Feedback Needed: College Confidential Premium Subscription

The vast majority of feedback on this thread is coming from those of us who are done with college admissions and are here to help current and future applicants. You’ve already said that we will not pay.

You received a handful of comments from students and parents who are in the thick of it right now. I would look for more feedback from that population. What do they feel would be worth paying for, and how much would they be willing to pay?

“Chance Me” is one of my pet peeves. I know it came from reddit or discord or somewhere else, but none of us (except for maybe Gumbymom) can really give a quantifiable answer to the question.

For students who have already applied, it is moot. I think a lot of those posts are done out of boredom as they wait out the process. Many times, the OP never comes back (example). For others, feedback on their existing list and/or for suggestions on schools to consider can be very helpful. If accurately described and marketed, it might be worth paying for. I don’t think calling it “chance me/match me” is the best way to categorize those threads. It might be a trendy term, but it doesn’t reflect the depth of advice that is provided.

  • application strategies
  • advice on additional schools to consider
  • identifying safety, likely, match and reaches
  • suggestions (based on info provided) of topics to write about
  • feedback on essays
  • preparing for an interview
  • evaluating financial offers
  • and more

When families with freshmen or sophomores come to ask for advice, they are often met with responses telling them that it is too early, to do what they enjoy, come back in a couple of years, etc. I think those kinds of comments drive away people who are trying to engage with the website.

Maybe families would be willing to pay for a soup to nuts high school journey type of service. Something that is personalized and tailored for what year the student is in school. Freshman advice, sophomore advice, junior advice, etc. Examples include:

  • Help deciding which HS classes to take (math, science and LOTE are commonly asked)
  • Advice on potential majors and career aspirations
  • How to develop a budget for college and how to discuss it with your child.
  • How to use a NPC
  • How to spend your summers (school vs extracurricular vs job)
  • Touring colleges - when, where, what to look for, notes for Why Us essays, etc.
  • Brainstorming and drafting essay topics
  • Help organizing options (Parents of 2024 just had a robust convo about that)
  • Tracking deadlines

I like the idea of offering a private place where applicants can share more personal information and I think people would probably pay a nominal fee for that. I would want to make sure that those pages/listings cannot be copied or referenced anywhere else.

16 Likes