性视界

In 2011, I had the opportunity to do a brief stint teaching听history and economics to听high school juniors and听seniors.听It was an incredible experience working with a diverse group of students, many of whom came from challenging backgrounds. Despite the many听obstacles听thrown their way early in听life, these students displayed听resilience and a contagious enthusiasm for the future. It was a joy and honor of a lifetime听to serve as their teacher for this brief period, and while I鈥檓 sure most of them have forgotten me by now, I will never forget them and the lasting impact they had on me.听听听

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性视界听was born from this experience, from conversations I had with听my听students as well听as听hundreds of college counseling professionals and college administrators over the ensuing year. At the crux of the idea was a simple observation: though billions of dollars of financial aid are being awarded each year to help students pay for college, these dollars aren鈥檛听typically听awarded until after students are supposed to have already decided whether and where to apply to college. For students, this is often too late to impact their college ambitions and application decisions, and for colleges it means that they are missing out on an opportunity to maximize the impact of their aid resources. The idea behind听性视界听was to flip this model on its head听by听giving听students听the opportunity to accrue听college听scholarships听as they progress throughout high school based on their achievement of specific college readiness milestones.听听听

In theory, this听could听create a much more transparent, motivating, and empowering system for students, while also giving colleges an opportunity to dramatically increase the impact of their aid.听Additionally,听participating听colleges听would听have听an opportunity to engage prospective students听as early as 9th听grade. They can use this opportunity for connection to听incentivize the college readiness behaviors they鈥檝e seen prepare students for their school, foster a more diverse applicant pool听through a more targeted use of funds, and ultimately help听all听prospective students see past the听college听听sticker听price earlier in their journey.听听

In 2013, we launched our first pilot of the听program,听giving students the opportunity to earn听鈥渕icro-蝉肠丑辞濒补谤蝉丑颈辫蝉鈥�听as听they听progressed听through high school,听rather than听as听one big lump sum upon admittance.听From the get-go, the program received great reviews from students, counselors, and colleges听alike, and won multiple awards such as the Gates Foundation-sponsored College Knowledge Challenge.听听

Students听shared听their excitement about seeing听how their hard work in high school听was听rewarded by colleges. High school counselors shared their听excitement about听having a new college readiness tool that could help teach students about听institutional听scholarships,听while also motivating their听students听to stay听on track for college. Finally, colleges loved the idea of听engaging with students earlier, and听were excited to see the diversity of students participating in the program. As听the company听scaled,听we听worked diligently to听respond to user feedback and听harvest听learnings from academic research to iterate on and improve the platform,听while also scaling to meet the听growing听demand听from students, educators, and universities.听听

Over听the past seven years,听the platform听has听grown听tremendously:听性视界听has听听served over 2.5 million students who have received over $6 billion in scholarships. In that time, we听have听听brought on over 300 college and university partners, while also听introducing听countless new college discovery and financial aid听comparison features, a mobile app for iOS, and a platform听for community college听and transfer听students.听
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This spring,听CampusLogic听approached us with an offer to put our organizations together.听This appeared to be a great opportunity to bring together two of the leading champions for Student Financial Success. By combining听性视界, which primarily focused on pre-college financial and academic readiness, and听CampusLogic, which focused on supporting students during their听higher ed听journey, the combined organization would be uniquely capable of supporting students both听to听and听through听college.听听

As the exploration progressed, it became clear that the strengths of our two organizations could drive an even larger impact for students and college partners. With听性视界’s听micro-scholarship platform driving empowerment and motivation for students via pre-committed financial aid, and听CampusLogic’s听market-leading Student Financial Success solutions driving ease and clarity in听college financing, we’ll be able to create new, tightly integrated experiences together that unlock massive potential for students and institutions alike.听

As we come together to meet the听higher education challenges听of today, it鈥檚 critical听鈥� for the success of听students, for the institutions听serving听them, and for our nation as a whole 鈥斕�that students from all backgrounds have a clear and affordable path to college. We look forward to working with our current partners听and the new听partners听we鈥檒l be welcoming in the years ahead to reimagine the student financial journey and make sure that every student has a shot at the American Dream.听听