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It was thirteen years ago when a motivated, idealistic study abroad student returning to Boston from a semester in Australia came up with the idea that his experience should not be just etched in his mind, it should be shared with the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With some help from some entrepreneurial friends, they started a business with the goal to be the \u201cTrip Advisor for Study Abroad.\u201d\u00a0 Soon there was a website, some technology, staff and the business known as Abroad101 got started.\u00a0 You can still see \u201cReview One<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Recently we published\u00a0Review 44554<\/span>\u00a0and are on a pace to publish 6,000 reviews this year.\u00a0 The business had its ups and downs, having succeeded by keeping its focus on providing students a forum to tell their story and helping universities and providers manage that process in a responsible way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Meet Phil, our new General Manager<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n We are pleased to announce the appointment of Philippos Kollitsis as the new General Manager for Abroad101.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPhil\u201d is an experienced, professional businessperson who will be working from the Ledra Capital offices in Nicosia (Cyprus) and New York.\u00a0 Ledra is the majority shareholder in Abroad101 and remains committed to the future of Abroad101.\u00a0 Phil has served as CEO and as a Board Member of several companies over the last twenty years and has been an advisor to Ledra.\u00a0 He too was an international student, earning two degrees from Lancaster University in the UK.\u00a0\u00a0 We are excited to welcome Phil on board to our team.<\/span><\/p>\n Phil will be at NAFSA and will be stopping by booths.\u00a0 You can also arrange to meet him at the University of Nicosia\u2019s booth #1131.\u00a0 We invite you to stop by early in the week to pick up an invitation to UNIC\u2019s 10<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0Annual Med Party (Wednesday, May 29 \u2013 6:30pm \u2013 9:00pm) and to attend the A101 Happy Hour immediately prior, at 5:30PM, both at City Tap House Penn Quarter on 901 9<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0Street NW. Register to attend by clicking\u00a0here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Do Reviews Matter?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Please take a moment to remember the last time you booked a hotel, chose a movie or show in a theater, picked a restaurant, or bought a product online.\u00a0 Did a review guide your decision?\u00a0 If these small decisions were influenced by reviews, then we\u2019re sure you\u2019ll understand how something as complex as an education abroad experience needs reviews.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Also consider how reviews actually better serve the parents of students.\u00a0 From our traffic analytics, we see that 20-25% of our web traffic comes from visitors who are 40-50 years old (parents).\u00a0 We know parents are key in the decision-making process and the feedback we get from parents shows a hunger for candor and interest in using reviews to endorse or approve their student\u2019s program choice.\u00a0 While you may have testimonials on your website, independent, third-party reviews can be powerful additions to your marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n Candor is Key<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n People come to review sites looking for balance to the always-positive websites, brochures and in-person presentations.\u00a0 They know things aren\u2019t perfect and want to understand what may be imperfect about a given location, program or host.\u00a0 Quite often the visitors to Abroad101 are coming to validate their earlier discoveries and because of this, we see a significant portion of our traffic from parents and other adults who support students.\u00a0 Students may be drawn to the ratings and comments about food and social aspects of a program, while parents see value in ratings and comments about safety and cost.\u00a0 The 38 questions in the Abroad101 review give everyone something to discuss with plenty of examples to engage in a meaningful dialog and hopefully break some stereotypes about other people and other parts of the world.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The vast majority of students who study abroad have an overwhelmingly positive experience, which is reflected in the reviews.\u00a0 Those that struggle and report negative things will actually help future students prepare and set their expectations.\u00a0 We hope you\u2019ll bring these reviews to the attention of future students so that they can put things in perspective.\u00a0 Costs in London are high, academics at Oxford are hard, petty crime is rampant in Paris and the food in Ghana is, well, \u2026 different.\u00a0 Knowing these things before a student goes away may make a big difference in how they prepare.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n