Adapting to the rigors of college life presents many questions, but a student-run project out of student business accelerator Startup Aggieland seeks to provide answers for curious freshmen.
A new website, AskAgs.com, launched Wednesday with intentions of functioning much like a question-and-answer forum that allows users to ask and answer questions.
Those involved with the project said its success could hinge on its beta testing program and the extent to which news of the site spreads.
“We’re very early in this,” said Zach Cummings, junior information and operations management major. “Right now it’s just at the point where we are waiting and asking people to contribute. We need to get the idea out there that it is independent from campus, that you can ask a ton of questions and you can get answers.”
The site, while in beta, has 200 users. The planned membership base will consist of former, current and future students and serves to cater to those who are new to A&M as they adapt to college life.
Users will ask and provide answers to questions that are common knowledge to current students but may be unknown to new college freshmen.
The site’s founder, Tyler Mandry, senior computer science major, said he first got the idea for the site when he was a freshman and had trouble finding out the ins and outs of being an Aggie.
“It’s information about A&M that is hard to get right now,” Mandry said. “What we’re doing is creating something that is community based so that anyone that knows the answer can give the answer.”
Members can gain points and badges as they participate, and users can gain a reputation for answering questions within a given topic. In the future, organizations will also be given the ability to have an official presence on the site.
Project creators have relied on traditional means of spreading the word.
“A lot of it has been through word-of-mouth and parties we knew would be interested in this sort of a project,” said Brandon Bunt, junior marketing major and the head of the site’s marketing campaign.
Bunt said they hope the site will grow in membership over the summer.
“We are going to be ramping it up for new students coming in for their new student conferences at a time in their lives when people have so many questions about this huge life change,” Bunt said.
The site’s Facebook page will function over the summer as a help desk for members who are learning to navigate the site. Much of the tech support for the site has come from Startup Aggieland.
Cummings said there might eventually be potential for local businesses to advertise on the site and that he hopes the site will serve as the centralized source of information for all students at A&M within the next two years.
“We really kind of want to capture the Aggie experience on our website so that anyone who wants to know more about A&M can kind of get a glimpse of that,” Mandry said. “I really think the site kind of embodies the spirit of Aggies helping other Aggies because it brings together people who want the information and [those who] have the information.”