FilmSchool.org Admissions Statistics from database discussion

[Rose]

You're welcome! Statistically-speaking, it is totally crazy, in the best way. I don't know how many people they interview, but I heard they get about 200 applicants each year- and given that number, I don't see how they wouldn't have screened out half of the applicants already. If we were placing bets, I'd guess they might interview the top 20, at the very max.

Except, I guess there's no reason to speculate when filmschool.org probably has all this!
@Chris W I just did the supporting membership and I'm excited for the data deep-dive!

(MOD NOTE: Discussion about FilmSchool.org database and statistics broken off from excellent UT Austin thread)

 

[Chris W]

Except, I guess there's no reason to speculate when filmschool.org probably has all this!
@Chris W I just did the supporting membership and I'm excited for the data deep-dive!

Thanks for getting a Supporting Membership! Although interviews are apparently new this year for UT Screenwriting so unfortunately we don't have much data on that yet. There is still a lot of interesting data on the site calculated from the database for sure though.

I'm currently having my developer add new features to the data system as well to make it even more useful. I'm always open to suggestions to make it better if anyone has any.

Re UT, the site's writer @Alexa P. is trying to reach out to UT for one of our admissions department interviews but no luck on scheduling something just yet. We'll keep trying though and I know they're busy. The other admissions department interviews have been extremely interesting and helpful.

I'm really glad you are enjoying the site.

 

[Rose]

Thanks for getting a Supporting Membership! Although interviews are apparently new this year for UT Screenwriting so unfortunately we don't have much data on that yet. There is still a lot of interesting data on the site calculated from the database for sure though.

I'm currently having my developer add new features to the data system as well to make it even more useful. I'm always open to suggestions to make it better if anyone has any.

Re UT, the site's writer @Alexa P. is trying to reach out to UT for one of our admissions department interviews but no luck on scheduling something just yet. We'll keep trying though and I know they're busy. The other admissions department interviews have been extremely interesting and helpful.

I'm really glad you are enjoying the site.

The data is really interesting and I'm excited about what the new features might look like! For me, I think any additional ways to visually present the data helps a lot. I get a lot out of the pie charts you have!

Also, the additional info that's available as a paid feature was a real eye-opener. I'm very glad I was able to view it. I'm mulling over what to do next, and what I found is definitely factoring into that.

I hope UT will respond and help provide more info about the process!

 

[Chris W]

The data is really interesting and I'm excited about what the new features might look like! For me, I think any additional ways to visually present the data helps a lot. I get a lot out of the pie charts you have!

One new feature I'm developing is graphs to show the data over time via bar charts as well. Also need to show sample size (instead of just the limited data text) because some fields are optional and/or data we've only recently began collecting.

It's great to hear that you like the data and find it helpful! I nerd out over it too.

 

[Rose]

One new feature I'm developing is graphs to show the data over time via bar charts as well. Also need to show sample size (instead of just the limited data text) because some fields are optional and/or data we've only recently began collecting.

It's great to hear that you like the data and find it helpful! I nerd out over it too.

OHHH! Reading this gives me a thrill. Can't wait for that to be rolled out.

Data is a delicious thing to nerd out over!!! I love pattern-finding, and I miss my undergrad days, doing literature analysis. I accidentally stumbled onto "Data is Beautiful" on Reddit about a year ago and that really hooked me. Did you have a lot of prior background in data analytics, or was the website, or your own film school applicant journey, the gateway drug into it? I've thought about a certificate in data analytics - it seems really fun, and it could apply to anything!

And I know you said tangents are good, but if I've derailed us too far down the data rabbit hole, let me know and I can make a new thread! LOL

 

[Chris W]

Did you have a lot of prior background in data analytics, or was the website, or your own film school applicant journey, the gateway drug into it?

None. Although my mom is a statistician. Lol. But it just seemed like the obvious thing to do after collecting so much data in the applications in our database.

That initially started when users on the site in 2015 made a Google sheet spreadsheet by themselves that they all worked on. That method worked for a little bit but it was a pain and no way to integrate with the site easily and also more importantly anyone could F the entire thing up. I then converted it to the built in database here and over time I added a bunch more fields that people could use and then I realized we could do something cool and unprecedented with all this data.

And I know you said tangents are good, but if I've derailed us too far down the data rabbit hole, let me know and I can make a new thread! LOL

Yes I should probably break this off into it's own thread lol. I'll do that now. This is too far off tangent lol.

 

[Chris W]

One new feature I'm developing is graphs to show the data over time via bar charts as well. Also need to show sample size (instead of just the limited data text) because some fields are optional and/or data we've only recently began collecting.

New charting now up and working.

Sample size and stacked bar charts for additional data coming in the next update. (maybe a month from now)

 

[Chris W]

One new feature I'm developing is graphs to show the data over time via bar charts as well. Also need to show sample size (instead of just the limited data text) because some fields are optional and/or data we've only recently began collecting.

This has now been implemented.

Acceptance Statistics now showing line graph of application acceptances over time :)

Acceptance statistics pages are now showing the past 5 years of film school acceptance data over time. :) More changes coming soon. Please log your applications so we can improve this data! :) https://www.filmschool.org/applications/ A huge thank you to all our @Supporting Member . You...

www.filmschool.org