ontariostudent Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 Just a little thought I was having: When interviews were being sent out the U of T forum was the hottest thing around. People were obsessively checking to see if others had been offered interviews and asking whether or not they still had a chance. Others were offering their opinions and encouragement. The number of people viewing was consistently high throughout the month. Since May 15 it seems to me that the U of T thread is one of the quieter ones. I have considered a number of possible reasons for this. They are not mutually exclusive: a) Most of the neurotic U of T applicants from pm101 didn't get interviews and stopped obsessively checking the forums and posting once it became obvious that they were rejected, leaving relatively quiet members behind. The U of T system of sending out interview invites over a month makes people especially neurotic because there is so much uncertainty. People who would normally be quieter became more vocal because of this uncertainty, and once things got back to normal after the interviews were over, they went back to being their quieter selves. c) The louder applicants got accepted to/decided to attend other schools and have left the U of T forum quiet. d) Perhaps their is a NEGATIVE correlation between obsessive posting and chances of being admitted? Could it be that the type of people who accept/were accepted by U of T are quieter or less internet obsessed than students at some of the other schools? Perhaps they are people who are used to the anonymity that comes with being at a large institution in a big city? Maybe I'm just over-thinking this... Anyone else have any input? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbiodude Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 maybe they just have nothing to discuss anymore, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnussey Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 I'd say it's probably all of the above. Lol. Neurotic, anxious...etc. This gives ppl a place to "vent" off some of the stress...and comparing themselves with others helps quell their fears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooty Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 1) define "being active in a forum" 2) collect this data daily for all forums 3) do it for a year 4) come back with results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In_Valid Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 Just a little thought I was having: When interviews were being sent out the U of T forum was the hottest thing around. People were obsessively checking to see if others had been offered interviews and asking whether or not they still had a chance. Others were offering their opinions and encouragement. The number of people viewing was consistently high throughout the month. Since May 15 it seems to me that the U of T thread is one of the quieter ones. I have considered a number of possible reasons for this. They are not mutually exclusive: a) Most of the neurotic U of T applicants from pm101 didn't get interviews and stopped obsessively checking the forums and posting once it became obvious that they were rejected, leaving relatively quiet members behind. The U of T system of sending out interview invites over a month makes people especially neurotic because there is so much uncertainty. People who would normally be quieter became more vocal because of this uncertainty, and once things got back to normal after the interviews were over, they went back to being their quieter selves. c) The louder applicants got accepted to/decided to attend other schools and have left the U of T forum quiet. d) Perhaps their is a NEGATIVE correlation between obsessive posting and chances of being admitted? Could it be that the type of people who accept/were accepted by U of T are quieter or less internet obsessed than students at some of the other schools? Perhaps they are people who are used to the anonymity that comes with being at a large institution in a big city? Maybe I'm just over-thinking this... Anyone else have any input? You are over thinking it. School specific forums die down in the aftermath of May 15th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbiodude Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 1) define "being active in a forum" 2) collect this data daily for all forums 3) do it for a year 4) come back with results. How much funding do I receive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooty Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 money's tight, but i'd give you $5 for it for real if you actually do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbiodude Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 money's tight, but i'd give you $5 for it for real if you actually do this. hmm tempting offer, I'll c if I can get any collaborators, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 hmm tempting offer, I'll c if I can get any collaborators, lol. a challenge! You can extract the posting history from the site with a crawler, cluster the dates, and present the results. Only do this if you have too much free time though Could do it in a few minutes if you were the site admin. Then gods like Ian Wong can do pretty much anything in a few minutes or less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ontariostudent Posted July 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 a challenge! You can extract the posting history from the site with a crawler, cluster the dates, and present the results. Only do this if you have too much free time though Could do it in a few minutes if you were the site admin. Then gods like Ian Wong can do pretty much anything in a few minutes or less. LOL. I once sent a full analysis of my friend's email habits to the rest of our friends. I did a real statistical analysis too. I would do this myself but I know I'd spend WAY too much time on it. And yeah, I know the forums die down after May 15, but anecdotally the U of T forum seems relatively quiet compared to those of some of the other schools (post May 15 as well). Obviously it's quieter now than before, but it seems to me that it went from being the hotbed of action to extremely quiet. It's the contrast that interests me. Maybe we should spend the next few months setting up a study so that we'll be able to run it for the 2010 app cycle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microbiodude Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 a challenge! You can extract the posting history from the site with a crawler, cluster the dates, and present the results. Only do this if you have too much free time though Could do it in a few minutes if you were the site admin. Then gods like Ian Wong can do pretty much anything in a few minutes or less. ah so you wanted to do a retrospective study, that would definitely be easier but I believe Tooty wanted a prospective study "do it for a year" (object 3). lol and considering he's dishing out $5 of grant funding we wouldn't want to deviate from his plans in case our funding got cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewfieMike Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 a challenge! You can extract the posting history from the site with a crawler, cluster the dates, and present the results. Only do this if you have too much free time though Could do it in a few minutes if you were the site admin. Then gods like Ian Wong can do pretty much anything in a few minutes or less. Ian Wong built Rome in 1 day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBP Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 everyone realized that ut is pure luck, so they stopped asking questions good thing i got a stockpile of felix felicis though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ontariostudent Posted July 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 everyone realized that ut is pure luck, so they stopped asking questions good thing i got a stockpile of felix felicis though :) Unless med school admissions counts as organized competition? Wouldn't want to do anything illegal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnussey Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 :) Unless med school admissions counts as organized competition? Wouldn't want to do anything illegal... Hmmm...perhaps a new system could be devised: highest bidders get to matriculate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBP Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 :) Unless med school admissions counts as organized competition? Wouldn't want to do anything illegal... Hermione never understood what serious business Quidditch was either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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