First Term Survivor app for iPhone and iPad

There are unwritten rules for how to succeed in college.

An unwritten family rule: “Don’t sit in grandpa’s chair!” An unwritten college rule: “Read the syllabus!” The unwritten rules are mostly about the not-so-little stuff that makes life much easier: managing money, balancing a social life, managing classes, and asking questions.

Players of First Term Survivor make decisions that predict their Probability of Surviving (PoS) the first semester. Game play takes about one hour and maps the 16-weeks of a typical semester. You can replay, make different decisions, and earn a different PoS.

You are about to spend or borrow an enormous amount of money. The sticker prices at state-supported institutions begin around $12,000 per year and can balloon to $65,000. Then you have to add in books, fees, a place to sleep, food to eat, and travel costs. The cost of First Term Survivor is less than the transportation costs to visit most colleges.

Here is the good news: on average, students who persevere surpass their investment in higher education within 10-15 years – if they make good decisions. But the value of higher education depends, in part, on students knowing the unwritten rules of college success. First Term Survivor helps students make many small, wiser decisions. There are no guarantees, but the game can help.

As older students, my wife and I took a painful path through college while raising four children – who did not all go directly through college. The result? We sent college tuition directly or indirectly someplace for 33 years! Like most people, we have accumulated a few regrets in our lives. Paying for higher education is not one of them.