It's official: the gray-haired dudes can now use Zinch.
Haha. Nah....i'm kidding about calling admissions officers gray-haired dudes. :) We know that's not true.
But yes. Admissions officers from all over America can now use Zinch. We have a team of ninjas (yes, we really call them ninjas) who are working around the clock in responding to the hundreds of colleges who have been knocking on our door, waiting to use Zinch.
We're finally opening those doors.
We've been letting students use Zinch since March; so the database has grown like crazy, creating immense value for the admissions officers. Because there are so many admissions officers who want to use Zinch, right now our ninjas are only focused on the colleges that our students are interested in (i.e. the shout outs). Our main goal is to truly serve the students, helping them get discovered by the colleges of their dreams. So for us, it does no good to respond to colleges and schools that students haven't listed as their "shout out" schools. So initially, that's our focus: schools that our students want to attend.
Here are some random stats of our student database:
+ 2,723 female students interested in studying engineering in college.
+ 22,286 students have indicated that they are First Generation students (no parents graduated from college).
+ 2,513 students have indicated that they are LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender)
+ 10,932 students have indicated that their parents combined income of less than $25,000
+ 15,976 students have indicated that they are hispanic/latino.
+ 15,482 students have indicated that they are of the Baptist faith.
+ 23,817 students live in the western states of the US.
+ 33,463 students have indicated that have considered a community college.
+ 50,460 students have indicated that they go to a public school.
+ 139 students have indicated that they live in Germany, China and India (combined).
This is the next big phase of Zinch. We've proven successful in our quest to gather the students. Now it's just a matter of clearly informing the colleges on how awesome Zinch is. Many have already come to us. The rest will soon follow.
Also, many people have asked: will Zinch charge colleges to use this service? The answer is no. It's 100% free. However, due to the fact that we don't want colleges to "game" or abuse the system (most won't, but there are a few that might), colleges will only be able to recruit a certain number of students per month, using Zinch. If we gave every college free access to the entire database of students....can you imagine the chaos, the imbalance, the student frustration? We're just trying to look out for the student as much as possible.
So that's it. The doors have been opened. If you're an admissions officer looking to use Zinch, fill out the online form.
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Posted on June 12, 2007 under Updates |
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Comments (7)
I have a few questions:
When should I begin to "Shout Out". I mean I don't want to send my profile to colleges just to ruin my chances to get in because it is not good enough or because it doesn't have something on there that it should.
My other question is what should we be putting in the Wrtings, Video and Picture portion. Is it creative writing pieces, essays, what?
Thanks!
Posted on June 17, 2007 9:26 AM
Christopher, you can use the shout out as early as you'd like. It won't ruin your chances of getting in at all. It'll just put you "on the radar" of that college a lot sooner. They'll put you in their database if they're interested and start keeping you updated with materials and news of their school. Ya gotta remember that your zinch profile is not your actual application. It's just a way to be discovered and seen during the initial phase of college admissions: recruiting.
Also, use the z-folio to upload whatever you'd like. Highlight films of you playing sports, drama, music or whatever you do. Same goes for the other sections. Upload writing, poetry, etc. Upload audio clips, etc. Use it to showcase your talents and skills.
Posted on June 18, 2007 12:34 AM
Question, so when will 'the love' section come up on our task bar. Or was that done away with? That is the area where we are able to e-mail colleges and receive e-mail, correct?
Posted on June 20, 2007 6:41 PM
Paige, check back in two weeks. "The Love" will be ready. It's taken us a little longer than expected because we wanted to give students a little more control over it than originally anticipated.
Yup. Hopefully you enjoy it.
Posted on June 23, 2007 1:58 AM
That's really awesome and really exciting!
Posted on June 23, 2007 1:57 PM
Thats good because it allows admissions officers to see another side of their future students. Im mean come on Universities even have a myspace page nowadays...how cool
Posted on June 23, 2007 3:18 PM
This is unbelievable! I just looked up some of my shout out schools in the "Schoolzeeker" and found out everything I ever wanted to know about the student life, admissions and academics! I mean I have taken tours of these colleges before but I have not found all of this information in one place that is all so easily accessible. Props to you, Zinch. This is awesome.
Posted on June 25, 2007 8:40 AM