Washington, D.C. ? Georgetown University sophomore Charley Cooper is busy. He has a full load of classes, hours of homework and a part-time job at a financial services company. He’s also worried about an illness in the family. And then there are all the other time-consuming aspects of college.

The solution? A personal assistant.

Cooper, 19, logged on to the university’s student employment Web site recently and posted an ad for someone to tackle “some of my everyday tasks,” such as organizing his closet, dropping him off and picking him up from work, scheduling haircuts, putting gas in the car and taking it in for service, managing his electronic accounts and doing laundry (although the assistant will be paid only for the time spent loading, unloading and folding clothes, not the entire laundry cycle).

The successful applicant can expect to work three to seven hours a week and make $10 to $12 an hour, although “on occasion it will be possible to work additional hours and/or receive bonuses at my discretion.” Preference will be given to Georgetown undergraduates, Cooper says in the listing, and the assistant can spread his or her tasks throughout the day.

Could this be a publicity stunt? Cooper says in a Facebook message to a reporter that he is serious and has heard from several interested students, in addition to a few prank applicants. A university spokesman confirmed that Cooper is a student and has posted the job listing.

Cooper would answer questions only through messages sent to his Facebook account. He says he decided to post the help-wanted ad after a family member had a cancer diagnosis and began to make arrangements for treatment at Georgetown University Hospital. Cooper says he hopes to start interviews in a few days, after the craziness of mid-terms has passed.

The Georgetown Voice posted the listing on its blog Friday under the headline, “Georgetown sophomore seeks personal assistant, takes premature self-importance to whole new level.” Soon, dozens of derogatory comments popped up accusing Cooper of furthering the stereotype that Georgetown is filled with wealthy kids who can’t do anything for themselves.

But other students were more understanding. “Listen, I think if there’s a market for it, and someone wants to do it, all the more power to him,” says Corey Sherman, 20, a junior international politics major who has two jobs.

Still, springing for a personal assistant is “definitely out of the ordinary,” says Bonnie Low-Kramen, the longtime personal assistant to actress Olympia Dukakis. Low-Kramen teaches workshops to aspiring celebrity personal assistants and wrote a book titled “Be the Ultimate Assistant.”

College students are rarely mature enough to handle the responsibility of managing a personal assistant, says Low-Kramen, whose son is a senior at the University of Maryland (and does not have a personal assistant). “There’s a benefit to learning to do things on your own,” she says. “I know — college is stressful, there’s a lot to do. But the pressures are still nowhere near needing a personal assistant.”