This problem requires us to compare the total student demand for the two colleges with the highest demand against the total demand for the two colleges with the lowest demand, based on the provided table. We need to calculate the percentage by which the higher total demand exceeds the lower total demand.

Data Analysis and Identification

First, let's list the demand for each college from the table:

Identifying Highest and Lowest Demand Colleges

We need to find the two colleges with the highest demand and the two colleges with the lowest demand.

• Ordering the colleges by demand in descending order:
• College E: 3300 (Highest)
• College A: 3000 (Second Highest)
• College C: 2500
• College D: 1200 (Second Lowest)
• College B: 600 (Lowest)

Calculating Total Demand

Now, we calculate the total demand for these groups:

• Total demand of the two highest demanded colleges (College E and College A):
• $ \text{Total Demand}_\text{Highest} = 3300 + 3000 = 6300 $
• Total demand of the two lowest demanded colleges (College B and College D):
• $ \text{Total Demand}_\text{Lowest} = 600 + 1200 = 1800 $

Calculating Percentage Higher

The question asks what percent higher the total demand of the two highest demanded colleges is than the total demand of the two lowest demanded colleges. We use the formula for percentage increase:

$ \text{Percentage Higher} = \left( \frac{\text{Total Demand}_\text{Highest} - \text{Total Demand}_\text{Lowest}}{\text{Total Demand}_\text{Lowest}} \right) \times 100 $

Substituting the values we found:

$ \text{Percentage Higher} = \left( \frac{6300 - 1800}{1800} \right) \times 100 $

$ \text{Percentage Higher} = \left( \frac{4500}{1800} \right) \times 100 $

Simplify the fraction:

$ \frac{4500}{1800} = \frac{45}{18} $

Divide both numerator and denominator by their greatest common divisor, which is 9:

$ \frac{45 \div 9}{18 \div 9} = \frac{5}{2} $

Convert the fraction to a decimal:

$ \frac{5}{2} = 2.5 $

Now, multiply by 100 to get the percentage:

$ \text{Percentage Higher} = 2.5 \times 100 = 250\% $

Conclusion

Therefore, the total demand of the two highest demanded colleges is 250% higher than the total demand of the two lowest demanded colleges.