This has to be one of the most interesting studies I’ve seen in a long time: (from the Freakonomics blog)

There are many sterotypes associated with undergraduates at the University of Chicago. They are typically thought to be really smart, very overworked, and a bit odd.

Two U of C undergrads, using a data-driven approach worthy of the Freakonomics imprimatur, set out to test one of these stereotypes: that the co-eds are not so attractive. A write-up of their approach is here in the school newspaper. They also have a web site with the results.

One of my favorite parts of the whole thing is that the student reporter who wrote the article above turned the tables on the two students who did the study, posting their pictures on hotornot.com to see how they rated. They scored 6.1 and 8.7. An average of 7.4, which means they should have gone to Vanderbilt.

The fact that they did this study using nothing but HotorNot.com and the thefacebook is nothing short of amazing (if perhaps somewhat statistically suspect). But their methods are pretty good, and all things considered, their conclusions make a lot of sense.

I think I should replicate this study with Carleton and St. Olaf. Set the record straight once and for all…

Posted on January 22nd, 2006 by Lee
Filed under: Uncategorized