Using What They Have Learned
College Counseling Over the Net
A real internet marketing and virtual business is still, to many people, a bit unreal – something confined to Ebay and Yahoo, but not necessarily for the small entrepreneur. Timothy P. Van Hooser, however, has made internet marketing real and successful.
At two years old, his company www.intothebest.com has established a successful niche in college counseling and helping students get scholarships. In addition, the Levittown resident and his partner, Steve Edwards, consult with businesses and write business plans.
“We are making Americans smarter by educating them and giving away our book, Intothebest College Guide, for free. So far, it’s been downloaded by 80,000 people,” he says.
Van Hooser and his partner have built a network of 40 people in 17 cities, affiliated with 32 colleges, who can consult with high school students on college admissions. A graduate of Princeton, Van Hooser says he began by “surveying people on their own personal success in getting into college, mainly Princeton. Now, if someone wants personalized counseling, they will get it from someone who actually went there. This gives them another perspective, aside from guidance counselors and books.”
His counseling services include finding the right college for an individual student. “We can spend a great deal of time with the student and the family. Managing expectations is very important. We can start with people who are freshmen, and we can improve their chances by talking to them about extracurricular activities, the best courses to take, and so on. It’s more difficult when a senior comes to us and easier when a freshman or sophomore asks for guidance.
“In one case, I spent over 40 hours finding the best school for a student who wanted to study astronomy, Japanese and Asian studies, as well as creative writing. I recommended a summer calculus course for her to strengthen her math skills. Today, she’s at Hofstra, doing very well, and hopes to go to Princeton for graduate school.”
Fees depend on the type of service provided. “We can set up tours with alumni of a school, or just speak with the student and put together a list of possible colleges. Whatever the student and family need we try to do,” Van Hooser says.
For additional support, www.intothebest.com carries advertising as a Google AdSense partner Van Hooser’s company makes a profit whenever a visitor to their site clicks on an ad and goes to that site.
Along with college placement, Van Hooser tries to obtain college funds via another website, www.scholarshipfrenzy.com, that sponsors a competition for a $1,000 college scholarship. Other scholarship opportunities are listed on the intothebest site.
“We believe everyone should have access to a college education”
-- intothebest.com’s
Timothy Van Hooser
“
We believe everyone should have access to a college education,” Van Hooser says. “It costs $80 billion per year to pay for five million students to go to college. Today, our country pays $187 billion a year to farmers so they won’t farm. There’s something wrong with that equation, isn’t there?”
At 28, Van Hooser is quite prepared to succeed in his mission of ensuring a college education for everyone. In 1999, he graduated from Princeton University with a degree in chemical engineering. He served as president of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and was the first person to lead both Urban Action and Outdoor Action trips. At Princeton, Van Hooser worked in the field of information technology, where he helped students with a range of computer work.
Among other activities, Van Hooser is an expert web designer. David Arluck, president of Arluck Promotions in Miami, is an agent representing athletes who also specializes in corporate marketing and business planning. Van Hooser designed his first website. “What made working with Tim different than working with many other people who know the technology to do websites was that, since I knew exactly how I wanted my online site (www.arluckpromotions.com) to work, I needed someone who could make it work. He was able to do the site exactly the way I envisioned it. I valued that. It was a good collaboration.”
Among Arluck’s clients is Olympic gold medalist Gary Hall, Jr. Van Hooser designed Hall’s official website (www.garyhalljr.com) as well.
But, even with the design and technology work, Van Hooser says his priority is ensuring every student who wants a college education can get one. He says, “We have the opportunity, through our website, to connect businesses that want to market to students. We get 90,000 hits on our website per month and the people visiting our site can click on the ads. Our scholarshipfrenzy site recognizes businesses that help students. It’s a positive situation for all concerned and I believe what we are doing is the wave of the future.”
--ELLEN STERLING
Sterling, Ellen. “Using What They’ve Learned: College Counseling Over the Net.” BusinessLI Jan. 2005: 17.
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