World’s Largest Admissions Meet and Greet Brings 40,000 College-Bound Teens, Representatives From More Than 200 Colleges Together at CollegeWeekLive SPRING

Free Online College Fairs at www.CollegeWeekLive.com Brings Ease of the Internet to the College Search

BOSTON, MA March 9, 2010 -- CollegeWeekLive, the leading web destination which brings high school students and colleges together live online, announced today the largest online admissions event yet: CollegeWeekLive SPRING, Mach 24^th and 25^th from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM Eastern. An estimated 40,000 teens will login to CollegeWeekLive over two days with one goal in mind - to connect with thousands of admissions representatives from more than 200 higher education institutions from the convenience of a computer. Spring is historically the season when juniors kick off the college search in earnest.

Academic institutions participating in CollegeWeekLive SPRING range from Ivy League institutions to public and private universities and regional leaders in higher education. A complete list of participating schools is available at CollegeWeekLive and below. In addition, organizations such as the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid, HP Academy, Sallie Mae, Knewton, Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA), the American Association of Landscape Architects, the Shell Eco-marathon, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and The ACT are supporting partners of the two-day event. These student services organizations provide a variety of resources to CollegeWeekLive participants helping them to achieve their dreams of a college education.

CollegeWeekLive offers high school students and their families the opportunity to browse information on hundreds of colleges conveniently at one website and chat live with admissions representatives from participating colleges. Teens can attend informal Q & A video webcasts featuring current college students on campuses across the U.S. and around the world, garnering a sense for student life at schools of interest. Attendees can also watch leading experts present live on admissions topics such as the college application process, school fit, and uncovering scholarships and financial aid.

Increasingly, CollegeWeekLive online admission events represent the way teens prefer to research colleges and universities. Based on a March 2010 survey of more than two hundred thousand CollegeWeekLive registrants, the first step 79.7% high school students take when researching higher education is to “go online to college websites and online college fairs”. “Reading through brochures” came in a distant second at 10.9% and “visiting individual college campuses” was cited by just 6.3% of respondents as the first step in college research. For budget-conscious families, CollegeWeekLive represents a way to explore colleges before getting in the car or on a plane to visit a school in person.

If you are a student or a parent interested in attending CollegeWeekLive SPRING, visit www.CollegeWeekLive.com to sign-up for free. If you are an admissions representative interested in participating in CollegeWeekLive, contact 617.938.6000 or Exhibit@CollegeWeekLive.com.

