Editorial Process
We are not a direct response site. Responses on Go Ask Alice! go through a rigorous research and review process before being published. Each response can take several months to research, write, and publish.
Go Ask Alice! doesn't respond immediately or individually to questions. If you have an existing or urgent health and well-being concern, consult with a health care provider before acting on the information contained in the responses on this site.
Step 1
Read through submitted questions
The Go Ask Alice! team reviews submitted questions and recommends ones that are relevant to college students or aren't already on the site. Not all submitted questions are published on the website.
Step 2
Research and draft a response
Content Assistants review research and resources relevant to questions that will be published on the site. Using that information, they draft a response to the question.
Step 3
Review and publish
Health and well-being experts do a final review of responses. Once approved, the response is published on the site for your reading pleasure!
History of Site
Go Ask Alice! was created in 1993 and went public on the internet in 1994. What's more, we were the first health question and answer website on the internet. Over the years, Go Ask Alice! has been referenced in different media from magazines to TV shows. We were even cited in a 1997 Supreme Court Case!
As a result of our efforts to provide high quality, evidence-based, and friendly responses, we have received several awards from organizations such as Healthline, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), and the American College Health Association (ACHA).
Go Ask Alice Values
Compassion
We want people to feel safe and acknowledged. It takes courage to ask personal health and well-being questions. We aim to create responses that read like a friend or peer providing health and well-being information in a non-judgmental way.
Accessibility and inclusivity
We recognize that each person has a unique mix of identities and life experiences. We aspire to have our responses reflect and embody that. Our responses are written in a way that makes it easier to find, understand, assess, and use health and well-being information.
Advocacy and self-efficacy
Each response is intended to provide readers with the knowledge and skills to feel confident making informed decisions about their health and well-being.
Quality
We pride ourselves on providing accurate responses that are consistent with existing, up-to-date research. To ensure quality content, each response is reviewed by at least three people before it’s published on the site.
Meet the Team
Go Ask Alice! isn’t just one person. It’s supported by a team of students and health promotion professionals at Alice! Health Promotion at Columbia University.
The student team members are undergraduate and graduate students with a passion for creating compassionate, accurate, and easy to understand health information.
The professional team members have advanced degrees in public health, health education, medicine, counseling, and other related fields. Together, we bring you all the great content on Go Ask Alice!