IOWA CITY, IA., January 30, 2017 – Iowa-based college discovery platform College Raptor has been awarded a $300,000 investment from the State of Iowa via the Iowa Innovation Acceleration Fund. The funding was announced Friday January 20th, 2017, by the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) board.
The award for College Raptor is designed to help the startup accelerate growth, and is designated for market planning, market entry activities, and key new hires. Three existing companies and three other startups, in addition to College Raptor, were also awarded funding. (The IEDA’s press release can be found here.)
College Raptor has created a website (www.CollegeRaptor.com) and an app that help students and parents make better decisions about which college to attend. It provides acceptance odds and actual costs for every college in the country, and is the only platform that customizes those results to each student’s academic performance and family financial situation. College Raptor also offers a range of services to college enrollment offices to help them improve and optimize recruiting efforts.
“We’re honored by the support from the state of Iowa, and grateful for the IEDA’s recognition of College Raptor’s progress,” said Bill Staib, co-founder and CEO of College Raptor. “We’re proud to be an Iowa business, and we’re excited about growing here. This will allow us to help even more high school students and their parents make better, more informed choices about where to go to college and how to do it affordably.”
In response to the IEDA’s decision, Mark Nolte, President of the Iowa City Area Development Group (ICAD) said: “We have seen the potential in College Raptor and we’re excited that the Iowa Economic Development Authority sees this same potential by granting this award. College Raptor has the right product and the right team in place at this critical time when families are working to find the best higher education options.”
College Raptor congratulates the other recipients and looks forward to moving forward its mission of providing transparency to students and parents choices about college choice and college affordability.
About College Raptor:
College Raptor, based in Iowa City, Iowa, empowers prospective students, parents, high school counselors, and college enrollment managers to resolve challenges related to college planning, financing and enrollment. College Raptor is the only service that enables students and families to discover quality, affordable college options based on personalized estimates of financial aid, scholarships, academic match, and acceptance chances at every four-year college in the country.
For inquiries about College Raptor, please contact Tim McDougall at [email protected], 319-538-7527.
