Truli: A Real College Community for the Virtual World
The College Experience Reimagined
Needless to say, the virtual college experience has been less than ideal. Undergraduates around the country have lacked a sense of connection to their campus communities and have had trouble maintaining friendships and connecting with students who share their interests. Though many schools have attempted to address this problem through virtual events and socials, these solutions are not great alternatives to the on-campus experience.
This is where Truli comes into play. Launched in January 2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Truli completely reinvents the virtual college experience by bringing the campus community online. Truli is available for download on the App Store and on Google Play.
As a student life platform, Truli focuses on what makes every individual college student unique. Every Truli student profile has a section where students can list their interests, skills and talents, values, and current classes as well as detail their college experience so far.
By focusing on the individual, Truli fosters a vibrant online community where college students can showcase all of the important aspects of their college experience and connect with like-minded peers. Truli is designed to be a college’s virtual hub. On Truli, students are able to post about on-campus and virtual events such as virtual House game nights, career fairs and small on-campus gatherings. They can also discuss breaking college news such as the postponement of Commencement, ask for a partner for problems sets, and share fun on campus activities. At all stages of your college experience, Truli is an essential tool.
1. Freshman Year. Learn: Get advice & help from your peers on Truli
With Truli, freshmen will have the ability to connect with students with similar interests! Are you a freshman looking to make more friends? Search Truli and see who’s interested in the same shows as you and send them a friend request! Send a message to your classmate who also likes basketball and ask them to play a game of pickup! Look up people who are also interested in debating and see if they would like to go to the introduction meeting for the Debate Club!
Truli is also the perfect place for students to ask upperclassmen for advice. Are you a freshman that is torn between choosing between two classes? Not sure which student organization you should join? Unsure about how to spend your summer? Simply search Truli using their filters to find an upperclassman who can offer you valuable advice!
2. Sophomore Year. Grow: Build your network and grow as a student
In normal times, sophomore year is the perfect time for personal and professional growth. But with Covid pushing Harvard and most of its social gatherings online, it is harder than ever to find communities to connect with. Whether it's recruiting, networking events, or deep late-night discussions with roommates on the weekends, Truli reimagines how you work towards your goals.
The platform offers several opportunities to connect with similarly minded students. First, a unique personal profile section allows individuals to indicate career interest, concentration, and what classes they are enrolled in. Second, advanced filter features are used to search for people that share your personal interests. Sophomores who are trying to knock out their basic graduation requirements can find friends who are in their big classes, and those looking for jobs can browse through all community members for other students in their same concentration looking for internships in the same industry.
Have you been longing to connect with new Harvard students who share your interests? Put those interests in Truli’s search function and see everyone who shares it. Looking for advice on what to say in a summer internship interview? Reach out to new friends through their profiles. Truli has all the answers.
3. Junior Year. Connect: A Vibrant Online College Community
With limited on-campus housing and social distancing restrictions, many students have had a difficult time staying connected with the Harvard community and getting the full Harvard experience. Have you had trouble keeping in touch with your classmates and friends who are scattered across the country? Is it difficult to stay engaged in the organizations that used to be your main on-campus communities? Truli is here to help. As a community-based platform, Truli can help students stay connected to campus life throughout a virtual environment. With Truli’s Happenings and The Commons pages, students who are scattered across the world can stay updated on what their fellow classmates are doing and see if there are any upcoming virtual events.
Truli can also serve as a powerful tool for upperclassmen in leadership roles for whom connecting with underclassmen is a critical aspect of being a successful student leader. Is your organization hosting an event soon? Publicize it on Truli via Truli’s happenings page! Simply create a post on Truli, write a short sentence about the event and specifically post it to the happenings page when you’re prompted.
Are you looking to recruit underclassmen with specific interests and experiences? You can use the information displayed in Truli’s profile bios in order to more effectively recruit new members! Are you looking to collaborate with other student organizations? You can search for people in specific organizations and message them directly! No matter your organization, Truli will be useful.
4. Senior Year. Reflect: Look back on Your College Experience and Follow Your Friends
Leaving college will always be challenging. After four years of hard work, great friends, and life-changing experiences, seniors move into the real world. Seniors can make the most of their remaining time in college with Truli.
Truli gives seniors an opportunity to both look back on their memories and accomplishments from college. From winning a club sports championship to winning an award for an incredible paper, Truli has it all cleanly organized. And as friends get job offers, win prestigious fellowships, and wrap up their theses, be the first to see on your personal Truli feed. Newcomers to Truli can use its interconnected platform to quickly find their friends and extracurricular communities. Since content posted on the platform is broken down by category, seniors won’t have to fight through hundreds of unrelated posts and updates to find what they’re looking for. Once a network is established, seniors can quickly filter whether they want to see all their friends’ updates about future plans or their updates from throughout the years. Whether looking back at memories or thinking about the future, Truli is the easiest way to do it.
5. Alumni. Mentor: Staying connected with Harvard after graduation.
Even when you leave Harvard as a student for the last time, Truli’s community will always be there to support you and bring you back to the college experience. Recent graduate and alumni mentoring is a central part of Truli’s mission. In addition to being able to look back on your memories like seniors, Truli seamlessly connects students and alumni interested in the same industries. If you ever want to give back to the Harvard community, Truli is the simplest to make a real difference in a student’s life.
How Will Truli Help You?
Yearning to stay connected with your college classmates? Looking for ways to get advice from upperclassmen? Searching for a new way to interact with your school in a virtual setting? No matter what year you are, Truli will allow you to connect with friends, learn outside of the classroom, and grow in the areas you are passionate about. Download Truli today for free and begin your newly reimagined college experience!
The Crimson's news and opinion teams—including writers, editors, photographers, and designers—were not involved in the production of this article.