PARTICIPATING HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Academy of Art University	Robert Morris University (IL)
Adelphi University	Rollins College
Agnes Scott College	Rowan University
Air Guard	Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
Alabama State University	Rutgers University
Alaska Pacific University	Saint Louis University
Alderson Broaddus College	Saint Thomas University (FL)
American Intercontinental University - London	Sam Houston State University
American Society of Landscape Architects	San Diego State University
Anna Maria College	Schreiner University
Arizona State University at the Tempe Campus	Semester at Sea
Arkansas Tech University	Seton Hall University
Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University	Southern Polytechnic State University
ASA Institute	St. Leo University
Assumption College	Stanford University
Augsburg College	Stetson University
AustraLearn	St. Johns University – New York
Bangor University	Stonehill College
Baylor University	Stony Brook Southampton
Bay Path College	Stony Brook University
Becker College	Suffolk University
Bennett College	SUNY College at Oneonta
Bentley University	SUNY - Cortland
Berkeley College	SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica-Rome
Bethany College-KS	Susquehanna University
Boise State University	Syracuse University
Boston University	Texas Chiropractic College
Bowling Green State University	Texas Christian University
Butler University	Texas Tech University
Clark Atlanta University	The College of St. Scholastica
College for Creative Studies	Thomas College
Colorado Christian University	Transylvania University
Dartmouth College	Trinity College
Department of Education	United States Air Force Academy
Dowling College	United States Coast Guard Academy
Drexel University	United States Merchant Marine Academy
EDMC - Brown MacKie College	University of Aberdeen
EDMC - South University	University of Advancing Technology
EDMC - The Art Institute	University of Alabama at Birmingham
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University	University of Alabama Huntsville
Emerson College	University of Alaska Anchorage
Emory University	University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairmont State University	University of Alaska Southeast
FIDM	University of Bridgeport
Florida Atlantic University	University of California, Davis
Florida International University	University of California, San Diego
Florida Southern College	University of California, Santa Cruz
Florida State University	University of California-Berkeley
Geneva College	University of California - Irvine
Georgia Institute of Technology	University of California – Los Angeles ( UCLA )
Global College of LIU	University of California - Riverside
Grand Canyon University	University of California - Santa Barbara
Green Mountain College	University of Canterbury
Guilford College	University of Colorado at Boulder
Harrison College	University of Colorado at Denver
Hawai'i Pacific University	University of Connecticut
Hofstra University	University of Dayton
Hult International Business School	University of Florida
Iowa State University	University of Glamorgan
Jamestown College	University of Houston-University Park
John Cabot University	University of Houston - Victoria
Johnson C. Smith University	University of Illinois at Springfield
Juniata College	University of Iowa
Kendall College	University of Kentucky
Keuka College	University of Maine
Lake Erie College	University of Mary
Landmark College	University of Melbourne
Laramie County Community College	University of Miami
Lasell College	University of Minnesota Morris
Lesley University	University of Mobile
Le Tourneau University	University of Nevada - Reno
Long Island University Brooklyn Campus	University of New England
Lynn University	University of New Haven
Marist College	University of New Mexico
Marymount University	University of Northern Iowa
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts	University of North Texas
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health	University of Oklahoma
Mesa State College	University of Otago
Mercy College	University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown
Meredith College	University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
Merrimack College	University of South Florida
Miami Dade College	University of Tampa
Miami University	University of Tennessee
Middle Tennessee State University	University of Texas
Mississippi State University	University of Utah
MIT	University of Vermont
Mount Ida College	University of Wisconsin - Stout
Mount Mercy College	Utah Valley University
Mount St. Mary's University	Vaughn College of Aeronautics & Technology
New Mexico Tech	Villanova University
New York Institute of Technology	Virginia Military Institute (VMI)
Northeastern	Wartburg College
North Park University	Washington State University
Nova Southeastern	Webster University Vienna
Ohio Northern University	Wentworth Institute of Technology
Oklahoma Baptist University	Western New England College
Oklahoma City University	Western State College of Colorado
Old Dominion	West Point
Oregon Institute of Technology	West Point
Ouachita Baptist	West Virginia University
Pace University	Wilkes University
Palmer College of Chiropractic	Winthrop University
Purchase College, SUNY	Wittenberg University
Purdue University	Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Quinnipiac University	Wright State University
Regis College	Yale University

ABOUT COLLEGEWEEKLIVE

CollegeWeekLive (www.CollegeWeekLive.com) is the premier online college fair and admissions event destination. With hundreds of colleges and universities exhibiting and more than 200,000 registrants, CollegeWeekLive revolutionizes college admissions, making the process easier and more cost-effective by bringing students, parents, counselors and colleges together online, transcending time and distance. If you are interested in attending CollegeWeekLive, visit www.CollegeWeekLive.com to sign-up for free.

University Visitor’s Network Announces MySchools Video Contest!

University Visitor’s Network (UVN) presents its first annual MySchools Video Contest for college students to submit videos that express positive and creative aspects about their college or university. Through original videos, students can convey what they love about any aspect of their school experience.

Be creative and tell the world how great your school is!

The student who submits the most creative video will receive a $5,000 scholarship paid directly toward his or her tuition.

Some examples of what videos may depict:

-Campus lifestyle                                -Sporting Events

-Community                                        -Academics

-Dorm life                                            -Arts

…The more creative the better!

The videos must be between 1 and 10 minutes and will be screened for appropriateness prior to being posted online. Nothing obscene or objectionable will be considered. Contest can be entered at:http://www.universityvisitorsnetwork.com/myschool_video_contest/ by December 31, 2010. Videos will also be posted on the UVN YouTube host. Must be 18 or older, enrolled in a college or university, and have a school e-mail address to enter. Winners will be announced by January 25, 2011.

Information is also available through Facebook and Twitter. www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=282788409416&ref=ts

http://twitter.com/UniversityVisit

www.Myschoolsvideos.com

The Grand Prize of $5,000 will be paid directly towards the winner’s college or university tuition in the winner’s name. Second place winner will receive an Apple ipod. Third place winner will receive a Panasonic Blu-Ray DVD player.

Contact:  Rachel Parmet, Public Relations Manager
Telephone Number:  303-544-1198 ext. 114
Email Address: Rachel@universityvisitorsnetwork.com 

Veterans Advantage and StudentAid.com Partner To Help Members and their Children Find Affordable Colleges

I got an email from Mary at StudentAid.com.  They've partnered with Veterans Advantage to help dependents of service men and women find affordable colleges. (See release at the bottom.)

