Project: College Confidential

As the world’s largest college forum, College Confidential helps students find their best-fit educational path by exploring colleges and careers, learning from the experts about the admissions process, and accessing candid advice from their peers.

As the world’s largest college forum, College Confidential helps students find their best-fit educational path by exploring colleges and careers, learning from the experts about the admissions process, and accessing candid advice from their peers.

As the world’s largest college forum, College Confidential helps students find their best-fit educational path by exploring colleges and careers, learning from the experts about the admissions process, and accessing candid advice from their peers.

As the world’s largest college forum, College Confidential helps students find their best-fit educational path by exploring colleges and careers, learning from the experts about the admissions process, and accessing candid advice from their peers.

As the world’s largest college forum, College Confidential helps students find their best-fit educational path by exploring colleges and careers, learning from the experts about the admissions process, and accessing candid advice from their peers.

The acquisition of CC in 2021 presented a huge challenge for our product team. The largest college forum in the world, College Confidential, was instrumental in helping students select their ideal educational path by offering information about universities, careers, admissions procedures, and open feedback from peers. Our objective was to identify pain areas and develop techniques to improve user engagement and enable the finding of useful information that were previously difficult to uncover. With a lively community and a startling 2 million monthly visits, this was no small task.

The main goal of this product was to diagnose current pain points, and offer creative solutions to enhance the whole user experience. As a part of the product and user engagement team, it was my role to evaluate customer behaviour, spot roadblocks to resource discovery, and provide methods for effectively overcoming these challenges.

The acquisition of CC in 2021 presented a huge challenge for our product team. The largest college forum in the world, College Confidential, was instrumental in helping students select their ideal educational path by offering information about universities, careers, admissions procedures, and open feedback from peers. Our objective was to identify pain areas and develop techniques to improve user engagement and enable the finding of useful information that were previously difficult to uncover. With a lively community and a startling 2 million monthly visits, this was no small task.

The main goal of this product was to diagnose current pain points, and offer creative solutions to enhance the whole user experience. As a part of the product and user engagement team, it was my role to evaluate customer behaviour, spot roadblocks to resource discovery, and provide methods for effectively overcoming these challenges.

The acquisition of CC in 2021 presented a huge challenge for our product team. The largest college forum in the world, College Confidential, was instrumental in helping students select their ideal educational path by offering information about universities, careers, admissions procedures, and open feedback from peers. Our objective was to identify pain areas and develop techniques to improve user engagement and enable the finding of useful information that were previously difficult to uncover. With a lively community and a startling 2 million monthly visits, this was no small task.

The main goal of this product was to diagnose current pain points, and offer creative solutions to enhance the whole user experience. As a part of the product and user engagement team, it was my role to evaluate customer behaviour, spot roadblocks to resource discovery, and provide methods for effectively overcoming these challenges.

The acquisition of CC in 2021 presented a huge challenge for our product team. The largest college forum in the world, College Confidential, was instrumental in helping students select their ideal educational path by offering information about universities, careers, admissions procedures, and open feedback from peers. Our objective was to identify pain areas and develop techniques to improve user engagement and enable the finding of useful information that were previously difficult to uncover. With a lively community and a startling 2 million monthly visits, this was no small task.

The main goal of this product was to diagnose current pain points, and offer creative solutions to enhance the whole user experience. As a part of the product and user engagement team, it was my role to evaluate customer behaviour, spot roadblocks to resource discovery, and provide methods for effectively overcoming these challenges.

The acquisition of CC in 2021 presented a huge challenge for our product team. The largest college forum in the world, College Confidential, was instrumental in helping students select their ideal educational path by offering information about universities, careers, admissions procedures, and open feedback from peers. Our objective was to identify pain areas and develop techniques to improve user engagement and enable the finding of useful information that were previously difficult to uncover. With a lively community and a startling 2 million monthly visits, this was no small task.

The main goal of this product was to diagnose current pain points, and offer creative solutions to enhance the whole user experience. As a part of the product and user engagement team, it was my role to evaluate customer behaviour, spot roadblocks to resource discovery, and provide methods for effectively overcoming these challenges.

During the initial stages, a number of challenges were noted:
— Limited resource visibility: Users looking for in-depth information missed out on opportunities because valuable resources on College Confidential were difficult to find.
— Low user engagement with additional resources: Users were not effectively prompted to venture outside of the forum, which led to underuse of other beneficial resources.
— User frustration due to inefficient navigation: Users' ability to use the platform easily was hampered by complex navigation structures, which negatively impacted their experience.

