Press Release: Abroad101 and GoEnnounce Launch Student of the Week Sponsorship

Two Pioneering Websites Join to Help Students Fund Their Study Abroad Dreams

New York, NY (PRWEB) May 08, 2014

GoEnnounce, a platform for students to “ennounce” and track their educational achievements and fundraise for goals, and Abroad101, the world’s first and largest study abroad review website have launched the “Abroad101 Student of the Week” initiative, designed to help more students study abroad. The partnering education startups are tackling one of the primary barriers to study abroad– cost.

Each week, a student who created a “Mission” for a study abroad program on GoEnnounce will be selected. Abroad101 will contribute cash to the selected student’s fundraising efforts and promote that student’s GoEnnounce page through Abroad101’s connections in the study abroad field. The student’s “Mission” will link to their desired study abroad program’s reviews on Abroad101 allowing the student’s followers (friends and family) to read and gain insight as to the student’s choice.

The first student selected as the “Abroad101 Student of the Week” is Natalie Bahr, a sophomore at Concordia University Texas, who was accepted to an intensive study abroad program in the heart of Shanghai, China. She will immerse herself in the culture and society, while picking up eight credits towards her degree. With dreams of becoming an elementary school teacher, she thinks the knowledge and skills she will acquire on this trip will make her an even more effective teacher.

Melissa Davis, co-founder of GoEnnounce stated, “This project is an example of the power of an academically focused social media platform, in which a student’s followers can not only track the progress of the student, but also help contribute to the student’s goals.” Using a practice commonly referred to as “crowdfunding”, GoEnnounce gives students the tools to share a fundraising “Mission” with their network, and then collect donations online from the “crowd.” According to Davis, “The Abroad101 Student of the Week project will help many ambitious, hard-working students achieve their lifetime goal of studying abroad. Partnering with a well-connected company like Abroad101 will not only help individual students, but we also expect it to motivate additional students to start their own fundraising “Missions” to study abroad.”

Abroad101’s CEO Mark Shay points out that many parents and family members who may not have gone to college or studied abroad themselves have a hard time understanding the benefits of an international immersion. According to Shay, “We have more than 20,000 reviews on Abroad101, and each tells a story of a young person’s success, individual achievement and self-improvement. By bringing these experiences to the attention of future students and their supporters, we increase the awareness of the benefits of an experience abroad. Former students become virtual role models for future students and this helps draw friends and family to join the circle. It’s a very positive application of technology and social networking to help the dreams of tomorrow’s generation,” said Shay.

About Abroad101
Founded in 2007, Abroad101 is the first and largest study abroad review website. Focusing on American college students looking for a semester or term abroad, this innovative platform connects past and future students, parents and advisors and program providers through its market-leading online evaluation tool. Abroad101 grew from one partnership at Tufts University in 2007 to over 215 college partnerships today. The Abroad101 directory of study abroad programs is the most comprehensive database in the field today. Click to learn more about Abroad101’s Study Abroad Programs, Rankings, Ratings and Reviews

About GoEnnounce
GoEnnounce gives students a place to tell their educational stories with their family, friends and mentors. It is a way for students to track and share their achievements, projects, and goals with their network to get the encouragement and financial help they need to succeed. All students’ school and extracurricular ‘ennoucement’ updates are saved in a social e-portfolio environment. A student’s followers can respond with likes, comments and even rewards into a college savings account. At anytime, a student can launch a fundraiser, to collect donations for goals and expenses.

Advisors: Reminder to begin the Study Abroad Review process

Now is the best time to invite students to submit their study abroad program reviews. To manage this process we hope you will use the free service from Abroad101.

It’s Good for the Student:
Program reviews are not only good for home university advisors and program providers, but they are good for students. A well-written published review is a testimonial of a student’s experience abroad and should be used to the student’s advantage well after they return to campus. A well-constructed thoughtful review will give students an edge with employers, grad schools, and in other potential post-graduate opportunities. Reviews provide an opportunity to showcase the student’s writing, analytical skills and allows students to make personal statements on the impact of their experience and personal discoveries. For the student, the power of a published review comes from both a reflection of the past and a pledge to the future. Links to it from resumes, cover letters and online profiles (like LinkedIn) should help the student better leverage the abroad experience in the future.

It’s Good for the Advisor:
Thorough program reviews provide the ideal resource for good advising. Reviews that cover all aspects of the experience from pre-departure preparation to student accommodation, academic environment and safety can help the advisor stay current on program quality, the level of provider service and serve as an indicator to the success of future students. It is our experience that most students will resist surveys (it is human nature), so it is the advisors job to insist, because it is good for the student.

A published review with photos and personal statements and can lead the student to a degree of closure and as well as help them think about how their experience will benefit their future. Students will later come to realize the investment in time was well worth it, and may even thank you for it. Once the process gets established, future students come to expect the same and reviews will become part of the education abroad experience at your institution. In less time than it takes to reclaim their luggage from their return flight, a review charts a big step forward in their post-abroad future. At Abroad101 we provide the field’s best review management platform for advisors and we offer it free of charge.

It’s Good for the University:
More than 30 colleges and universities require their students complete a review on Abroad101. This gives them data for each student with the ability to export reviews as well as look at compiled statistics on performance. With reviews administered by Abroad101, university administrators now have a tool to measure the success of their study abroad enterprise and trend it over time.

It’s Good for the Provider:
Reviewing providers by individual program pushes the field to be attentive and accountable, and is a pro-active step to assure quality. The 37-question Abroad101 review looks at all aspects of the abroad experience and lets those who are with your students know that someone is looking and somebody will be reporting on their performance.

Abroad101 is a Name You Can Trust:
Abroad101 is the first and largest study abroad review website. Now under the leadership of experienced professionals, you can trust us as a resource to help improve the field of education abroad. Abroad101 is the result of a lot of feedback from the field and now after 5 years of operations we not only have the most advisor friendly system, we have over 20,000 student testimonials published. Abroad101 has state-of-the art design, reliable data systems that are always monitored and a focus on service, so please join us.

Start Inviting Students Today!
If you already have an account with Abroad101, we remind you to use our “invite tool” to send your returning students their invitation to complete their Abroad101 review. Using this tool makes it easier to find their program and sends them timely reminders to complete the process. Our invite tool produces much higher completion rates than other email reminders.

If you think you have an account and lost your access (login or password), send an email to admin@Abroad101.com and we’ll get you active again.

If you don’t have an account, the process is Fast – Free and Easy. No contracts, service agreements or lengthy set-up. Simply send a request by email to admin@Abroad101.com and you’ll quickly be online. Please include your university email address and your job title and we’ll send you access to your portal and instructions to get started.

Talk to Us!
Most of the functions and features of Abroad101 originated from feedback from students, advisors and administrators. We are eager to build a better study abroad experience through Abroad101 and welcome further comments and suggestions. We also are more than happy to walk you through the site with an online demo or a phone call. PLEASE don’t hesitate to contact us:

By phone: +1-212-321-0928
By email: info@Abroad101.com
Online: http://www.StudyAbroad101.com
In Person: At NAFSA, booth #1048

Follow us on:
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/abroad101

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/studyabroad101
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/studyabroad101/

Thank you,

Mark Shay
CEO
Abroad101

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