<p>Aditya Ashok saw his friends go through a gruelling experience while applying for higher education courses. Making the right choice of course and college was a challenge. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Ashok thought it was the need of the hour to have an online platform to offer students counselling on options they could consider after completion of degree courses. Hence came the idea of setting up 30MinGuidance, an online platform which Ashok has set up, along with his friends. <br /><br />Started a year ago, the online platform www.30minguidance.com offers free counselling to students for 30 minutes where they can interact with a group of students and working professionals who have previously graduated from universities across the world. <br /><br />Ashok, an alumnus of Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumakuru, said the idea occurred to him when his friend struggled to make the right choice. “Both of us graduated from the same college. It was convenient for me to make a choice as I got guidance from various sources. I saw my own batchmate struggle. I decided to do something about it,” he added. <br /><br />Speaking to DH, the 28-year-old said though there are several consultancies which provide counselling in real-time, they are not affordable. “We also did a reality check. We understood that any graduate with a full-time job or a person pursuing a PhD or post-doctoral fellowship could guide students equally well,” he added. <br /><br />Besides offering counselling on making the right choice for postgraduation, students on the platform also help their juniors rewrite resumes and statements of purpose for various universities. “Some of them come with three- to four-page-long statements. We rewrite it for them,” he said. <br /><br />The website aims at helping students from rural areas as they do not have enough access to counselling or guidance available to those from metropolitan cities. <br /><br />Students can avail themselves of counselling from remote locations also. One has to log into their site for appointments, following which an interaction would be facilitated based on the student’s speciality. As students are not asked to pay for the sessions, the 30MinGuidance has on board people who offer voluntary services only.</p>
<p>Aditya Ashok saw his friends go through a gruelling experience while applying for higher education courses. Making the right choice of course and college was a challenge. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Ashok thought it was the need of the hour to have an online platform to offer students counselling on options they could consider after completion of degree courses. Hence came the idea of setting up 30MinGuidance, an online platform which Ashok has set up, along with his friends. <br /><br />Started a year ago, the online platform www.30minguidance.com offers free counselling to students for 30 minutes where they can interact with a group of students and working professionals who have previously graduated from universities across the world. <br /><br />Ashok, an alumnus of Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumakuru, said the idea occurred to him when his friend struggled to make the right choice. “Both of us graduated from the same college. It was convenient for me to make a choice as I got guidance from various sources. I saw my own batchmate struggle. I decided to do something about it,” he added. <br /><br />Speaking to DH, the 28-year-old said though there are several consultancies which provide counselling in real-time, they are not affordable. “We also did a reality check. We understood that any graduate with a full-time job or a person pursuing a PhD or post-doctoral fellowship could guide students equally well,” he added. <br /><br />Besides offering counselling on making the right choice for postgraduation, students on the platform also help their juniors rewrite resumes and statements of purpose for various universities. “Some of them come with three- to four-page-long statements. We rewrite it for them,” he said. <br /><br />The website aims at helping students from rural areas as they do not have enough access to counselling or guidance available to those from metropolitan cities. <br /><br />Students can avail themselves of counselling from remote locations also. One has to log into their site for appointments, following which an interaction would be facilitated based on the student’s speciality. As students are not asked to pay for the sessions, the 30MinGuidance has on board people who offer voluntary services only.</p>