On another note, have you explored StudentAid.com?   It's a great tool, helping you understand what the price of college will be before you decide where to apply.  A college education is one of the only things I can think of where price is discussed last. 

Here's what Mary said about StudentAid:     

Now that high school seniors met January deadlines for most college applications, high school counselors are turning their attention to juniors, who are getting ready to spend winter break visiting campuses and researching where to go and how to pay for college.


The recession and hikes in college prices make the biggest issue finding affordable colleges. Until now, students and parents have not had the advantage other consumers have when shopping for anything – the knowledge of where they can get best deal.

A new service – StudentAid.com’s College Cost & Planning Report(TM) – for the first time calculates an individual’s student aid at any of 6,500 colleges – BEFORE the student actually applies. Each personalized report calculates and compares aid eligibility and out-of-pocket cost for as many as 10 colleges at a time. Organizations such as Veterans Advantage (see today’s announcement below), the Financial Planning Association, and the Independent Educational Consultants Organization endorse this new service because it provides college cost transparency for the first time.

This college planning service is FREE to all low-income students (household incomes of less than $40,000 – like the Pell Grants)? Others pay $49 - $99 depending on the service they choose.

Knowing out-of-pocket cost (the “net price” of college) is now essential to college planning. Federal law mandates all colleges post a net price calculator on their Web sites by October 2011, and many are doing that now. StudentAid.com’s College Cost & Planning Report(TM) provides personalized and accurate net price comparisons, saving parents and students time and money in their search for affordable colleges.
 
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Press Release Follows:
 
Veterans Advantage and StudentAid.com Partner 
To Help Members and their Children Find Affordable Colleges

Sacramento, CA – January 13, 2010 – Responding to the college-affordability crisis, Veterans Advantage today announced a partnership with StudentAid.com that provides members a personalized planning tool, which determines financial aid eligibility and net prices to help them find the best education deal. StudentAid.com also will sponsor a $1,000 Veterans Advantage college scholarship.

“Families need to know ahead of time which colleges will offer the best economic and academic fit before students apply so they can make smart choices that don’t burden them with debt,” said Craig V. Carroll, founder and chief executive officer of StudentAid.com.

StudentAid.com’s breakthrough service takes into account each high school student’s academic and financial circumstances to accurately calculate and compare aid eligibility and net prices for as many as 10 colleges of their choice at a time. StudentAid.com uses the latest federal and state aid formulas as well as college aid information to ensure accuracy.

Each personalized College Cost & Planning(TM) report:

• Assesses a student’s eligibility for more than $100 billion of student aid
• Evaluates each individual’s out-of-pocket costs at more than 6,500 colleges
• Provides detailed comparative data on college choices so students may easily compare colleges

Reports are customized for Veterans Advantage and available to its members and their children at a special discount.

“We endorse StudentAid.com’s innovation because it eliminates financial guesswork and helps families make well-informed decisions about how to plan and pay for college,” said Scott Higgins, founder of Veterans Advantage.

Each custom report not only assesses personal costs, but also provides specific information about grants and tax credits as well as detailed college profiles and a planning timeline to make researching and choosing affordable colleges easier.

Veterans Advantage members may access StudentAid.com’s easy online, self-serve method on a Veterans Advantage-branded Web site, or use an advisor-assisted telephone service.

Details about how Veterans Advantage members’ children may apply for StudentAid.com’s college scholarship will be available early in 2010.

About Veterans Advantage
Veterans Advantage is a leading nationwide card membership program delivering new recognition and rewards for U.S. Military Veterans, Active Duty Military, Retired Military, Active and Retired National Guard & Reservists, and their family members. The card membership program provides respect, recognition and rewards through special offers and money-saving benefits as a thank you for service to the country. All who qualify are encouraged to try a 30-day trial at http://www.veteransadvantage.com.

