The student-run college application website Yesletter.com has established an annual scholarship program for "Outstanding Peer Service."
Though Adam Ludwig '06, Robert Moore '06 and University of Pennsylvania student Cliff Jones '06 founded the site two years ago, they initiated the $1,000 scholarship program this past spring. Membership to the site costs $70, though any student can apply for the scholarship.
Moore credited the scholarship program as a major factor in Yesletter.com's success this past year.
"In terms of building a brand, it was a very successful move," Moore said. "The great thing about scholarships is that the clientele is renewed every year. You can also hone a set of skills that keeps rewarding students."
Last spring, Moore, Ludwig and Jones announced Emily O'Neill as the recipient of the "Outstanding Peer Service Scholarship." The founders sacrificed their spring breaks in order to personally read through each of the 25,000 applications they received.
O'Neill, now a freshman at George Washington University, won the scholarship because of the newsletter, "Becoming Yourself," which she established as a high school freshman. The newsletter circulated among middle school girls who sought advice from high schoolers.
"Emily stood out not only because of her originality but because her efforts were entrepreneurial in nature: the circulation was international," Ludwig said.
The website Yesletter.com was founded in 2002 and offers comprehensive data on all aspects of the college application processes: standardized testing, the essay, student loans, scholarships and more. Yesletter.com is especially popular at this time of year, when college-bound high school seniors scramble through the obstacles of the application process. The site now covers applying to all Ivy League colleges, though it is not associated with a specific college.
Moore and Ludwig met in FRS 129: Technology and Science, a seminar that explained how the Internet can serve society. From there, Yesletter.com was born. The two freshmen teamed up to create the website in order to provide equal opportunities for all applicants.
"The website's a way for providing services for all classes of people," Ludwig said.
Moore and Ludwig were soon wary of the financial problems associated with promoting their nascent business.
Moore said that despite their low budget, they were able to advertise on websites through Google and FastWeb.
In addition to the scholarship opportunity, Moore, Ludwig and Jones promote Yesletter.com by sending packets of information to high schools.
"Though this is a site to provide advice for kids, we are trying to launch our business efforts at adults," Moore explained.
The goal of the website is to get seniors in to their first choice college.
"Success in the college admissions process is about the little pieces of the puzzle, but mainly it's about being aware of the fact that the application is a representation of yourself. You have to ask yourself: is this me? In essence, the college process is a type of marketing plan," Moore said.
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