Germantown startup aids elders hunt for college by getting the aid of other students

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/germantown-startup-helps-seniors-search-for-college-by-enlisting-the-help-of-other-students/2011/09/21/gIQA7ygqwK_story.html
Germantown startup aids elders hunt for college by getting the aid of other students
When Neil Soni, which graduated a few years earlier from a senior high school in Germantown, tried that can help his younger bro apply to college in 2012, he uncovered he simply recognized a whole lot concerning one college-- the one he went to.

"I understood I could offer him general advice, yet I actually couldn't offer him" specialized advice for each and every school, claimed Soni, which is now a student at Carnegie Mellon University.

So when his bro expressed interest in the University of Michigan-- a school Soni recognized little about-- he looked for friends which went there. He located a student at Michigan, yet he additionally located an online business suggestion.

"I assumed, if I do not know anyone at one school, why isn't there an area I could go online as well as locate someone?" he claimed.

The College Folks was born.

Soni's new firm aims to match senior high school students with students at the colleges they are applying to, to provide them with individualized advice as well as aid in editing the essays on the application, for a cost.

Begun last July, The College Folks ran a rudimentary service last application year for 10 students at Northwest Senior high school in Germantown. The firm is preparing to run a more comprehensive pilot this year, as well as has partnerships with schools in Maryland, Virginia, as well as Pennsylvania.

The services range from $75 to $150, based on the sort of application, as well as the firm is shooting for 100 paying clients this moment around.

There are difficulties to this business plan. The application year oftens be short as well as the clients as well as consultants are perpetually turning over.

"I assume it is a cool suggestion, yet it is an execution concern," claimed Luke Skurman, which runs College Prowler, a preferred Internet site where college students provide candid reviews as well as grade their schools. Skurman has a bargain in area with The College Folks to provide the site with several of his content.

The College Folks sponsors college students via personal networks as well as via work sites such as barefootstudent.com. It puts them via a series of driving tests as well as a training program, as well as pays them around $20 per hour, Soni claimed.