Question

Need some advice/comments

Answer 1

So one of my friends asked me for my advice on this product he is creating. It is a peer to peer platform to connect high school students to college students so they can learn about college and applying and stuff like that. After hearing him I thought you guys are the smartest people I know and you would have definite ideas on whether it is useful or not. So he posts in math, but here is the link http://openstudy.com/study#/updates/584b248be4b071fda881d8e3

Answer 2

Kinda like OpenStudy - but for college app advice. And if you are in college, you should sign up to become a mentor.

Answer 3

That means you @jigglypuff314 and @iambatman and @Ashleyisakitty and @jagr2713 and anyone else....

Answer 4

Downloading right now :D

Answer 5

To pay for a service, I'd expect it to be professional and insightful from these 'mentors.' Is there a specific background entailed to qualify to join?

Answer 6

No, I dont think so. Are you in school or college?

Answer 7

Finishing HS whilst doing College courses. I'm not allowed to take specific electives, as I wish to transfer.

Answer 8

If you're a college student, just sign up as a mentor?

Answer 9

So sign up as a HS student. Interesting you are asking about professional advice. This is to get the student kind of advice - what a student would tell you that professionals can't or won't. Think about it, kinda like OS.

Answer 10

As you apply for college, what sort of questions would you ask of a college student?

Answer 11

Well they don't even have my university D: @Preetha

Answer 12

The ideals being set forth are that of the concept of OpenStudy and the like (essentially forums before OS) that are useful to those who are autodidacts, and thereby many others alike.

In the aforementioned post by @blankscreen, "(B) Would you be willing to pay ($10-$20) college student mentors for their advice," 'advice' is ambiguous.

Answer 13

$15 for 30 minutes seems quite overpriced.

Answer 14

I speak not for the price itself, in lieu, the actual byproduct of it.

Answer 15

The college mentors set their price. But I hear you.

Answer 16

Jag, sorry about that. But they are just starting out.

Answer 17

Is it just an app?

Answer 18

ya, do you want a web app?

Answer 19

Hi all - i am the founder of the app. Yes its an app right now, no web version. All students are verified to be from that college. We check their credentials before making them a mentor. They put their price for phone advice and essay reviews. Chat advice is free.

Answer 20

I believe any premise can be fruitful if the UIX is well developed and exemplified to the fullest. Albeit, I do see it having better outcomes with an online extension as opposed to a crowed mobile app.

I could be wrong, depending on what you [they] craft and aim to peruse.

Answer 21

Thanks a lot for all your feedback everyone!! Thanks Preetha for this wonderful platform OS.

Answer 22

@jagr2713 were you able to download the app? Any initial feedback? Be brutal, we are making this for you to use.

Answer 23

@jagr2713 what college are you looking for? We have launched recently so are adding colleges every day. We have top 100 colleges covered and have lot of students from Ivy's and UC's to start with.

Answer 24

Florida Atlantic University

Answer 25

@tHe_FiZiCx99 great question. We bring mentors from colleges and majors as per the demand of our users. We interview every mentor to make sure they do possess the necessary skills to guide others. A professional guide would cost $200 per hour at least. These students charge $10 for advice, and its set by them. Good thing is that once you get advice, you will be able to earn when you go to college. Is this convincing argument?

Answer 26

@Vuriffy thanks for the feedback. What would be a price you would be willing to pay your peers? A professional college counselor would charge $200 per hour to start with. Do you still think its expensive? Also the students are able to fund their education by advising on Mentr,

Answer 27

I mean it sounds like a great idea don't get me wrong BUT usually students can just go to the college of their choosing and a adviser will see them free of charge. But the app sounds great for some students.

Answer 28

@jagr2713 I agree.

Answer 29

What differentiates between a guide and advice? Why not have these mentors create a guide and allow for specific queries within these guides after being purchased?

Answer 30

An innovative medium to convey wisdom about college(s) will probably be best set as an overall guide for specific subgroups.

Answer 31

there are a few bugs coding-wise in the app
for example, when I do not input a "Current City, State", if I save and go back to the "Basic Profile" page, that box would be filled with ',<null>'

Answer 32

Small errors throughout, yes.

Answer 33

Yes i noticed that too @jigglypuff314

Answer 34

I don't want to be rude but HS Students can visit their college of choosing and make an appointment with a professional adviser for FREE. They even have a mandatory class freshman have to take that explains college life and how to survive by picking right teachers and study tips etc etc.... I LOVE the app because you can get a more broad answer and help with essays but this is just my opinion :D

Answer 35

@blankscreen you stated: "We interview every mentor to make sure they do possess the necessary skills to guide others."

I only just signed up, but my "Mentor Verifications" already seem to include "Passed personal interviews" despite me not having gone through any such thing...?

Answer 36

I was wondering why it said that :/

Answer 37

@jigglypuff314 what college did you sign up with? We will reach out to schedule an interview. Are you from Rudgers?

Answer 38

@jagr2713 great point. We believe that talking someone who is of your age (approx) is much valuable. We believe there is a difference between using google search and being on a platform like OS to discuss what matters to people. But you have a great point.

Answer 39

@tHe_FiZiCx99 thanks for your comments. Yes creating guide helps, but sometimes there are very personal questions that the guide may not be able to answer. We think you connect to a college student and have a 1-on-1 conversation on those personal questions.

Answer 40

@jagr2713 great points and you are not rude. I am enjoying this conversation and learning so much about high school students. Give the app a try, and hopefully you will like it after you have tried it :-))

Answer 41

jigglypuff314 yes there are not one not two but hundreds of bugs in the app. we are fixing it one by one. Thanks for telling about the <null> bug. Will fix it in the next release.

Answer 42

@ jigglypuff314 see above

Answer 43

Thanks everyone. *gives a big high five*. As usual you are smart and helpful, OpenStudy values to the core!

Answer 44

Is the app available on Android? If not, for shame!

Answer 45

android too Inky