One of the most bright reminiscences I even have of my teenage years is whilst the Class 12 board outcomes were declared. Amidst all the exhilaration and ruckus that necessarily followed, bringing an stop to my school days, the primary concept that got here to my mind after seeing the mark sheet become, which university have to I practice for.
Turned out, taking that choice wasn’t smooth in any respect. While my dad and mom selected my faculty closest to our domestic, deciding on a university, a ‘true’ one for that rely, changed into now not that simple. The future path of my lifestyles, professionally, could depend plenty on my university schooling. As I waited in a protracted queue on a warm summer day of 2007 to collect my enrollment shape for a sure university, I consider wishing desperately for a faster and simpler way of gathering all the data I had to assist me determine which university become first-rate applicable for me. If best all the facts about each college could be had simply with the click of a mouse.
The exponential growth of net has made data across various structures to be had at the click of the mouse, but on the subject of facilitating informed selection making on higher training, it's miles unexpected how little the state of affairs has changed during the last one decade.
But things have began to trade since startups like Collegesearch have made their entry.
Enter Collegesearch
Articles like “Top 10 College Campuses in India” aren’t of a great deal help, and the records to be had on Google seems unduly missing. Classified web sites can most effective provide contact information and addresses and before you realize, it’s time again to face in those long queues.
Facing this loss of records throughout their personal search for the proper colleges, Anirudh Motwani and Parul Bansal decided to take the problem into their very own arms. In October 2010, the duo founded IndiaCollegeSearch, a web discovery platform for guides that the many top colleges have to offer. The enterprise later rebranded itself as Collegesearch.In.
How It Works
Collegesearch became conceptualised, 5 years in the past, with the goal to help college students and mother and father make informed choices on college education. CollegeSearch offers in-depth statistics approximately faculties registered on its platform such as college information, placement information, centers and fees, except critical alumni critiques. In quick, it's far an records hub on 13000 plus faculties and universities in addition to three hundred exclusive entrance examinations and 2000 alumni evaluations, it all on line.
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Vikram Upadhyay, famend startup mentor, angel investor, guide atTCOE and founding father of GHV Accelerator has said, “IndiaCollegeSearch(Now CollegeSearch) is the appropriate instance from India, which has grown within the most lean way from neighborhood idea to global platform.”
Collegesearch helps inside the admission procedure through allowing students to at once observe to schools in their choices through the internet site. As of now, more than 6000 colleges and universities take delivery of on-line programs thru the portal.
The internet site has features like ‘Study Abroad’ which affords info of foreign schools and universities, the required exams one has to clean to benefit admission, visa necessities, tour and other important records. To make things even less difficult for its customers, the portal has released ‘Collections’, an amalgamation of maximum famous college lists throughout numerous categories like ‘satisfactory campuses throughout the country’ or ‘the quality placements in a metropolis’. It has more features like ‘Loans’ which give eligibility test and charge comparison, a training scheduler for MBA aspirants imparting multiple examinations and university guidelines.
According to the founders, the information sought by way of college students and mother and father varies a terrific deal from direction to course. While for professional guides such as B.Tech and MBA, the identifying aspect is nearly always a college’s placements’ statistics (which includes each salary reputation and names of groups), for diploma guides like B.A., B.Sc. Or B.Com., the affiliating university matters the most. Aspiring medical students, alternatively, pick to head through the health center connected to the worried medical institute.
Factors inclusive of fees, approvals (AICTE, MCI, BCI and other approvals and recognitions are essential for college kids belonging to Tier three towns and smaller cities) and place play a giant position as nicely.
Monetisation, Traction and Funding
The corporation earns its sales from a bunch of software program answers it provides to the affiliated institutes. Products like an software management software program, a clever join module, profile control and alertness technology answers which enables enhance great or amount of admission programs, based totally on an institute’s present day demands, guarantees that a university or college conducts a problem-unfastened and efficient admission technique.
However, no charge is levied on students for each university choice and alertness thru the Collegesearch portal.
The organization has been witnessing one hundred fifty% sales growth for the organisation in every area for the past 2-three years. In 2014, it processed about 2.8 lakh programs.
In 2015, the business enterprise reportedly has three Mn plus users and has passed 30K every day visits on its internet site.
In July 2013, Collegesearch had raised INR 20 Mn from Indian Angel Network (IAN). The spherical became led through Vikram because the Lead Investor, in conjunction with Varun Kuhrana, CTO, Grofers; and Anupam Mittal, founding father of Shaadi.Com & Angel investor in Ola Cabs.
Market Size
According to the organization, Indian schools and universities presently spend round $six hundred Mn in keeping with annum on software technology however less than three% is spent online (despite the fact that about eighty% students pick applying online). Collegesearch predicts that through 2020, round $200 Mn can be spent according to annum for on-line application technology and another $400 Mn in line with annum on on line evaluation control.
Collegesearch has formidable plans to emerge as the marketplace leader in this segment, shooting about 25% of the marketplace.
The organisation turned cash glide advantageous in Q1 this financial year.
Competitive Landscape
Collegesearch claims to be the most important on-line university and college surroundings in India, even though systems like Shiksha.Com were round for quite a while now.
Other acknowledged names include Greenclouds and Nopaperforms which also facilitate university admissions. However, in contrast to Collegesearch, these businesses feature in niche sectors.
What units Collegesearch apart from its competition, in keeping with the founders, is the truth that it doesn’t work on a classifieds model. Instead it has a holistic technique with regards to university admission approaches.
The business enterprise boasts of running with some of the stalwart institutions within the Indian education region. Names encompass National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), School of Planning & Architecture, National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), NITs consisting of National Institute Technology, Delhi and Kurukshetra, Jesus & Mary College (JMC), Fergusson College and Loyola for diploma publications and XLRI, Narsee Morjee and MDI for management.
Future Plans
In the destiny, the 24 member crew plans to enlarge both geographically and in terms of services to institutions and college students.
Indian SaaS products are gaining foreign money throughout the globe. With over 3000 colleges in its kitty, the agency intends to release globally which it believes will further boom performance at the institutional front.
Keeping its global expansion in mind, the enterprise had rebranded itself as Collegesearch from IndiaCollegesearch. The decision got here after the founders as compared distinctive eventualities – the primary that of Indian students considering schooling in foreign faculties or universities and the alternative that of college students dwelling outdoor India and are interested in pursuing their schooling within the subcontinent.
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The employer also plans to release its products in markets like UK, Germany, Japan and Hong Kong where students face similar problems even as trying to find a super college schooling.
Editor’s Note
The training zone in India is over $90 Bn and is developing at a healthful charge of 15% CAGR. It is envisioned that by way of 2020, India may have the world’s biggest tertiary-age population and 2d largest graduate expertise pipeline globally. Higher training currently contributes round 60% and is poised for a increase of around 18% CAGR. It is safe to mention that the transformation of the Indian education enterprise is taking place regularly from conventional brick-and-mortar to digital.
While many ed-tech startup have attempted to update the the educator/instructors with software, riding on the digital wave, it has proved to be unsubstantial as in relation to schooling, a faith in the trainer and finally the group is tough to replace.
However, crew Collegesearch seemingly is greater sensible in its decisions.Its singular awareness on the center task to enhance the traditional college selection and admission tactics shows that the team has an awesome head on its shoulders.
