Clive Thompson points us to some statistics about the tech habits of this year’s incoming class at Amherst College. Although the freshman class only has 438 students, the numbers do show some interesting (though not especially surprising) patterns.
Peter Schilling, the director of IT at Amherst, breaks down the data:
Percentage of first-year applicants who applied online in 2003: 33%.
Percentage of applicants who did last year: 89%.
By the end of August 2008 the total number of members and posts at the Amherst College Class of 2012 Facebook group: 432 members and 3,225 posts.
Students in the class of 2012 who registered computers, IPhones, game consoles, etc. on the campus network by the end of the day on August 24th, the day they moved into their dorm rooms: 370 students registered 443 devices.
Number of students in the class of 2012 who brought desktop computers to campus: 14.
Likelihood that a student with an iPhone/iTouch is in the class of 2012: approximately 1 in 2.
Total number of students on campus this year that have landline phone service: 5.
Mac or PC? Of the four classes currently on campus the classes of 2009 and 2010 are more likely to own Windows, while the classes of 2011 and 2012 are more likely to own Macs.
More at Academic Commons.
[via Collision Detection]
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Wow, definitely interesting but you’re right, not surprising. I remember the good ol’ days when you could only apply for a school with tons of paperwork. The whole online application process is so much better. Man do these kids have it easier!
September 26th, 2008 at 7:48 pm