san diego, October 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — College Contact, a fast-growing education technology startup based in Austin, Texastook first place last week in the highly competitive “Navigating Career Pathways” category at the 2024 EDTECH WEEK Shark Tanks. This category includes innovative tools and technology platforms that help K-12 and higher education learners explore and succeed in their college and career journeys through mentorship, career exploration, and skills alignment. Focused on procurement. A jury of global EdTech investors from WGU Labs, JFF Ventures, and EduLabs Capital Partners selected College Contact from among hundreds of promising startups in the space.
The Shark Tanks @ EDTECH WEEK event is a prestigious competition for startups and Series A companies in the EdTech space. Finalists in the 2024 category include REACH Pathways (gamified content from HiPURS), Hellohive (corporate talent development), Prentus (AI-powered data analytics to track work performance), and GoPursue (career access platform) was included.
College Contact’s award highlights the importance of the school’s near-peer mentorship model. The model matches high school students with skilled faculty mentors who provide post-secondary career advice and provide real-time support on everything from essay writing to financial aid processing. Given that this startup has had very high student engagement and recruitment metrics since its natural start with TikTok videos, the platform’s ability to deliver personalized, relatable, and authentic advice at scale is a big draw for investors. It stood out to the panel.
Founded in 2019 Sophie Smith’s College Contact, a college dorm room, was born out of a universal dissatisfaction with the current post-secondary advising environment. High school students and their parents discovered Sophie’s authentic content on TikTok and joined a waiting list to help the then-19-year-old. The initial onslaught of demand was due to the prohibitive costs of counselors at private universities and the lack of one-on-one time students received at school due to high counselor caseloads. In an effort to democratize access to higher education for these families, Sophie devised a duct tape and glue solution to connect students on the waitlist and talented undergraduates in her network. was matched.
What happened to Sophie and her co-founders? Leah Guessman graduated from University of Virginia In 2023, the duo began exploring the possibility of selling their solution directly to public school counseling departments. Their solution caught fire again when they entered the K-12 market.
Kyle SeipDirector of Higher Education and Workforce Readiness, E3 Alliance. texasThis means there are 5.5 million college and career paths to success in this state alone. College Contact can provide individualized one-on-one support to all students. This is an innovative idea to support overwhelmed counseling departments. ”
“I’m very happy to win this contest,” he said. sophie smithRepresentative director of College Contact. “This is a powerful validation of our near-peer model and our mission to provide accessible college and career advice to all students, regardless of their background. We are particularly excited about the inbound demand from counseling departments who see our solution as a valuable resource for large student bodies. ”
Leah Guessman“This win is a testament to the power of mentorship. By connecting students with peers who have recently experienced important college and career decisions, we keep them informed,” said College Contact’s COO. It gives them both the support and confidence they need to make informed decisions.” This recognition from the broader EdTech community has already helped us continue to expand our reach and impact. ”
Since its founding, College Contact has helped over 5,000 students gain admission to over 150 universities, with 86% of them securing a place at their first-choice school. Beyond expanding partnerships with districts; California, texas and floridathis platform is gaining attention from individual families for its affordability and offers near-peer mentorship services at the lowest cost. $60 per month—a fraction of the fees charged by traditional private college counselors.
College Contact is focused on providing accessible and customized instruction to students of all backgrounds, and aligns with the broader movement to make higher education more equitable and attainable. For more information, please visit the College Contact website here.
About the university Contact us
University contact information: texas– is a women-founded college and career readiness platform that connects high school students with near-peer mentors. With a historic 100% college acceptance rate and 86% of students going to their first-choice university, College Contact has helped thousands of students across the country. The platform’s innovative model combines comprehensive resources and individualized support to help students achieve their academic and career goals, while providing districts with one-on-one personalized post-secondary education. We will assist you in providing advice.
Media contact:
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SOURCE College Contact
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