Suggested by Jules Sanders over 3 years ago

Affordable edtech platform with asynchronous courses, subject matter experts, group training, community, and mentoring, all of which together strategically guide students through the process of exploring, discovering and planning for life after school/graduation.

Several factors make now a relevant time:

1. The gap between the wealthy and the working class is widening. Pursuing a college degree has always been touted as the best path to a stable financial future; however this perception is being challenged because:

A. Access to understanding the admissions process is still gated for those who have money

B. Once accepted, figuring out how to pay for it continues to be a hurdle

C. A 4-year degree does not guarantee a successful career or financial stability

2. The pandemic greatly impacted student learning, mental health, socialization, access to extracurricular activities and engagement.

3. The pandemic has exacerbated the racial and socio-economic inequity in our educational systems, resulting in large numbers of students falling further behind with fewer resources to circumvent the damage caused by 2 years of homeschooling.

Considerations:

• The Supreme Court will likely hand down a blow to race-based admissions consideration.

4. The Princeton Review reported in 2022, 74% of students and 69% of parents had high levels of stress related to college application submissions.

Considerations:

• School guidance counselors, the first order of support for students from moderate to low-income families, are more overworked and stretched than ever before, with record numbers of educators leaving the field.

• Parents feel unsure (especially those who did not attend college or who may be immigrants) of what makes a competitive college application outside of a high GPA and feel uncertain about their ability to help shape their children's application.

5. New statistics released by Allaboutcareers.com, a leading careers exploration website, reveal that 44% of undergraduates cannot define the industry they would like to work in once they graduate.

Considerations:

• Parents without connections or high-income face challenges in exposing their children to a wide array of professional options and are generally unable to send their children through expensive career exploration camps. Etc.

• Students have minimal and (generally) unstructured exposure to exploring career options before college, and more and more students are questioning what they will do in the world to make a living.

• Costs associated with private counseling/coaching/advising for either college or career planning are prohibitive for those who can't afford it.

• According to the National Center for Education Statistics, up to 80% of students will either begin college undeclared or change their majors at least once during their college careers which can lead to additional classes, semesters, and debt.

6. Recent poll by OnePoll for Colorado State University Global reveals one-third of Americans had no plan after graduating from college or high school.

7. Additional poll by OnePoll on behalf of Experian Boost found 81% of students wished they were taught more life skills before graduation.