Local Teens Launch Website on College Tips, Traps

Released on = September 12, 2005, 1:12 pm

Press Release Author = Alexander Robb

Industry = Education

Press Release Summary = While the college experience aims to help students prepare for the eventual work world, the question begs: Who prepares them for college?

Press Release Body = MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. – Students heading off to their freshman year of college often have feelings of excitement mixed with uncertainty. It’s a new world out there, fraught with many questions: Will I like my roommate? What if I don’t? How should I decorate the dorm room? Where can I get financial aid? The list
goes on and on.

While the college experience aims to help students prepare for the eventual work world, the question begs: Who prepares them for college?

Nineteen-year-old Alex Robb of Mount Prospect saw this information void firsthand and now offers guidance to incoming freshmen through a new website he’s created -- www.collegecodex.com.

“When I left for college for the first time, I didn’t know what to pack or how I would be able to live in a dorm room,” says Robb, a communications major at Eastern Illinois University. “I knew there had to be a better way to navigate the maze of college life.”

So Robb pulled together a group of friends who’d all survived their initial college experience and used their insights to create a guide that offers advice on such things as how to co-exist with roommates or, in the case of students who wish to live off campus, how to negotiate apartment leases. The content is witty, practical and, best of all, free of charge.

Senior guide editor Ken Bauer says he’s drawn on his own experiences – such as a dispute with a landlord over utilities – in putting together the advice featured on the site. “From what we’ve been through, I think we can really help people avoid some of the unnecessary hassles that almost all college students find themselves dealing with at some point,” he said.

But the creators of www.collegecodex.com are also soliciting ideas from readers and, since the launch three weeks ago, are already seeing the site evolve into a community.

“The response has been outstanding,” Robb says. “More than 1,000 people have visited the site. Students are returning to read our content and submit their own advice. We’re developing a resource and a community that both students and parents are able to use.”

Web Site = http://www.collegecodex.com

Contact Details = Alexander Robb
Phone: (847) 894-4724
Fax: (847) 255-8029
Email: alex@collegecodex.com