May 2000
Press Release
" ReadyMinds.com and Peterson's Partner to Expand Career-Counseling Access for College Students"

Premier one-on-one career-counseling site and leading online education site to complete several marketing objectives over one-year agreement.

New York, May 15, 2000: ReadyMinds.com, the Web's premier one-on-one student career-counseling service, and Peterson's, the world's leading provider of education and career online services, announced today an agreement to partner in the interest of providing college students with greater access to ReadyMinds' in-depth, one-on-one career-counseling program.

"As part of our plan for strategic growth, we were looking to partner with a company that's trusted by students, their parents, and education providers," said Randy Miller, founder and CEO of ReadyMinds.com. "Peterson's more than fits the bill. We're looking forward to working closely with them as we expand our reach to college students across the country!"

Mr. Miller founded ReadyMinds in 1997 to improve the way college students think about their individual and career growth. The company's mission is to transform the way college students prepare for, select, and manage their careers in order to achieve greater personal fulfillment and career success. ReadyMinds is the only service of its kind in which students work one-on-one with National Certified Counselors in the interest of determining distinct, personalized career options. Students can choose to work with their counselors online, by phone, or in person.

"Today's job market is more dynamic, mobile, and competitive than ever. College students recognize that," said Michael Brannick, Peterson's president and CEO. "The goals of the services provided by ReadyMinds are to give all students better access to personalized career counseling — helping them learn more about themselves and realize the career options best suited to their interests and strengths. Peterson's provides these students with the best information and services available to help ensure that the education choices they make support their career aspirations. We're pleased that our trusted relationship with students will help ReadyMinds expand its outreach and provide students access to the career counseling they need."

Peterson's, a division of Thomson Learning Inc., has an annual worldwide consumer audience of more than 55 million. It is the nation's leading provider of services and tools that connect education consumers with education providers. The company enjoys a 35-year reputation among colleges and universities and consumers for accurate and objective guides, books, software, and Internet information.

At the present time, the ReadyMinds-Peterson's agreement is scheduled to involve: the creation of a marketing microsite within the Peterson's Web domain, introducing ReadyMinds as the leading provider of one-on-one career-counseling services and encouraging enrollment.
co-branding of Peterson's QuickStart Career Wizards™ — online personality and career assessment tools. The pay-per-use service helps users identify suitable general career options. Students who desire individual counseling will be exposed to ReadyMinds.
the provision of Peterson's college and career resource guides to ReadyMinds for use for promotions, its career resource center, and for sale within its ReadyMarket™ online store.

About ReadyMinds.com
ReadyMinds.com is the premier national one-on-one career counseling service and resource center for college students. Randy Miller founded ReadyMinds in 1997 to improve the way college students think about their individual and career growth. Its mission is to transform the way college students prepare for, select, and later manage their careers in order to achieve greater personal fulfillment and career success. In addition, ReadyMinds helps colleges/universities better equip their students for the real world and helps businesses hire the talent they need to excel in their markets.

ReadyMinds is the only service of its kind in which students work one-on-one with National Certified Counselors in the interest of determining distinct, personalized career options. Students can choose to work with their counselors online, by phone, or in person.

ReadyMinds' offices are headquartered in New York, NY. For more information, visit www.readyminds.com.

About Peterson's
Founded in 1966, Peterson's, a division of Thomson Learning, is the nation's largest and most respected provider of lifelong learning online resources, software, reference guides, and books. The Education Supersite (sm) at petersons.com — the Web's most heavily traveled education resource — has searchable databases and interactive tools for contacting U.S.-accredited institutions and programs. CollegeQuest (sm) (www.collegequest.com) offers a complete solution for every step of the college decision-making process. GradAdvantage (www.gradadvantage.org), developed with Educational Testing Service, is the only electronic admissions service capable of sending official graduate test score reports with a candidate's online application. Peterson's serves over 55 million education consumers annually.

Thomson Learning is among the world's largest providers of lifelong learning information. Headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with multiple offices worldwide, Thomson Learning is a division of the Thomson Corporation, one of the world's leading electronic information and solutions companies. The Corporation operates mainly in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., and has annual revenues of US $5.8 billion. Thomson's common shares are traded on the Toronto, and London stock exchanges. For more information, visit www.thomson.com.

Contact Info:
Alexandria Brown
VP, Communications
ReadyMinds.com
50 West 23rd St.
New York, NY 10010
(888) 225-8248,
(212) 633-8889 fax
ali@readyminds.com

Cristopher Maloney
Senior Vice President, Marketing, Peterson's
2000 Lenox Dr.
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
(609) 896-1800,
(609) 896-4533 fax
cris.maloney@petersons.com

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