What's Your Kind of College...and After-College?

I had the pleasure to connect with Anne Raphael recently. She's the founder of
www.mykindofcollege.com, a site aimed at helping college students with all
sorts of things like stopping procrastination and finding a good roommate. I
liked the site because some of the information can be applied to college grads
as well.

Here's what Anne had to say about the site!


Q.Tell us about My Kind Of College.

A. My Kind Of College is a new site that uses cartoons to help prepare students and
their parents for the rigors of college and beyond. In a nutshell, My Kind Of
College is a website that seeks to make the complex simple. College is an inevitable
for most students and My Kind Of College makes the inevitable less intimidating.

Cartoons are a great way to present material in a friendly manner without
overwhelming your audience.  We cover a wide range of topics from how to make a bank
deposit, do laundry, and avoid procrastinating- among other subjects.  I’ve received
comments from students ranging in age from their twenties to 10 years old saying
that they learned more from My Kind Of College than they did from any other college
resource.  Let’s face it: For a lot of students, college is scary, but when you
prepare students for college in a really fun way, they begin to realize that there
isn’t anything to fear.


How’d you start the site, and what can it offer recent grads?

I started the site to help students cope with the various problems and issues that
they may face while in college and beyond. Back when I was in college, I quickly
discovered that there weren’t any decent resources out there that I could turn to
for college help and advice. After graduation I thought about what I went through
and how I could provide a solution to help others in the same predicament. That’s
why My Kind Of College exists. I don’t want other students to have to make the same
mistakes I did or to feel alone when facing various issues while in college. I hope
My Kind Of College becomes the ultimate resource that they can turn to for college
help and advice.

Recent graduates can also benefit from the website. We offer information about
careers, car buying, and cooking, among other things. Although My Kind Of College is a
college preparation website, many of the topics we discuss are applicable in real
life situations away from the college campus.


Do you think it helps since you’re also a 20-something? (She's just 23!)

Definitely! I know what it’s like to be a high school senior excited about college,
a college student trying to find their way, and a recent graduate facing life after
college. That’s what makes My Kind Of College so special. We work hard to focus upon
the needs of students today and how we can best serve those needs. It really isn’t
enough to tell students to just study and they’ll do well in college, you’ve got to
have a real sense of what’s going on in college campuses, in high schools, and even
in middle schools. Having a website that’s aware of  what student’s today are going
through and helping them thrive in college is needed, and I believe that My Kind Of
College is working hard everyday to fulfill that need.


What do you think is the most important advice for recent grads?

Never give up. It’s a bit overstated, but nevertheless very true. Always keep your
eye on the prize and never let anyone make you believe that you’re not good enough
to court success.