During the initial stages, a number of challenges were noted:
— Limited resource visibility: Users looking for in-depth information missed out on opportunities because valuable resources on College Confidential were difficult to find.
— Low user engagement with additional resources: Users were not effectively prompted to venture outside of the forum, which led to underuse of other beneficial resources.
— User frustration due to inefficient navigation: Users' ability to use the platform easily was hampered by complex navigation structures, which negatively impacted their experience.

During the initial stages, a number of challenges were noted:
— Limited resource visibility: Users looking for in-depth information missed out on opportunities because valuable resources on College Confidential were difficult to find.
— Low user engagement with additional resources: Users were not effectively prompted to venture outside of the forum, which led to underuse of other beneficial resources.
— User frustration due to inefficient navigation: Users' ability to use the platform easily was hampered by complex navigation structures, which negatively impacted their experience.

During the initial stages, a number of challenges were noted:
— Limited resource visibility: Users looking for in-depth information missed out on opportunities because valuable resources on College Confidential were difficult to find.
— Low user engagement with additional resources: Users were not effectively prompted to venture outside of the forum, which led to underuse of other beneficial resources.
— User frustration due to inefficient navigation: Users' ability to use the platform easily was hampered by complex navigation structures, which negatively impacted their experience.

During the initial stages, a number of challenges were noted:
— Limited resource visibility: Users looking for in-depth information missed out on opportunities because valuable resources on College Confidential were difficult to find.
— Low user engagement with additional resources: Users were not effectively prompted to venture outside of the forum, which led to underuse of other beneficial resources.
— User frustration due to inefficient navigation: Users' ability to use the platform easily was hampered by complex navigation structures, which negatively impacted their experience.

The search functionality was refined to provide accurate and relevant results. This included implementing advanced search, and refining keyword matching capabilities. Users were now able to find colleges based on specific criteria such as location, majors admission requirements, and more, resulting in a tailored and efficient search experience.

The search functionality was refined to provide accurate and relevant results. This included implementing advanced search, and refining keyword matching capabilities. Users were now able to find colleges based on specific criteria such as location, majors admission requirements, and more, resulting in a tailored and efficient search experience.

The search functionality was refined to provide accurate and relevant results. This included implementing advanced search, and refining keyword matching capabilities. Users were now able to find colleges based on specific criteria such as location, majors admission requirements, and more, resulting in a tailored and efficient search experience.

The search functionality was refined to provide accurate and relevant results. This included implementing advanced search, and refining keyword matching capabilities. Users were now able to find colleges based on specific criteria such as location, majors admission requirements, and more, resulting in a tailored and efficient search experience.

The search functionality was refined to provide accurate and relevant results. This included implementing advanced search, and refining keyword matching capabilities. Users were now able to find colleges based on specific criteria such as location, majors admission requirements, and more, resulting in a tailored and efficient search experience.

Enhancing the information's accessibility and navigation was one of the main initiatives taken to improve the College Profile section of College Confidential. This required the creation of tabs that combined various site resources, facilitating user access and navigation. Users could now explore a college's profile in greater detail and develop a thorough understanding of the organisation thanks to the expansion of the information available and the simplified nature of its presentation.

Enhancing the information's accessibility and navigation was one of the main initiatives taken to improve the College Profile section of College Confidential. This required the creation of tabs that combined various site resources, facilitating user access and navigation. Users could now explore a college's profile in greater detail and develop a thorough understanding of the organisation thanks to the expansion of the information available and the simplified nature of its presentation.

Enhancing the information's accessibility and navigation was one of the main initiatives taken to improve the College Profile section of College Confidential. This required the creation of tabs that combined various site resources, facilitating user access and navigation. Users could now explore a college's profile in greater detail and develop a thorough understanding of the organisation thanks to the expansion of the information available and the simplified nature of its presentation.

Enhancing the information's accessibility and navigation was one of the main initiatives taken to improve the College Profile section of College Confidential. This required the creation of tabs that combined various site resources, facilitating user access and navigation. Users could now explore a college's profile in greater detail and develop a thorough understanding of the organisation thanks to the expansion of the information available and the simplified nature of its presentation.

Enhancing the information's accessibility and navigation was one of the main initiatives taken to improve the College Profile section of College Confidential. This required the creation of tabs that combined various site resources, facilitating user access and navigation. Users could now explore a college's profile in greater detail and develop a thorough understanding of the organisation thanks to the expansion of the information available and the simplified nature of its presentation.

Significant updates were made to the College Media Gallery to improve categorization and include a wider variety of sources.

Significant updates were made to the College Media Gallery to improve categorization and include a wider variety of sources.

