violet98

A thought occured to me earlier today-it would be interesting to know the precentage breakdown of accepted ivy league/prestigious college applicants and which astrological signs they belong to. I don't necessarily believe that celestial bodies billions of miles away influence our day-to-day lives, but it would be interesting to see if research on this subject would provide "proof" for those who do believe in astrology : "Oh...there aren't many Pisces who have been accepted, that's because they're so flighty" or "Leos are so brilliant, 22% of the student body at MIT are Leos." Maybe this sort of data would support [the somewhat silly, IMHO] assumptions about various astrological signs.

Does anyone know of any research on this?

doctordestiny

Then perhaps we can do one that correlates the number of sacrificial offerings the applicant gave to the number of acceptances.

Or rather, compare the rate the belief in astrology, ghosts, alchemy, and downing with Ivy acceptance rates - that would give you a more accurate measure.

tako

Actually, it might be interesting to compare the birth months between students. Because January babies are the oldest (in general), for example, do they have a "leg up" because they may mature sooner? Are December babies at a disadvantage because they are the youngest?

Johnson181

The problem with this is that the research would be difficult. Correlation doesn't prove causation.
As you claimed, pisceans are often considered flighty, yet they're also considered very smart and have extreme drive to achieve their goals.
Each sign really has it's negatives and positives according to mythology.

Scipio

I prefer not to put much faith in Babylonian mysticism.

violet98

"Then perhaps we can do one that correlates the number of sacrificial offerings the applicant gave to the number of acceptances.

Or rather, compare the rate the belief in astrology, ghosts, alchemy, and downing with Ivy acceptance rates - that would give you a more accurate measure."

hahahaha

that's true, Johnson. But I actually know very little about mythology, I was just making stuff up. I'm sure there are some astrological signs that are typically "smarter" than others...like...Capricorns...*cough*

GrumFrum

"Maybe this sort of data would support [the somewhat silly, IMHO] assumptions about various astrological signs."

Looking for data to support assumptions is not how science is done.

violet98

I never claimed to be a scientist. I also doubt that any real "research" on this sort of thing would be 100% legit. I just thought it would be interesting to see

Kristina

Go to the forums for each Ivy, and find the class of '11 acceptance thread, and PM people to ask when their birthdays are

caliboi1313

Sagitarrius For Life!!!

GregKestenbaum

even if a correlation was discovered, it wouldn't determine causation.

Kristina

But it would be interesting.

Greybeard

There was an article in the New York Times earlier this year that discussed the phenomenon of parents "red-shirting" their children so that they would be a year older when starting kindergarten. Apparently, older kindergartners tend to perform better in school; the effect seems to last throughout the academic careers of the benificiaries.

Of course, we'll need to get someone to perform factor analysis to separate the effects of greater age from the influence of the sun signs of the red-shirters.

Kristina

hahahaha