Thomson Peterson's Teams with the Greenes to Make Private College Consulting Accessible to Families from All Walks of Life
Peterson's College Consulting service offers anxious families convenient,
affordable, one-on-one online college admissions guidance
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As student-to- guidance counselor ratios rise above 300 to 1, effective and affordable resources for college counseling and planning are difficult to find. Thomson Peterson's, the nation's leading provider of college admissions services and part of the Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TXS: TOC), believes that all families deserve personalized college planning advice and shouldn't have to spend thousands of dollars to get it. Peterson's College Consulting service, developed in conjunction with Howard and Matthew Greene, America's foremost college-admissions experts and co-hosts of two PBS college admissions specials, offers a suite of online services, including one-on-one phone sessions with a live private consultant.
One-on-one consulting sessions form the core component of the service. Students are assigned a specific consultant depending on their academic and career goals, special needs, athletic talents, or general interests. Consulting sessions are highly personalized and targeted to the specific needs of the student or family, whether they're high school freshman mapping out a course schedule, juniors just starting to narrow down college choices, or seniors starting the interview process. Sessions are held via telephone and are purchased in blocks of time according to the level of service selected. Following each session, the counselor provides the student with detailed written feedback, including a synopsis of the discussion and recommendations for next steps.
The consulting team consists of admissions professionals whose expertise is rarely available for private guidance. They include many with insider knowledge of the college admissions process, including deans of admission, admissions officers, directors of guidance, financial aid directors, independent consultants, and former Olympians. Howard, a former admissions officer at Princeton University, and Matthew Greene, who have co-hosted two PBS specials on college admissions, Ten Steps to College with the Greenes, and Paying for College with the Greenes, co-developed the service, have more than 35 years of experience preparing students for college. They have authored numerous books on college admissions and higher education, including the 6- volume Greene's Guide to Educational Planning series.
"Peterson's College Consulting levels the playing field and provides personalized college planning and advice when it matters most. All families who plan to send a student to college can reap the benefits of a private college consultant," said Mary Gatsch, President of Thomson Peterson's. "And we're proud to work with such a high caliber of admissions professionals, who know what it takes for a student to stand out in a highly competitive admissions landscape. That's what makes our service unique."
In addition to the one-on-one consulting sessions, Peterson's College Consulting also offers a free monthly college planning e-newsletter that is sent directly to students, and free one-hour weekly online chat sessions with admissions and financial aid experts, including the Greenes, who answer students' and parents' questions on topics specific to their unique situation.
For more information about Peterson's College Consulting, visit http://www.petersons.com/pcc.
About The Thomson Corporation and Thomson Peterson's
The Thomson Corporation (http://www.thomson.com), with 2003 revenues from continuing operations of $7.44 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) has approximately 38,000 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. Its learning businesses and brands serve the needs of individuals, learning institutions, corporations and government agencies with products and services for both traditional and distributed learning. Thomson Peterson's (http://www.petersons.com) is a leading provider of education information and advice, with books and online resources focusing on education search, test preparation, and financial aid. Its Web site offers searchable databases and interactive tools for contacting educational institutions, online practice tests and instruction, and planning tools for securing financial aid. Thomson Peterson's serves 110 million education consumers annually.
SOURCE Thomson Corporation
-0- 01/31/2005
/CONTACT: Michael Fleischner, VP, Bus Dev & Marketing of Thomson
Peterson's, +1-609-896-1800, ext. 3549, Michael.fleischner@thomson.com; or
Adam Gaber, Sr. Director, Public Relations of Thomson Learning,
+1-203-539-8663, adam.gaber@thomson.com/
/Web site: http://thomsonlearning.com
http://www.petersons.com
http://www.thomson.com /
(TOC TOC.)
CO: Thomson Corporation
ST: New Jersey
IN: EDU FIN HED
SU:
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