1. Mission: To build a social networking destination that allows high
thecollegenitelife.com:
school juniors and seniors, college students, alumni and graduates as
Advisory Board Chair: Tom Grech
well as long-distance learners to know, participate and enjoy the
Technology: Kyle O’Connor
complete social experience that both on and off campus college and
Finance: Brad Kerr
university life offers.
Marketing: Joe O’Brien
Industry: social networking Business Description: thecollegenitelife.com is a website designed for
reviewing and rating college social life. Other websites review and rate
Number of Employees: 5 college standings based on academic criteria; TCNL is the first to
provide students information about entertainment, food, bars, clubs, the
Financing Sought: social scene and college life in general. TCNL is unique because the
$1.5mm information is provided by students, for students. Our user interface
allows students and alumni to leave personal reviews and feedback on
Use of Funds: Revamp social life at colleges and universities nationwide. Current and
website, product/service prospective students can make choices on where to attend school and
development, marketing/sales and what to do while enrolled there or visiting. TCNL receives
professional services expenses approximately 3,500 unique hits per day on average.
Current investors:
Friends and family Company Background: Established in 2005 by three University of
Scranton students and their friends, TCNL begin life in a dorm room.
Contact: TCNL has been successful in attracting and retaining visitors because
Tom Grech of the valuable information on the social environment at colleges and
917-865-2699 universities throughout the US. Unlike any other college-student based
website, TCNL offers reviews, opinions and ratings on specific colleges
and the activities, even before a student ever sets foot on campus.
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Products/Services: Reviews and ratings on restaurants, clubs, bars,
bookstores, social activities for college students. Reviews are
unvarnished and actual reviews written by users and bloggers who
want to critique the social scene. This site is not a “where to party”
guide. Rather, it is a web-based information tool that allows
prospective and current students alike the ability to know the true
social scene at a particular college.
Markets: Every college and university in the US. TCNL is targeted to males and females, ages 17-28. We look at
each and every unique college and university as a separate source for generating advertising revenue. Further
expansion to international students in the US and international schools seeking US students as well as partnering
with colleges and universities seeking to maximize enrollment is part of our future expansion plan.
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Distribution Channels: Generate revenue through advertising sales on both a national and local level. Support
promotional and branded events, design and provide campus premiums. Seek national advertising partners for co-
branding initiatives; local/grass root advertising to foster local college buzz on-campus and off.
Competition: campusdirt.com, collegeprowler.com, collegeconfidential.com, teenink.com, juicycampus.com
These competitors offer a review of a broad range of college life. There is not a strong focus on nightlife and the
social scene. TCNL is unique because of our strong focus on the social nature of college and university life.
Financial Projections:
FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012
Proj. Revenue $75,000 $750,000 $1,250,000 $3,750,000
Proj. Expenditures $500,000 $900,000 $1,000,000 $3,000,000

2. Students Use Blogs to Cut Through Fog, Find Right College
By ANDREA ALEXANDER, STAFF WRITER ; The Record March 4th, 2007
Beyond the glossy college brochure there is a less scripted way to learn about your school of choice. College
admissions, meet the blog.
The presence of Web logs and online community forums is growing on the Internet. They can
be used to supplement information available to high school students and their parents trying
to navigate the complicated choice of finding a school.
Many are outside the control of colleges and universities. But some schools are also jumping on the bandwagon.
Montclair and Drew universities, among others, feature student bloggers on their Web sites to give a candid look at
campus life.
Among the non-school-sanctioned sites, there is a blog on college night life (thecollegenitelife.com/new/index.php)
that talks about parties at William Paterson University. They are practically non- existent, according to students
who post on the site.
A former Dartmouth University admissions counselor started a blog (gettingin.wordpress.com) to debunk myths
about getting accepted at top schools.
Blogs on the Drew University site have received more than 1,000 hits since they were launched, said Mary Beth
Carey, the school's dean of admissions and financial assistance. Recruiters are finding there is a greater response
to electronic initiatives than direct mail.
quot;Students are using the Internet more than they are reading what they get in the mail,quot; Carey said.
quot;They are so much more sophisticated and savvy,quot; she said. quot;We had to shift our initiatives to be responsive to
prospective students.quot;
Sometimes, the information found on blogs can steer students in a different direction during their college search.
Marissa Kluger, 18, of Wayne, turned to the blog site livejournal.com after she was deferred from Sarah Lawrence
College to find out more. She found a blog from Sarah Lawrence students and decided the school was not a good
choice for her.
quot;I think it is important to hear from students who attend the school, not just admissions officers,quot; said Kluger, now
a freshman at Goucher College in Baltimore, Md.
On the blogs students quot;tell you how it is,quot; she said. quot;They don't sugar-coat it.quot;
More than 60 percent of the high school class of 2007 would prefer to find out information about colleges and
universities from student and faculty blogs, according to a study from the National Research Center for College and
University Admissions.
As a result, colleges and universities are moving toward using more electronic communication for admissions and
some are even including instant message addresses on business cards, said Larry Erenberger, senior vice president
for the research center.
Ted Johnsen, 22, a senior at Drew, was invited to blog last year on the university's Web site while he studied
abroad in London. Johnsen said he feels free to be honest on the blog. But he admits if he had a serious problem
with something going on at school, it probably wouldn't make the Web.
But Johnsen believes he can give prospective students a more accurate view of the university than he was able to
find.
quot;I looked at a lot of schools and the only things that were available were the college-issued pamphlets where the
students were like: 'I love this place,' quot; Johnsen said. It was scripted. This is the unscripted stuff that I think people
can relate to better.quot;
In a recent blog entry, Johnsen posted a homemade video on taco day in the school cafeteria,
Through videos and the blogs quot;I think we are able to better represent what Drew is,quot; Johnsen said. quot;It is more real
than the college propaganda they put out.” As an admissions counselor, Carey cautions parents and students to
verify the information they find on independent blogs.
quot;I think we are headed into a Catch-22,quot; Carey said. quot;There is an endless source of information out there, but it
can be very confusing or overwhelming. Students should use it, but they should also follow up with the college they
are interested in to get more accurate information specific to that institution.quot;