About StudentAid.com
StudentAid.com, Inc. provides the first personalized, side-by-side comparison of the net costs of college and student aid eligibility to help students and their families choose colleges that fit their career goals and bank account, years before applying. StudentAid.com is a private company headquartered in Sacramento, CA. http://www.studentaid.com/?cm_mmc=PR-_-Content-_-c1-_-l1

Free Stuff from Hobson's - plus a widget

I got an email from Daniela at Hobson's. They have all sorts of free tools and guides. Free is good ! Just follow this link: http://www.collegeview.com/counselors/index.html

They also have a widget, where you can add a "college search" function to your schools site. Read the attached flyer for instructions:
http://hscounselorweek.com/promo/widget-institutions.pdf

IAdmissions online college essay advising

It's the essay time of year, we picked up several articles on how to write a good essay. I got an email from Brian Swartz about there new service and web site iadmissions.com. The idea, to give an objective reading of your college essay. Sounds interesting, thought I would pass it on.
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Radio Interview LA Talk Radio: http://www.latalkradio.com/images/College-101109.mp3

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ONLINE ADVISING LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD FOR COLLEGE ADMISSIONS
More Accessible Resources Reaching Every American Family

September 23, 2009, San Francisco, CA..... As college admission becomes increasingly competitive, receiving personal application advice can mean the difference between acceptance and denial for many students. To compound the problem, high school counseling resources are severely stretched. According to the independent, non-profit organization EdSource (http://www.edsource.org/iss_fin_FAQ_cacompares.html), California has just one counselor for every 1,000 students, and the national average is only one for every five hundred.

Private college admissions consultants have become popular in recent years, with Harvard Dean of Admissions William Fitzsimmons pointing out in The New York Times on September 15th that some students have consulted with private counselors since middle school. Yet with prices as high as hundreds of dollars per hour, such mentoring has been accessible to only the wealthiest of students, giving them a relative advantage in the application process.

This is why an experienced group of former college admissions officers from Stanford, Harvard, Brown and other top universities have come together to offer affordable on-line advising services at http://www.iadmissions.com/.

“Every student deserves an equal chance to tell their story. Expensive private counselors and essay writers give some an unfair advantage,” said former Stanford University Senior Associate Director of Admission and iAdmissions Board Advisor Dr. Jon Reider. “iAdmissions is making that privilege available to everyone. Internet technologies are really changing the face of college admissions.”

Founded this year, iAdmissions is a unique network of former college admissions officers that use online technology to provide personalized and affordable guidance on the college admissions process. In addition to hosting a series of free webinars accessible to all, iAdmissions opens doors by offering affordable counseling services to every student, regardless of income level.

“The college application essay can be the scariest part of the whole process. Will my essay make a difference? Will it catch the eye of the admissions committee? Will it honestly portray 'who I am?' In iAdmissions’ ExpertCoaching, an experienced admissions officer will guide you through the process and ease the anxiety too,” said Kit Muller, iAdmissions Counselor and a former admissions counselor at Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges.

The ExpertReview and ExpertCoaching programs help students strengthen essays, differentiate themselves, and tell their story. iAdmissions services are available for both incoming freshman and transfer students.

For more information to help relieve the stress and cost of the college application process, including free tip sheets and live webinars, visit http://www.iadmissions.com/.

Innovative StudentAid.com service transforms college planning

I got an email from Mary at Studentaid.com. (full disclosure, they're a sponsor of HSCW). They just launched their new product Studentaid.com. It's an idea whose time has come. Instead of falling in love with a college and then finding out you can't afford it, Studentaid gives you a realistic idea of what college might cost at the beginning, during the search process. Take a look at their release below, as well as a video interview with the founder.

- Gene

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COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS DEEPENS: FAMILIES SEEK NEW WAYS TO FIND THE BEST COLLEGE DEAL

Innovative StudentAid.com service transforms college planning

SACRAMENTO, CA – SEPT. 22, 2009 – StudentAid.com today introduces a breakthrough service that for the first time allows families to compare out-of-pocket costs before applying to college and avoid suffocating debt. The service calculates aid eligibility to help students and families understand their true net costs and find the best college deal possible.

“Families have been deprived of, yet desperately need, insight into their out-of-pocket college costs to ensure when choosing a college, they make a smart choice academically and financially,” said Craig V. Carroll, StudentAid.com founder and chief executive officer. “Our service demystifies college costs and empowers students and families with comparative information to give them early insight into how to plan and pay for college.”

Government-backed student loans have skyrocketed this year 21% to a record $95 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Education – the largest increase in history. Vice President Joe Biden’s White House Task Force on Middle Income Families shows that a public four-year college costs a middle-income family 16% of its after-tax income after receiving the typical aid award.

