I just got a call from an organization called College Point from New York claiming they can help me with college search and scholarships. Are they trustworthy? If they are, has anybody here participated in their program that can tell me how their experiences were?
They will charge you. You probably don’t need the help if you’ve already found CC and know how to use a computer.
RIPOFF
It’s 2016 and there’s something called the internet.
How much money do they want? If it’s The College Board, they must be asking for money.
LOL BelknapPoint, how did we let the College Board control so much of public education? What a fiasco!
@BelknapPoint It hasn’t said anything about price yet. I’ve emailed my school counselor about the program, too. I’ll update this if she gets back to me.
The program looks like it’s free. It’s not part of CB, though. CB’s just advertising it.
Hmm. Same. They called me and asked me to register. They claimed that they will never ask for money in the future. It sounds almost too good to be true.
Actually, College Point is completely free to qualifying students in low to moderate income families. It is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Yes, the Internet is a wonderful thing.
@peanutbuddha Here is more info/explanation :
I received an email from TCB today about them introducing a new program called CollegePoint. It “offers talented students like you assistance finding scholarships, researching colleges and navigating the financial aid process to help get you into the best fit school for you!”. Has anyone heard of it? Is it legit? The website seems legitimate, and it’s got several sponsors and partnerships.
@HailuMu Are you currently in this program? I’m a bit hesitant to give them any more information since I cannot find any information at all about this program online except its and Bloomberg’s website. They’ve so far called, emailed, and texted me, asking about what a good time to meet was.
If you are a senior in high school and just starting to search for scholarships you’ve missed the boat.
@masquerade98 I am a parent and got the call instead of my daughter since she goes to boarding school where they are limited in time to take random phone calls (no cell phones on campus)
I heard the guy out. Questioned him on who was eligible, where they got their info on my daughter, if some are charged while others are not. How long is it free, is it for profit. I basically asked the same question ten different ways. Then I googled to see if I could find anything negative. This uniformed thread was the only negative thing I found.
It’s basically a philanthropic foundation funding College Point as one of their out reach programs that will not ever charge you for their services. I can’t say how valuable their services are or will be to you. Their specialists are generally college and grad students who are probably getting work experience. But for low income students who have limited resources it could be a valuable source of support and information.
They reach out to students who scored in the top 10% on the SAT or PSAT. Grades are also a qualifier (3.5uw+) as is income.
As far as the guy on the phone who signs you up- he/she will basically confirm the info he already has, confirm your household income and ask permission for a consultant to contact you. Pretty basic stuff.
Hope that helps! I’m new to all this stuff too and honestly all the mail, email, phone calls kids get is overwhelming. Smart to be skeptical but a shame if something useful gets passed by because there isn’t enough info out there. I’m under the impression College Point is new.
http://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2014/bloomberg-philanthropies
The mayor of Los Angeles just accepted a bunch of money from them so they have a lot and are most likely pretty legit. Google Michael Bloomberg or Bloomberg Philanthtopies for more info
@HailuMu Thank you very much for the help! This program sounds quite helpful to me indeed.
did you ever end up getting an advisor with college point? I have one but overtime I make a meeting she never calls!!! has your experience been like this too? @masquerade98
@“anum keen” I’ve worked with two counselors from CollegePoint thus far. I had one for the spring of junior year and one for fall of senior year. We do calls every month for just general discussion, and I also call if I need anything. One thing that they are very useful for is practicing interviews. If she’s not calling I would suggest you email her/try with a different phone number.