Eastern Michigan University junior Nick Schlemper has developed a website to assist EMU students in various areas of college life. The site, www.CollegeGenius.net, is free to students and is currently up and running.
Schlemper, who was in the Army, is majoring in marketing at EMU. He is a transfer student from Texas who is attending EMU for his second year.
Schlemper developed the site as an assignment for his business class. The goal in the class was to create something useful for college students. He then created a proposal for a website that would assist college students in many different aspects of student life, such as buying and selling products, hitching rides together, advertising student events and organizations and more.
Schlemper said it is the “premiere web destination for college students.”
Schlemper’s professor encouraged him to follow through with the idea. He got in contact with a friend who builds websites and they decided to work on the project together. Schlemper said he was focused on making a resource for college students they could utilize.
The site has many different features for students, including a spot to post books, furniture, electronics and clothing to buy or sell. Since students would be purchasing from fellow students, they are likely to find good deals and low prices as well as text books that may be exactly what they need, according to Schlemper.
Students will be able to exchange products on campus as well. It is possible to find a product you need, contact the person who is selling it and meet up with them.
He said the meetings should be in a public area for safety purposes and people will not need to pay any shipping or handling. It is also convenient because students will know both parties attend the same university.
The website also contains a link to post information about an event, organization, club or concert that students would like to encourage participation or may be interested in. There will be a spot for nightlife as well, where students can find bars and restaurants in the area.
Schlemper also hopes it will be possible for students to find a job using the site. Local businesses can post when they are hiring and provide students with the information they need to apply and the position(s) available.
Schlemper recently added a feature called ride board to the website, where a student is able to post a certain trip that they are going on and offer other students the opportunity to hitch a ride with them. For example, if a student is going to visit their family in another city or state for the weekend and they post it on the ride board, another student at their school may see it and travel with them if they have family or friends in the same area.
Schlemper said the website is safe. To register, students must use their college-issued email address. People are only able to login after they have confirmed they are a college student at a specific university through their college email. Each school has its own page so after a student becomes a member of the site, they will only have access to links and information that pertains to their school. Schlemper said the site has officially launched at almost every big university in Michigan. Some out of state colleges have also taken advantage of it, such as DePaul University in Chicago.
The website has begun receiving funding from businesses in return for advertisement, however Schlemper said the website is looking to grow larger in order to raise enough money to award scholarships in the future.
People who register on the site now will be entered into a drawing to receive a free iPad. The contest will be going on through the end of October and the winner will be announced around Nov. 1.
Schlemper wants to encourage his fellow students that when they have an idea they should follow through with it and it can become something big.
