 "Photo: Rachel Wilson")
Almost every student is familiar with the college application process.
For most, it begins with dozens of brochures, a handful of long car trips, plane rides and a few treks across paved walkways beneath oak trees and university banners.
Only after numerous visits is it time to compare universities and decide, after acceptance, which school would be the best match.
But now, one Web site is changing that process. YOUniversityTV.com is a social networking Web site designed to help students select a college.
“The Web site was definitely one of the reasons I ended up at UCF,” freshman forensic biochemistry major Augusta Jahrsdoerfer said.
YOUniversity TV is the first integrated college video resource community.
It offers virtual college tours for approximately 400 schools in the United States. UCF was the first school filmed for YOUniversity TV.
“It is one of a kind.” Jahrsdoerfer said. “There is nothing else like it.”
The virtual tours of the college campuses are the best feature on YOUniversity, Jahrsdoerfer said.
“My favorite part was the main feature: the videos,” she said.
The Web site also offers similar applications on sites such as Facebook and YouTube to include interaction between students.
This section of the Web site is titled YOULife and encompasses the user’s personal profile, blog, photos, messages and list of friends.
This feature also allows students to send and receive messages on each other’s corkboard, which is similar to Facebook’s wall application. It also allows users to comment on photos and exchange music.
“I would go on every once in a while and just lose track of time,” Jahrsdoerfer said.
YOUniversity was founded in January 2008 by Ron Reis and Angelo Kotzamanis in Boynton Beach.
“They say necessity is the mother of invention,” Reis said. “There was nothing out there that offered this service,”
The site is free to all users and receives no compensation from the schools it films.
“We don’t charge any of the schools, and we don’t promote any one school over the other,” Reis said.
Gordon Chavis, director of undergradute admissions, is featured on the UCF video.
Reis said Chavis is responsible for the university’s participation. Chavis was unavailable for comment.
“He was so understanding of what we wanted to do,” Reis said. “He is the kind of guy that understands the power of social networking.”
Gaining access to 400 schools was not easy at first, said Reis.
“UCF was right on board.” Reis said. “Some people were skeptical at first.”
UCF’s participation helped YOUniversity convince other schools to come on board, Reis said.
“It was a snowball effect and now you’ve got 400 schools,” Reis said. “Now we get probably five to 10 requests from colleges a day to come out and feature them.”
Besides professionally produced videos filmed by the YOUniversity staff, the Web site offers user generated videos of the colleges.
The YOUTorium feature allows users to submit videos, post comments, rate videos, save favorites and forward them to other users. This feature includes more than 1,000 videos submitted by students.
“This expanded so many things for me,” Jahrsdoerfer said. “It was a whole new aspect to this school — an unbiased view.”
Since the launch last year, the site has grown to receive 100,000 unique visitors from 170 countries monthly.
“UCF gave us our big break and we are indebted,” Reis said.
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