To help students find colleges that fit their career goals and the family bank account, StudentAid.com has created the College Cost & Planning Report, a report personalized for each student’s academic and financial circumstances and the specific colleges they are interested in attending. Each report:

• Assesses an individual student’s eligibility for in excess of $100 billion of student aid

• Evaluates their out-of-pocket costs at more than 6,500 colleges

• Provides detailed comparative data on college choices so students can easily compare colleges

Using StudentAid’s easy $49 online, self-serve method or $99 advisor-assisted telephone service, a student can receive a custom report showing a side-by-side comparison of their true out-of-pocket cost and aid eligibility amounts at up to 10 colleges of interest.

Access for All Provides Free College Planning to Low-Income Students

To promote greater college access, StudentAid.com is offering students, whose household income is less than $40,000, a free, personalized College Cost & Planning Report comparing six colleges of their choice.

“We believe everyone with the desire and capability should have the opportunity of an affordable, advanced education regardless of their financial situation,” Carroll said. “We hope our Access for All TM offer inspires the millions of students needing financial aid that an affordable college education is within their reach.”

As part of its drive to improve college access, USA Funds, the nation’s largest student loan guarantor, is helping make StudentAid.com’s Access for All program possible.

“Higher education is one of the most important and largest investments families make,” said Bob Ballard, USA Funds’ senior vice president of program and corporate development. “Unfortunately, many families select a college or university based on an incomplete picture of their out-of-pocket costs. Consistent with USA Funds’ nonprofit mission of support for post-secondary education, our participation in Access for All enhances our efforts to help every deserving student gain the greatest benefit from higher education.”

StudentAid.com’s Web site also offers a free peer-to-peer college suggestion service, the first of its kind. College Suggestor uses the actual college choices and collective wisdom of more than 600,000 students to suggest colleges that may be of interest. A student simply enters the name of a college and can learn about additional colleges most commonly considered by other students who were also interested in the same college. Students can view profiles of the suggested colleges, access contact information, email college ideas to friends, and select colleges to be compared by their College Cost & Planning Report.

About StudentAid.com

StudentAid.com, Inc. provides the first personalized, side-by-side comparison of the net costs of college and student aid eligibility to help students and their families choose colleges that fit their career goals and bank account, years before applying. StudentAid.com is a private company headquartered in Sacramento, CA. www.studentaid.com

About USA Funds®

USA Funds® is a nonprofit corporation that works to enhance postsecondary education preparedness, access, and success by providing and supporting financial and other valued services. USA Funds links colleges, universities, private career schools, private lenders, students, and parents to promote financial access to higher learning. Established in Indianapolis in 1960 to help families finance rising college costs, USA Funds has grown to become the nation's largest guarantor of loans made under the Federal Family Education Loan Program, the largest federal source of financial aid for higher education.

Campus Compare

I got an email from Robin Levinson at Campus Compare about their new site. They are launching free webinar on TODAY Dec. 11, at 3pm .

below is the release from Robin

- Gene

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Please allow me to introduce CampusCompare.com—a free website that gathers information on over 3000 U.S. campuses from the U.S. Dept. of Education, the colleges themselves, and current college students.

Covering 15 categories from Academics to Greek Life, Athletics to Diversity, the site provides a 360-degree view that includes reviews, videos and photos to help high school students find their best college match.

What Makes it Different?
CampusCompare presents college information in a fun way that speaks to the students where they are – online. With interactive tools like "What Are My Chances?" and "MatchMe Meter", the site makes finding a college fast and easy, and truly engages students in the process. And because all the tools are free, students can short list their favorite schools, save and share the information they choose to, take virtual college visits, and even budget for campus life with a Financial Aid Calculator.

A New Way to Reach Students
We recognize the critical role that counselors play in the college decision process and the important information they provide to their students. As college application deadlines approach, many counselors tell us they see their students getting overwhelmed by college admissions but don't have the time or resources to help on an individual basis. CampusCompare's counselor tools were specifically designed to help counselors help more students—24/7, all with just a few clicks of a mouse.

Our Counselor tools are absolutely free and help you:

• Give motivated students the tools to work independently;
• Suggest school matches to individuals or groups of students;
• Stay aware of deadlines and check-in on students' progress;
• Send personal messages to individuals;
• Broadcast information to student groups;
• Share files, links, and important dates with both students and parents.

"My students love CampusCompare because it doesn't feel like work. By involving them in a fun, interactive way it makes them more independent and frees up my time to use it where it's needed most." ~ Karen Allen, Westmount High School

Please join us for a free webinar on TODAY Dec. 11, at 3pm for a tour through the website and information on how to use our tools to help your students.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/830657395