Significant updates were made to the College Media Gallery to improve categorization and include a wider variety of sources.

Significant updates were made to the College Media Gallery to improve categorization and include a wider variety of sources.

Significant updates were made to the College Media Gallery to improve categorization and include a wider variety of sources.

Forums were integrated into the College Profile section to improve user experience and promote community engagement. In the context of a college's profile, this integration gave users a forum to converse, ask questions, and share insights. Users can easily access insightful peer-to-peer discussions and learn additional perspectives on a particular college by adding the forum functionality to the College Profile section, enabling a more thorough decision-making process.

Forums were integrated into the College Profile section to improve user experience and promote community engagement. In the context of a college's profile, this integration gave users a forum to converse, ask questions, and share insights. Users can easily access insightful peer-to-peer discussions and learn additional perspectives on a particular college by adding the forum functionality to the College Profile section, enabling a more thorough decision-making process.

Forums were integrated into the College Profile section to improve user experience and promote community engagement. In the context of a college's profile, this integration gave users a forum to converse, ask questions, and share insights. Users can easily access insightful peer-to-peer discussions and learn additional perspectives on a particular college by adding the forum functionality to the College Profile section, enabling a more thorough decision-making process.

Forums were integrated into the College Profile section to improve user experience and promote community engagement. In the context of a college's profile, this integration gave users a forum to converse, ask questions, and share insights. Users can easily access insightful peer-to-peer discussions and learn additional perspectives on a particular college by adding the forum functionality to the College Profile section, enabling a more thorough decision-making process.

Forums were integrated into the College Profile section to improve user experience and promote community engagement. In the context of a college's profile, this integration gave users a forum to converse, ask questions, and share insights. Users can easily access insightful peer-to-peer discussions and learn additional perspectives on a particular college by adding the forum functionality to the College Profile section, enabling a more thorough decision-making process.

Having the College Lists & Rankings, users of College Confidential can find and research colleges based on a variety of criteria. According to factors like majors, location, acceptance rates, and student satisfaction, these lists offer carefully curated collections of universities. The ease with which users can browse through these lists, assess various schools, and access relevant information enables them to make well-informed decisions about their educational path. The interactive feature on College Lists & Rankings boosts user engagement by providing a flexible and intuitive platform for helping students identify colleges that match their unique preferences and objectives.

Having the College Lists & Rankings, users of College Confidential can find and research colleges based on a variety of criteria. According to factors like majors, location, acceptance rates, and student satisfaction, these lists offer carefully curated collections of universities. The ease with which users can browse through these lists, assess various schools, and access relevant information enables them to make well-informed decisions about their educational path. The interactive feature on College Lists & Rankings boosts user engagement by providing a flexible and intuitive platform for helping students identify colleges that match their unique preferences and objectives.

Having the College Lists & Rankings, users of College Confidential can find and research colleges based on a variety of criteria. According to factors like majors, location, acceptance rates, and student satisfaction, these lists offer carefully curated collections of universities. The ease with which users can browse through these lists, assess various schools, and access relevant information enables them to make well-informed decisions about their educational path. The interactive feature on College Lists & Rankings boosts user engagement by providing a flexible and intuitive platform for helping students identify colleges that match their unique preferences and objectives.

Having the College Lists & Rankings, users of College Confidential can find and research colleges based on a variety of criteria. According to factors like majors, location, acceptance rates, and student satisfaction, these lists offer carefully curated collections of universities. The ease with which users can browse through these lists, assess various schools, and access relevant information enables them to make well-informed decisions about their educational path. The interactive feature on College Lists & Rankings boosts user engagement by providing a flexible and intuitive platform for helping students identify colleges that match their unique preferences and objectives.

Having the College Lists & Rankings, users of College Confidential can find and research colleges based on a variety of criteria. According to factors like majors, location, acceptance rates, and student satisfaction, these lists offer carefully curated collections of universities. The ease with which users can browse through these lists, assess various schools, and access relevant information enables them to make well-informed decisions about their educational path. The interactive feature on College Lists & Rankings boosts user engagement by providing a flexible and intuitive platform for helping students identify colleges that match their unique preferences and objectives.

The Student Profile has undergone a complete makeover, introducing a dashboard that offers personalized guidance and consolidates various existing resources on the website. This redesign aims to provide students with a centralized hub to manage their college search journey more effectively.

The Student Profile has undergone a complete makeover, introducing a dashboard that offers personalized guidance and consolidates various existing resources on the website. This redesign aims to provide students with a centralized hub to manage their college search journey more effectively.

