The cost of higher education may continue to increase, but it is still considered a popular path to take after graduating from high school. However, as demand continues to grow at esteemed universities in the United States and Canada, admission officers are following a cutthroat system to find the best and brightest.
In Indiana, a text message service is providing high schoolers and their parents or guardians with tips ranging from making the most out of those four years to increasing their chances of getting into their dream school, according to the Public News Service. Based on the age of the student, the short code text will send reminders that directly impacts his or her education plan.
Parents too, can use this resource to help their children put their best foot forward before their college career begins.
"A junior might be reminded about SAT or ACT deadlines," said Kate Coffman, project director of these text alerts. "But younger students, we talk to them about the classes they need to take in high school to be prepared."
The text messaging initiative is led by Coffman and the College and Career Counseling at the Indiana Youth Institute. When the pilot program launched, Coffman found that the system received extremely positive feedback. Based on its success, the institute decided to open the line up to the rest of the state.
"One hundred percent of them would recommend it to a friend and 70 percent of them had clicked through to the different links we provided," she said.
Because many cell phone users have unlimited text messaging plans, Indiana's service does not cost users a thing. The only exception would if the subscriber has a messaging limit. Businesses and other organizations can greatly benefit from having a program. Swift SMS Gateway has the tools to help companies prepare others for success.
