CollegeNET.com, the social network through which students create topics, write about them and vote to determine who will win scholarships, today announced that it has awarded more than $400,000 in scholarship money since its inception in January 2007. During a tough economic time when scholarship funds have decreased by five percent, as reported by ACT, an independent, not-for-profit organization, CollegeNET.com has already provided more than 130 students with higher education funds.

Growing its registered user base 600 percent from July 2007 to July 2009, CollegeNET.com is now one of the Internet's most popular sites for researching and applying to college. The site provides up to 250,000 unique students per month with an open forum to discuss their opinions on current events, trends, college-related topics or other issues. Students are eligible to win one scholarship per year and new students spend an average of 115 days on the site before winning, although some new students have won in as little as eight days.

"CollegeNET.com is a great way to interact with other students of all ages, races, religions, studies, etc, and to support each other as we reach out toward a common goal-money for college," said Dawn Henderson, Academy of Art University student and July 8, 2009 CollegeNET.com scholarship winner. "Like any other social networking site, CollegeNET.com users must learn to be a part of the CollegeNET.com community to thrive and win. However, unlike other social networking sites, the payoff is monetary and can help to defray the costs of higher education."

CollegeNET.com awards $3,000 to $5,000 in scholarships each week. The winning scholarships so far have averaged $2,984 per winner. Unlike traditional scholarships where applicants have to wait quietly for scholarship results, CollegeNET.com's system encourages students to actively participate in forums each week right up to the moment scholarships are awarded. This engagement has produced a dedicated student user base. A testimony to the social draw of the site is the fact that students typically remain active up to 174 days after winning.

"We created CollegeNET.com to democratize the scholarship process. We let the students decide who is leading the most interesting discussion. Students have moved into an online generation and CollegeNET.com allows them to put their social networking skills to use," said Mark Bridges, Associate Vice President of Internet Development, CollegeNET. "We are committed to helping a diverse pool of students fund their higher education and will continue to support the efforts of our scholarship site by providing unique and interesting ways to compete for scholarships."

CollegeNET also offers the same social networking platform to foundations, universities, companies and other third party scholarship providers wishing to leverage the power of social networking in delivering their respective scholarships and selecting eventual winners.

Media Contacts:
Schwartz Communications, Inc.
Allison Bedard or Naomi Evarts
415-512-0770
CollegeNET@schwartz-pr.com

About CollegeNET, Inc.
CollegeNET, Inc. builds Web-based, on-demand technologies that help institutions improve operational efficiency, enhance communication with constituents and save money. The company's systems are used by more than 1,300 organizations worldwide for event and academic scheduling, prospect and admissions management, Web-based tuition processing, IT change management and alumni development. In 2007, CollegeNET introduced a new social network through which students create topics, write about them, and vote to determine who will win scholarships. Today, this site—www.collegeNET.com—is one of the Internet's most popular destinations for college-bound students. The company is headquartered in Portland, Ore.