Every cloud has a silver lining, every scandal has a benefit – apparently — for someone.
The headline-grabbing college-admissions scandal which alleges several wealthy individuals scammed their kids way into big-name colleges and universities is inadvertently helping a New York City company called MyKlovr that assists in putting students together with colleges.
According to Crain’s New York Business MyKlovr was about to receive nearly $5 million round in funding later today, citing founder Gustavo Dolfino.
“It actually made things better,” Dolfino told Crain’s, referring to the scandal. “We put out a letter to investors reminding them we do business the right way.”
MyKlovr is a virtual counselor for college bound students. It utilizes artificial intelligence and data science to provide personalized college counseling as well as excellent tools and resources to help students maximize their chances of college admissions.
“What we learned this week is parents will pay for a Merrill Lynch-level of service when it comes to college counseling,” Dolfino told Crain’s.
Last month, myKlovr partnered with Financial Fitness Group (FFG) to provide online educational financing resources for students and parents. MyKlovr provides the first-ever virtual college counseling platform powered by artificial intelligence to deliver personalized college planning services.
“Paying for college is a major hurdle for many, if not most families across the country. Financial concerns can prevent students from maximizing their potential and talents, even applying to and attending college,” said Dolfino in a press release. “Partnering with Financial Fitness Group to share their expertise allows us to provide best-in-class financial training for education, while rounding out our holistic college counseling solutions.”
“Financial Fitness Group provides independent financial education to over 2 million people. We look forward to working with myKlovr and making available our exclusive tools and expertise to help more of the 16 million high school students in America achieve the college education of their dreams, without overwhelming student loan debt,” said Miguel Vasquez, Chief Executive Officer of Financial Fitness Group.
Students and their parents clearly need help. The average four-year tuition costs for public and private schools increased by 25 percent in constant dollars from 2005-2006 to 2015-2016, according to the National Center for Education
Statistics.
“At the same time, from 2006 to 2016 the real median household income increased by only 3%, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis,” according to myKlovr. The average 2016 graduate has more than $37,000 in student loan debt, which now represents the second largest debt category in the United States at $1.9 trillion.
MyKlovr was built so college-bound students and their parents can travel the journey to college admissions together, including college search, applications, financial preparation, and ultimately admission, the company says. It offers personalized, step-by-step guidance aiming to help students increase their chances of being admitted to the best college for them.