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.
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 matchingAdd 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
Create free accountTip: If a counselor will add you to their school's list, sign up with the email address your school has for you.
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
- Basic Information
- Academic Profile
- School & Location
- Demographics
- Financial Information
- Activities & Interests
- 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
Fill in your profileTip: Fill in the financial section even if your numbers are rough. It changes which colleges rank as the best value for you.
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 searchesUniversity AMatch· estimateUniversity 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
Browse collegesTip: Tiers are estimates, not promises. Switch to All colleges to search without your profile's ranking.
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 AApplying#2University BInterested#3University CAccepted- 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
Open your listTip: A college that doesn't report a figure shows a dash in the comparison, never a guess.
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% matchStated 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
See your matchesTip: Wording similarity isn't a requirement check. Read the stated requirements before you apply.
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.
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 estimateYou qualify for 3 scholarships — apply?
Worth up to $12,500 combined.
Apply to 3Not nowAskScholarship 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
Go to HomeTip: Not now sets a suggestion aside for a while; it doesn't turn it off. Tap Ask to open Chat with the suggestion attached.
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 replyRe: Campus visit in OctoberParent/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
Open outreachTip: A parent you invite sees a family briefing on their Home, not your own suggestions.
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.