As we grow up, a simple yet significant idea begins to repeatedly rear its ugly head into our daily lives. Or perhaps better stated, our precious nights.

Sadly, we over-achieving undergraduates probably know it best. As the minutes in our day quickly slip through our fingers, consumed by never-ending lectures, term paper writing and everyday living, we are forced to guzzle down cans of Rockstar risking extreme caffeine withdrawals just to endure the gloomy nocturnal festivities that await us – all of this, before we can enjoy the minimal moments of slumber our bodies beg for.

The idea formulates: in college sleep is a luxury, not a necessity (and the sooner we come to terms with this gripping truth the better).

But why do we insist on putting ourselves through this kind of pain? Putting off necessary lab reports, quadratic functions and Shakespearean sonnets for some mindless Facebook-ing and aimless trips to the Grove isn’t exactly smart. Though we don’t care, or even bother to think of the consequences –and yes, there are consequences.

Harmless late-night inconveniences may soon turn into dangerous midnight freak-out sessions after we start the pages of untouched homework, hours before it’s due, only to find ourselves stuck.

Now before we have time to write up our wills, backup is on its way. Sean McCleese, a former physics major at Occidental College turned CEO of online tutoring Web site Student of Fortune, understood the late night-dilemma just like the rest of us. Along with his college friends, he created a resource for students after experiencing similar situations.

“At my school we had a very small psychics department. I remember having problem sets, and there was one question that nobody in the class knew how to do. The problem was so specific we couldn’t really Google it. The teacher had already left for the day, and I realized that there wasn’t a place for students to get help on just the one problem or concept they didn’t understand,” McCleese explains.

Founded in 2005, Student of Fortune is based on the fact that many students don’t need hours of tutoring on an entire subject but rather quick help on a single question to get them through their night and off to bed.  

Students can post questions on StudentofFortune.com and a community of online tutors will present academic solutions. The student has an opportunity to preview tutorials from different tutors before deciding to purchase a solution. Tutors as well as their solutions are evaluated on a feedback system.

“The site is really an online tutoring marketplace. It works very much like eBay. Depending on the difficulty or the amount of work a solution takes, a tutorial can be priced as low as 25 cents (the average is about $10). Once again depending on the difficulty, 90 percent of questions on Student of Fortune get answered – many in just 10 minutes,” says McCleese.

In its development, McCleese sees that the company has actually gone full circle. Students who have once been spared by the site’s solutions have actually returned the favor by becoming tutors themselves. In the current economy, the site provides tight-pocketed college students with the chance to “tutor in their area of specialty and make money in a fun way.”

Ironically, it is still the last-minute work habit of students that drives activity; McCleese admits he sees a common 40 percent up kick in site-traffic on Sunday nights.

“Whether it’s a way for students to get help at night or a job to make some extra income, it’s really about helping students in need.”

Now please, get some sleep.