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How It Works

Your criteria, your shortlist.

The path from a free account to the list you apply from, in seven steps. Published figures name their source.

Getting started

Set up your search

Steps 1 to 5 get your account, profile and list in place.

  1. Step 1: Create your free account

    Sign up with your email, Google or Apple; you need to be 13 or older. Once you're in, you land on Home, called Mission Control in the desktop menu.

    Home

    Good to see you, Jordan.

    Switch these on

    Add Academics — turns on scholarship and college matching
    Add Financial — unlocks net-price and aid estimates
    • An email sign-up confirms the address before your first sign-in
    • Free for students, parents and counselors
    • Home lists the parts of your profile still to fill in, and what each one adds

    Tip: If a counselor will add you to their school's list, sign up with the email address your school has for you.

    Create free account
  2. Step 2: Fill in your profile

    Seven short sections, from basic information to a final review. Each one saves when you move to the next, so you can stop and pick up later.

    Your profile

    1. Basic Information
    2. Academic Profile
    3. School & Location
    4. Demographics
    5. Financial Information
    6. Activities & Interests
    7. Review
    • Grades and test scores turn on college and scholarship matching
    • Your state and school surface local scholarships and in-state options
    • Your family's income range sets the net price shown on each college's Costs tab

    Tip: Fill in the financial section even if your numbers are rough. It changes which colleges rank as the best value for you.

    Fill in your profile
  3. Step 3: Find colleges that fit

    Browse 3,000+ U.S. colleges. Once your profile has enough to go on, the list opens on your colleges, ranked for you, each with an estimated chance: safety, match, reach or far reach.

    Your colleges

    Georgia, FloridaAdmission rate over 50%Saved searches
    University AMatch· estimate
    University BReach· estimate
    • Filter by location, size, admission rate, cost and outcomes
    • Save a set of filters as a search, and run it again in one tap
    • Start from 2,000+ majors, or from athletics programs, instead
    • Tap a tier to see the range behind the estimate

    Tip: Tiers are estimates, not promises. Switch to All colleges to search without your profile's ranking.

    Browse colleges
  4. Step 4: Build and compare your list

    Save the colleges and scholarships that fit. Put your colleges in order, track where each application stands, and compare up to 10 side by side.

    Saved

    #1University A
    Applying
    #2University B
    Interested
    #3University C
    Accepted
    • Eight statuses, from Interested and Applying through to Enrolled
    • Notes on each college, for your own reference
    • The comparison shows your status and notes above published figures that name their source
    • Plan a campus visit trip across several days from your saved colleges

    Tip: A college that doesn't report a figure shows a dash in the comparison, never a guess.

    Open your list
  5. Step 5: Find scholarships and plan the cost

    My Matches finds scholarships for your profile and shows what each match score is made of. Track the ones you apply to, and see what each college would cost your family.

    My Matches

    STEM Leaders Award82% match

    Stated requirements

    Wording similarity

    Award, deadline and effort

    • Application checklists for essays, transcripts and recommendation letters
    • Draft essays and keep your documents in one place
    • Net price by family income on each college, and a Student Aid Index calculator

    Tip: Wording similarity isn't a requirement check. Read the stated requirements before you apply.

    See your matches

Back to Home

Each time you come back

Home is where you start from here on. Your list, profile and matches stay where you left them.

  1. Step 6: Check Home for what needs you

    Home is checked against your list every day. When something needs a decision, it shows up as a suggestion you can approve, set aside, or ask about.

    Needs you

    Part estimate

    You qualify for 3 scholarships — apply?

    Worth up to $12,500 combined.

    Apply to 3Not nowAsk
    Scholarship deadline — Oct 115 days left
    • Apply to the scholarships you qualify for in one step
    • Add safeties when your list has none
    • Email an admissions office or coach from a draft you read first. Nothing is sent until you tap Send.
    • Upcoming deadlines, and admissions events you can mark as going
    • A record of every action you approved

    Tip: Not now sets a suggestion aside for a while; it doesn't turn it off. Tap Ask to open Chat with the suggestion attached.

    Go to Home
  2. Step 7: Reach out and bring people in

    Email admissions offices and coaches from a college's page; replies come back to you. Invite a parent or counselor to your profile, or share a read-only link to your list.

    Outreach

    Campus visit in October1 reply
    Re: Campus visit in October
    Parent/Guardiancan view
    • Replies are forwarded to your email and kept with the message they answer
    • Invite someone by email as a parent or guardian, a school counselor, or a friend
    • Choose whether they can make changes or only view
    • Turn a share link off whenever you like

    Tip: A parent you invite sees a family briefing on their Home, not your own suggestions.

    Open outreach

Questions along the way? Open Chat from the menu, tap a question on a college card, or tap Ask on any suggestion on Home.

Start with a free account

Free for students, parents and counselors.