Optimal Seeks to Mitigate College Debt Crisis by Matching Dollars with Sense
New GradReports college rankings highlight real student outcomes based on major
KIRKLAND, Wash., Jan. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- It's a nightmare scenario that is tragically common: graduates leave college, steeped in debt and unable to find a job in their major. College has long been seen as a road to a successful career, but now, it's a high-risk financial gamble. Therefore, it has never been more important to bring relevant data to the application process, in order to factor in the true cost and benefit of attending college.
To bridge the gap in knowledge, Optimal (formerly SR Education Group) launched a comprehensive collection of data-driven college rankings on GradReports.com. The new product is the first to incorporate the Department of Education's recently released data on median alumni salary and median alumni debt by college major at each university. This allows students to make a cost to benefit analysis before choosing a school and major.
"We believe the time has come to let real-time data transform the college application process," said CEO Sung Rhee. "This is the first time that governmental data on student outcomes have been made available at such a granular level. We are excited to be able to present it in a way that no one else has. GradReports is an accessible and transparent tool that will empower each student to answer the question, 'is this degree from this school worth it, and is it the best choice for me?'"
Optimal's GradReports is the only college ranking product to publish and synthesize the new US Department of Education data from College Scorecard. The report was made public in November 2019 and contains early-career earnings and median debt data that have been gathered nationwide since 2015, as part of an Obama-era initiative. Until now, college ranking services have not been able to give students the full financial cost of a school matched against the potential post-collegiate earnings for specific college majors.
The product features rankings for over 70 campus-based bachelor's and master's degree programs and 20 online degree programs, listing the top schools in each degree category based on median salary one year after college. Combined with a collection of over 30,000 student reviews and recommendations for more than 2,000 schools, these new rankings have been created to provide students with both subjective and objective evaluations of different colleges by making the most up-to-date, relevant and accurate data accessible.
Optimal was founded in 2004 to develop products and services designed to aid prospective students in finding the perfect college to meet their needs. These include OnlineU, GradReports, and GuidetoOnlineSchools, which are objective, accessible, and data-driven ranking and review sites.
You can visit their website to see all their products and learn more about Optimal.
About Optimal™
Optimal helps prospective students make informed, data-driven decisions to improve their collegiate experience and their post-college careers. The company provides over 85,000
in-depth student reviews and college rankings for every major based on alumni salaries and manually researched tuitions. Optimal's tools and services provide accessible and transparent financial data regarding cost and earning potential that give students educational paths that lead them to success, without burdening them with insurmountable debt. http://www.optimal.com
SOURCE Optimal
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