Statistics Behind Ryan Pham's Article

Ajay Misra
[Opinion]
3 min read

Stats

Top 5 Public Universities

UniversityCountZ-scorep-value
UC Berkeley4,815+1.380.17
Michigan3,893+0.550.59
UCLA2,983−0.260.79
Virginia1,476−1.090.27
UNC1,247−1.550.12

Z-scores and p-values are calculated relative to the mean of all five schools (μ ≈ 2,883; σ ≈ 1,183). UNC sits 1.55 standard deviations below that mean—large in practical terms (≈ 3–4× fewer notable alumni than Berkeley/Michigan) but not quite past the conventional p < 0.05 significance threshold.

Top 15 Public Universities

UniversityNotable Alumni CountZ-scorep-valueU.S. News Rank
UC Berkeley4,815+2.400.02#2
University of Michigan3,893+1.690.09#3
UCLA2,983+0.990.32#1
University of Wisconsin–Madison2,518+0.640.52#14
University of Virginia1,476−0.170.87#4
University of Texas at Austin1,345−0.270.79#10
UNC Chapel Hill1,247−0.340.73#5
University of Florida1,117−0.440.66#6 (tie)
University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign1,039−0.500.62#12
UC Davis911−0.600.55#9 (tie)
UC San Diego700−0.760.45#6 (tie)
UC Santa Barbara671−0.780.43#13
Georgia Tech550−0.880.38#15
UC Irvine405−0.990.32#9 (tie)

Z-scores and p-values are calculated relative to the mean of all 14 schools (μ ≈ 2,008; σ ≈ 1,169).

UNC Chapel Hill sits 0.34 standard deviations below the mean—a modest deficit, but still consistent with the broader trend: UNC produces 3–4× fewer Wikipedia-notable alumni than peer institutions like UC Berkeley and Michigan. This discrepancy is large in practical terms, even if not statistically significant at the conventional p < 0.05 threshold.

UniversitySample SizeRecent GraduatesPercentage
UC Irvine301240.0%
UC San Diego301136.7%
University of Florida301136.7%
University of Wisconsin-Madison30930.0%
UC Davis30826.7%
UC Santa Barbara30826.7%
UCLA30723.3%
University of Texas at Austin30723.3%
Georgia Tech30723.3%
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign30723.3%
UC Berkeley30620.0%
University of Michigan30516.7%
University of Virginia30310.0%
UNC Chapel Hill30310.0%