Southwestern Advantage, formerly known as Southwestern Company, is an education material sales company based in Nashville, TN. Established in 1855, the privately-owned company recruits college and university students as independent contractors to sell educational books, apps, and website subscriptions door-to-door using direct selling methods. Southwestern Advantage is part of the Southwestern family of companies. Program Every year, the company recruits American and European university students to work as independent contractors who sell educational books, software, and subscription websites during the summer months. Students who accept a position complete a free, week-long training program in Nashville, Tennessee. After completing the program, students are assigned a position outside of their home or school states, and are typically responsible for housing costs of about $50/week, usually living with a host family. Sales areas are predominantly suburban or rural. The company operates on a direct sales platform, where wages are solely determined by sales revenue minus expenses and costs of goods sold; they do not offer employee benefits or guaranteed pay. Direct selling methods have raised questions over the ultimate value of the transactions entered into, both by the consumer as the person purchasing the product, and the individual contractors who make the sales on behalf of third parties such as Southwestern Advantage. Students are responsible for their expenses (like food and gas) while operating in the field during the selling season, and foreign students must pay for their visas and airfare themselves. Some universities consider the program an internship eligible for college credits. The commission rate for most dealers is 40%. Some students report working 80 hours a week or more during selling season, though minimum quotas are not mandated by Southwestern. Attendance to weekly Sunday meetings with managers are also not mandatory, but if a meeting space is rented, dealers are encouraged to pay $10–20 each to share expenses. If a permit is required for door-to-door sales, Southwestern reimburses dealers for 50% of the cost above $5. According to the charity Polaris, organizations often send their recruiters to target unemployed young people and college students with promises of high profits. In 2019, student dealers represented over 240 college and university campuses around the world. Working conditions and income Students typically have a host family near their sales area, generally alumni, family of other students, or families found by door-to-door appeals. Housing is not guaranteed by the company. Dealers - who work as