The Student Profile has undergone a complete makeover, introducing a dashboard that offers personalized guidance and consolidates various existing resources on the website. This redesign aims to provide students with a centralized hub to manage their college search journey more effectively.

The Student Profile has undergone a complete makeover, introducing a dashboard that offers personalized guidance and consolidates various existing resources on the website. This redesign aims to provide students with a centralized hub to manage their college search journey more effectively.

The Student Profile has undergone a complete makeover, introducing a dashboard that offers personalized guidance and consolidates various existing resources on the website. This redesign aims to provide students with a centralized hub to manage their college search journey more effectively.

Platform changes made to CC increased engagement, better information accessibility, and better decision-making. Students now have access to a full set of tools for their college search such as optimised navigation, revamp of College Profile + SEO, the integration of Forums, expanded media sources, consolidated resources, added option to curate Lists and get a better understanding of where they are on their journey.

This revamp and its impact was monitored throughout the whole process. Improvements in data look like:
— 6.8 pages per visit instead of 1.3.
— 4 min as an average duration of time spent on the site instead of ~1.5.
— 10% increase of registered users.

The significant increase in user participation and interaction within the forums is one of the notable success stories resulting from the enhanced engagement initiatives on College Confidential. Users had a more immersive and community-driven experience after forums were integrated into the College Profile section. This increased engagement benefited not only individual users, but also the overall growth and vibrancy of the CC community.

Platform changes made to CC increased engagement, better information accessibility, and better decision-making. Students now have access to a full set of tools for their college search such as optimised navigation, revamp of College Profile + SEO, the integration of Forums, expanded media sources, consolidated resources, added option to curate Lists and get a better understanding of where they are on their journey.



This revamp and its impact was monitored throughout the whole process. Improvements in data look like:

— 6.8 pages per visit instead of 1.3.

— 4 min as an average duration of time spent on the site instead of ~1.5.

— 10% increase of registered users.



The significant increase in user participation and interaction within the forums is one of the notable success stories resulting from the enhanced engagement initiatives on College Confidential. Users had a more immersive and community-driven experience after forums were integrated into the College Profile section. This increased engagement benefited not only individual users, but also the overall growth and vibrancy of the CC community.

Platform changes made to CC increased engagement, better information accessibility, and better decision-making. Students now have access to a full set of tools for their college search such as optimised navigation, revamp of College Profile + SEO, the integration of Forums, expanded media sources, consolidated resources, added option to curate Lists and get a better understanding of where they are on their journey.



This revamp and its impact was monitored throughout the whole process. Improvements in data look like:

— 6.8 pages per visit instead of 1.3.

— 4 min as an average duration of time spent on the site instead of ~1.5.

— 10% increase of registered users.



The significant increase in user participation and interaction within the forums is one of the notable success stories resulting from the enhanced engagement initiatives on College Confidential. Users had a more immersive and community-driven experience after forums were integrated into the College Profile section. This increased engagement benefited not only individual users, but also the overall growth and vibrancy of the CC community.

Platform changes made to CC increased engagement, better information accessibility, and better decision-making. Students now have access to a full set of tools for their college search such as optimised navigation, revamp of College Profile + SEO, the integration of Forums, expanded media sources, consolidated resources, added option to curate Lists and get a better understanding of where they are on their journey.



This revamp and its impact was monitored throughout the whole process. Improvements in data look like:

— 6.8 pages per visit instead of 1.3.

— 4 min as an average duration of time spent on the site instead of ~1.5.

— 10% increase of registered users.



The significant increase in user participation and interaction within the forums is one of the notable success stories resulting from the enhanced engagement initiatives on College Confidential. Users had a more immersive and community-driven experience after forums were integrated into the College Profile section. This increased engagement benefited not only individual users, but also the overall growth and vibrancy of the CC community.

Platform changes made to CC increased engagement, better information accessibility, and better decision-making. Students now have access to a full set of tools for their college search such as optimised navigation, revamp of College Profile + SEO, the integration of Forums, expanded media sources, consolidated resources, added option to curate Lists and get a better understanding of where they are on their journey.



This revamp and its impact was monitored throughout the whole process. Improvements in data look like:

— 6.8 pages per visit instead of 1.3.

— 4 min as an average duration of time spent on the site instead of ~1.5.

— 10% increase of registered users.



The significant increase in user participation and interaction within the forums is one of the notable success stories resulting from the enhanced engagement initiatives on College Confidential. Users had a more immersive and community-driven experience after forums were integrated into the College Profile section. This increased engagement benefited not only individual users, but also the overall growth and vibrancy of the CC community.