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Note: Welcome to the official Zinch.com blog. Here you'll learn the latest and greatest in what's going on with Zinch. Check out the 'Laugh' section (random funnies) or the 'Learn' section (content aggregrated from various college admissions blogs). Enjoy.
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By
Mickey
on April 21, 2007
We've just about reached 30,000 users. That's after one month of being live. Wow. Things are crazier than ever.
The core team spent the last two weeks on a "Road Tour" out East, visiting colleges, high schools, partnerships, and organizations in places such as D.C., NY, and Boston.
The excitement never ends. High School counselors are hopping on board a lot faster than we ever expected, and colleges are finally having their prayers answered, being able to personalize their recruiting in a way never before done.
We've set ourselves up with a lot of key partnerships which include various national organizations and key companies in the education space. Once the relationships are solidified with these organizations/companies, i'd be more than happy to share who they are.
We've also been getting a lot of recent press. The Yale Daily News did an article on us. A bunch of parents have discovered Zinch, thus blogging about it (Phantascene, Confessions of an Everyday Housewife, Tricia's Musings, Liberal Common Sense, Living Life in Full Color ).
An Education site in the Netherlands did an article on us as well as the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. High school websites and blogs are also starting to pick up as more and more people hear about the greatest new tool that's revolutionizing the way college recruitment works.
Hundreds and hundreds of colleges are already knocking on our door asking when they can start using Zinch. We keep reminding them that they'll all be able to use it on June 1st. With the moment/contacts that we've had in the last little while, we expect that over 95% of all colleges in America will be using Zinch. Maybe more.
It's definitely an exciting time for Zinch.com. Our team has grown to 15 people. And even that's not enough people to handle all our growth. Hundreds and hundreds of counselors are "signing up" daily and the verification process with them as been tough to handle. It's certainly a good problem to have, too much growth.
As for our product feature releases, the "Z-Folio" and "The Love" are expected to be available within the next two weeks. We'll keep you posted.
We've also added three new scholarships. Donors have been generous. :) We now have the "Sweet-Diggity-Dawg" Scholarship, which is for $20,000. All high school students (everywhere) qualify for that one. We also have the Texas and Florida scholarships (each for $1,000) available for only students who reside in those states. Boo yah with the bling. :)
Nothing but great things are happening with Zinch. Whether you decide to join or not, we are revolutionizing the way college recruitment works. Nuff said.
Mick Hagen
CEO
Zinch.com
By
Mickey
on March 27, 2007
I'm not gonna lie. One thing that has always bugged me in college admissions is the concept of a "legacy." I know I know, one day when my kids are applying to Princeton, i'll absolutely love the idea. But right now, it's one thing I really don't like. Too many amazing, talented, & qualified high school students are left with the rejection letter because a "legacy" took his/her spot. I had many friends who fell victim to this injustice.
For those of you new to the concept, here's a short blurb from good ol' wikipedia: "Legacy admission is a type of preference given by educational institutions to certain applicants on the basis of their familial relationship to alumni of that institution. (Students so admitted are referred to as legacies or legacy students.) There is a long history of this practice at American universities and colleges."
So why does it bug me so bad? Well...while I was at Princeton, I was able to meet alot (I mean alot) of legacy students. And you know what....most of them didn't deserve to be there. It's as simple as that. They did not deserve to be there.
Again, i'm not saying ALL legacies. I'm just saying many of those I had met.
There was one dorm neighbor at Princeton who was a world fencing champion, another neighbor who spoke 7 languages, another neighbor who was pretty much just a week away from curing cancer, and then there was "John Doe" the legacy, who rarely even attended class. It didn't make sense to me. There were a handful of students I knew in high school who would have given an arm to be in his spot at Princeton and who were certainly more qualified. Yet, because "John Doe" was a legacy, he was in.
There was a really interesting article published recently in the Badger Herald, titled "Legacy Matters." It points out a few facts about legacies. Here's a snippet:
Students with a family legacy at their university are more likely to experience academic problems than both athletes and minority students, according to a Princeton University study released Monday.
According to the study, conducted by Douglas Massey, professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton, so-called “legacy students” are often not prepared for the academic rigors of top higher-education institutions, and often do not receive the additional resources available to athletes and minority students. Another thing that goes hand in hand with legacies are the students who belong to extremely wealthy families. Colleges will often times let these kids in with hopes that one day their families will donate a lot of money to the university. Nightline did a report on this. Here's the blurb from their site about the story.
' "Nightline" aired a report on November 2, 2006, about the college admissions process that focused on the advantages that candidates can have if they come from a wealthy family perceived as potential big donors to the school. In this regard, we reported on the admission into Duke of two children of the designer Ralph Lauren, who later made a six figure contribution to the university. We also noted that the then Vice Chancellor of Duke, Professor Joel Fleishman, recommended that the children be admitted to the university, solicited donations from the Lauren family, and later was appointed to the Ralph Lauren Company's board of directors....' That bugs.
