparing the Differences

Now, we need to find out how much lower the difference in College E is compared to the difference in College A. This is the absolute difference between the two differences:

Difference between College A's difference and College E's difference = Difference in College A - Difference in College E

= $1500 - 1100 = 400$

Calculating Percentage Lower

To find the percentage by which College E's difference is lower than College A's difference, we use College A's difference as the base value.

Percentage Lower = $ \frac{\text{Difference in College A} - \text{Difference in College E}}{\text{Difference in College A}} \times 100 $

Percentage Lower = $ \frac{400}{1500} \times 100 $

Percentage Lower = $ \frac{4}{15} \times 100 $

Percentage Lower = $ \frac{400}{15} $

Percentage Lower = $ 26.666... \% $

Rounding this to two decimal places, we get 26.67%. This means the difference in demand and available seats in College E is approximately 26.67% lower than that of College A.