Have you ever been picked by a poll taker to answer questions about how  you’d vote in a forthcoming election? Have  you ever won a lotto jackpot?

The two situations may be said to be related. Statisticians claim it’s easier to win the jackpot than to be included in a survey by SWS or Pulse Asia, whose respective universes of respondents hardly ever exceed 1,200.

Comes now a survey of 13,599 conducted online by the University of Santo Tomas from Feb. 16 to 19. Coming from 12 colleges of the university, they comprise 40 percent of the total student population of 35,889. How did they vote?

Noynoy Aquino led with 33.2 percent, followed by Gibo Teodoro at 32.5 – a statistical tie. Dick Gordon was next, with 15.4. Manny Villar came in at fourth with 7. In the race for VP, Mar Roxas garnered 46.5 percent, followed by Bayani Fernando 21.9, Jojo Binay 15.2, and Loren Legarda 6.4.

The students’ choices for senators were “predictable,” according to one observer: Miriam Santiago, Franklin Drilon, Pia Cayetano, Ralph Recto, Juan Ponce Enrile, Serge Osmena, Bongbong Marcos, Teofisto Guingona III, Gilbert Remulla, Bong Revilla, Joey de Venecia, and Vicente Sotto.

Even with a margin of error of less than one percent, there’s something faulty with this survey. The respondents are presumably well-educated, well-read, and well-off.