Perhaps i'm annoyed because I resent legacies and these super rich kids. Well, perhaps resentment isn't the word i'm looking for. But call it what you want. I wasn't a legacy. My father didn't graduate from college and my mother only did when I was older, already in high school. And I certainly didn't come from a super wealthy family. I had to sacrifice a lot to get into Princeton. I had to put an incredible amount of effort into making it happen.
Perhaps the root of my disdain is tied to the fact that in high school I didn't get to do as much as the legacy. I didn't get as much sleep as the legacy cuz I had to wake up earlier to study. I didn't get to make out with my girlfriend as much as the legacy because of my after-school volunteer work. I didn't get to go out with my friends and play ball as much as the legacy because of my job. I had to read Charles Dickens instead of Sports Illustrated. I had to surf the net for free test prep materials instead of having my fancy-shmancy "college coach" tutor me. The list goes on....and on....and on.
I was studying. I was working. I was sacrificing. I was doing what it took to get into Princeton. I got in because of my hard work, not my daddy's nor his checkbook.
To me it's that simple.
Again, I know some legacies who should ABSOLUTELY be where they are. Their acceptance has NOTHING to do with the fact that they come from money or that they're legacy. However, I know many, yes many, who didn't give a rat's booty where they were. They weren't gonna do their homework regardless. And it was sad to see. They had taken someone else's spot. Someone who truly would have appreciated and taken full advantage of the education they were getting.
That's my two cents with that.
But hey....I guess it really doesn't matter though does it? Like I said, in 20 years from now when Mick junior is applying to Princeton, i'll have forgotten this blog, my present feelings, and my annoyance. The legacy concept might be the very thing that gets my boy in. :)
-Mickey
By
Mickey
on March 26, 2007
Sorry we don't write in the blog more. It's the kiss of death to every blog: lack of entries. I know I know.....it stinks. But no worries. It's just that we've been EXTREMELY busy trying to match the growth that's happening. There aren't enough hands on deck or hours in the day to respond to all the positive feedback or flood of emails that we're getting. It's exciting. Things are definitely moving forward. Faster than ever. We're in the process of getting more personnel so we can keep with the pace of things....
We've now been live for two weeks. Here are the highlights thus far.
The zinch buzz has already begun. Many articles have already been written about us. Some of the more popular ones included the following:
AdmitSpit Blog
College Strategies Online
We were also highlighted in one of the nation's biggest education publications, Chronicle of Higher Education.
Perhaps most exciting is the response from high school students. Students are ecstatic about Zinch.
+ Check out our Myspace page
+ One very excited International student summed up the student excitement in his blog.
+ We are currently getting hundreds of new student profiles filled out per day
Students spanning the country are expressing their interest in Zinch. Domestic users from cities such as San Diego, California to Portland, Maine to Brooklyn, New York are sounding off to colleges and universities across America.
We anticipate major momentum in the months ahead. Come join the movement- tell any high school kid you know. College admissions just got a whole lot easier. It’s your chance to shine!
Peace. We'll keep you posted.
-Mick
By
Mickey
on March 17, 2007
So far, we've had nothing but great feedback! The first week of being online was definitely a success. We had people all over the world hearing about Zinch, sharing our story, and blogging about us.
Counselors all over America are ecstatic about this tool to help their students. We had feedback from counselors spanning America, from places like Portland, Maine, Beaufort, South Carolina, and Jamul, California.
Admissions officers continue to express their interest in this project, and remind us, as soon as we have a good number of students, they'll start using it. They have absolutely no doubts that it can help them in their recruiting efforts, making the entire process a lot more personalized.
Students from all over the world are talking about us in forums, blogs, and chat rooms. One student from Malaysia, Andrew Loh Zhu An, was absolutely amazed at what Zinch had to offer. He wrote about it in his Blog here.
Also, I had a really cool interview with Doreen Bloch, of AdmitSpit, a well known blog that relates to college admissions. Check it out at their blog. Alot of great questions were asked, and hopefully the answers were given.
The Zinch movement is definitely making progress and moving forward. We're excited for the amazing things to come. Have a great weekend!
-Mick
By
Mickey
on March 12, 2007
Well ladies and gents....we're live. After months and months of brainstorming, research, broken pencils, programming, headaches, late nights, sack lunches, and prayers.....we're finally live.
March 12, 2007. What a joyous day for us all. The Zinch concept, which not to long ago was merely a dream, is now a reality. Students from all over the world can showcase themselves in a way never before done. Well in advance of the college admissions process, students can put themselves on the radar. No longer will colleges and universities be forced to recruit students based off test scores. Hurrah! A solution to the great pain that currently exists! Be you an underpriviliged student or one with resources, the playing field is now level. All will have an equal opportunity to put themselves out there and maximize their chances of succeeding in the college recruitment/admissions process. I encourage everyone to take a look at the vision section in Project Zinch.
It feels good to have finally launched. Hopefully the movement can now pick up greater speed. We're on a mission. A mission of higher education. A mission of equality. A mission of empowering the high school student and extracting greatness from all.
This is gonna be a great ride. We're all excited for it. Ping me if you'd like to chat with me. Peace.
Mick Hagen
El presidente
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