AdmitSee
{{orphan|date=March 2016}}
{{Infobox Website
| name = AdmitSee
| logo = File:AdmitSee Inc. logo.png
| url = {{URL|https://www.admitsee.com}}
| language = English
| registration =
| owner =
| key_people =
| alexa =
| current_status = Active
}}
AdmitSee, Inc. is an educational technology company and college-oriented social-networking site with offices in San Francisco and New York City.{{cite news|last1=Fayal|first1=Lydia|title=Crowdsourcing for Students|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/accelerators/2014/10/28/lydia-fayal-crowdsourcing-for-students/|accessdate=17 March 2015|work=Wall Street Journal: The Accelerators|date=28 October 2014}} Their primary offering is AdmitSee, a database of successful college application essays and resumes.{{cite news|last1=Anders|first1=George|title=What Essays Thrill Elite Schools? These Teens Will Show You|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2014/12/01/what-essays-thrill-elite-schools-these-teens-will-show-you/|accessdate=17 March 2015|work=Forbes|date=1 December 2014}} The service allows college applicants to read applications and resumes of accepted students. They browse basic profiles for free, and then pay to access full application files, including essays and advice; half of this money gets paid to the college students who shared their content. Applicants can also communicate directly with verified college students via the paid mentor messaging feature.{{cite news|last1=Ma|first1=Alexandra|title=This Social Network Could Help You Get Into Your Dream College|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/admitsee-social-network-college-application_us_55c8f3c3e4b0f73b20ba2e64|accessdate=4 February 2016|work=The Huffington Post|date=17 August 2015}}
As of January 2016, the platform has over 50,000 application files and over 100,000 active users.{{cite news|last1=della Cava|first1=Marco|title=AdmitSee aims to be LinkedIn for college seekers|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/01/14/admitsee-aims-linkedin-college-seekers/77986110/|accessdate=25 January 2016|work=USA Today|date=17 January 2016}} AdmitSee uses official school IDs to verify student profiles and facilitates universities screening for plagiarism.
Founding
The company was founded by Lydia Fayal and Stephanie Shyu in 2013 while attending law school at the University of Pennsylvania.{{cite news|last1=Roy|first1=Melony|title=Two Penn Alumni Create Social Network For College Admissions|url=http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2016/02/01/two-penn-alumni-create-social-network-for-college-admissions/|accessdate=4 February 2016|work=CBS Philly|date=1 February 2016}} The idea to create a database of application files came from Fayal's work as a college consultant when clients would ask how they compared to other applicants.{{cite web|last1=Kavanaugh|first1=Nadine|title=Q&A With AdmitSee, Wharton Business Plan Competition Finalist|url=http://beacon.wharton.upenn.edu/entrepreneurship/2014/04/admitsee-wharton-business-plan-competition-finalist/|website=Wharton Entrepreneurship Blog|access-date=2015-03-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402170619/http://beacon.wharton.upenn.edu/entrepreneurship/2014/04/admitsee-wharton-business-plan-competition-finalist/|archive-date=2015-04-02|url-status=dead}} After meeting at a Wharton event, the classmates expanded the idea to include peer mentoring and big data analysis.{{cite news|last1=Segran|first1=Elizabeth|title=Use These Two Words on Your College Essay to Get into Harvard|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3049289/most-creative-people/use-these-two-words-on-your-college-essay-to-get-into-harvard|accessdate=4 February 2016|work=Fast Company|date=3 August 2015}} The founders were introduced in 2013 to founding engineer, Jerry Huyghe, who built the initial version of the website.{{cite web|title=Draper University Livestream - Lydia Fayal - Admitsee|url=http://livestream.com/draperuniversity/lydia-fayal|website=Draper University}} The company advanced to the final round of the Wharton Business Plan Competition in 2014.{{cite web|last1=Itah|first1=Maya|title=Doing A Startup In The Thick Of Law School|url=http://tippingthescales.com/2014/05/founding-a-company-in-the-thick-of-law-school/|website=Tipping the Scales}}
Early funding for the company came from Founder.org and the edtech accelerator Imagine K12.{{cite web|last1=Ioffe|first1=Yevgeny|title=Q&A With Stephanie Shyu, Co-Founder of AdmitSee|url=http://edtechtimes.com/2014/09/29/qa-stephanie-shyu-co-founder-admitsee/|website=edtechtimes}} The company raised $1.8million seed funding in 2015 with plans to build a lead generation offering.{{cite news|last1=Loizos|first1=Connie|title=AdmitSee Raises $1.8 Million In Seed Funding From Silicon Valley Heavyweights|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/06/admitsee-raises-1-8-million-in-seed-funding-from-silicon-valley-heavyweights/|accessdate=5 February 2016|work=TechCrunch|date=6 October 2015}} Earlier in 2015, Fayal and Shyu were named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list as influencers in the field of education.{{cite news|last1=Howard|first1=Caroline|title=Code And College Readiness Are Reinventing Education On 30 Under 30|url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/lmh45mfhd/stephanie-shyu-26-lydia-fayal-28/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109143014/http://www.forbes.com/pictures/lmh45mfhd/stephanie-shyu-26-lydia-fayal-28/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 9, 2015|accessdate=17 March 2015|work=Forbes|date=5 January 2015}}
The founders credit early traction to their virtual internship program, which they modeled after oDesk and to early adoption of online communities, such as Reddit.{{cite news|last1=Rao|first1=Sameer|title=Can AdmitSee change the college admissions game?|url=http://www.phillyvoice.com/can-admitsee-change-admissions-game/|accessdate=5 February 2016|work=PhillyVoice|date=26 February 2015}}
Reception
Press for AdmitSee includes USA Today lauding its plagiarism prevention methods and calling AdmitSee a "must-visit site this application season."{{cite news|last1=Fortenbury|first1=Jon|title=3 useful websites to check out while applying to college|url=http://college.usatoday.com/2015/03/04/3-useful-websites-to-check-out-while-applying-to-college/|accessdate=17 March 2015|date=4 March 2015}} News coverage has tended to focus on the company's published data, which include linguistic analysis of the site's repository of essays and of survey responses.{{cite news|last1=Anders|first1=George|title=10 Reasons Your Daughter's College Essay Won't Resemble Your Son's|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2015/11/11/10-reasons-your-daughters-college-essay-wont-resemble-your-sons/#2789253576f7|accessdate=4 February 2016|work=Forbes|date=11 November 2015}}{{cite news|title=EdTech Company AdmitSee’s Survey of 26,000 High School Students Pinpoints "The Essay" as the Most Frustrating Element of the College Application|url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/edtech_company_admitsee_s_survey_of_26_000_high_school_students_pinpoints_the_essay_as_the_most_frustrating_element_of_the_college_application/prweb13182330.htm|access-date=4 February 2016|work=PRWeb|date=26 January 2016}} Responses to this data have been mixed; some critics maintain that the data help students "game the system".{{cite web|last1=Inman|first1=Eric|title=College Admissions Demystified – Stephanie Shyu of AdmitSee|url=http://startupchronicle.com/college-admissions-demystified-stephanie-shyu-of-admitsee|website=Startup Chronicle}} AdmitSee has also received pushback from offline college consulting and test prep groups, who criticize AdmitSee's voyeuristic potential, comparing it to an online dating site.{{cite news|last1=Stephens|first1=Josh|title=College Applicants Should Seek Inspiration, Not Imitation, in Others' Essays|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-stephens/college-applicants-pick-y_b_6279766.html|accessdate=17 March 2015|work=Huffington Post|date=8 December 2014}} Despite criticism, the company does have its supporters in the admissions community and collaborates with educational partners.