College Kickstart helps counselors, consultants, students, and families build balanced lists, identify early opportunities, and make college planning conversations clearer with current admissions data.
average boost in admission odds from the right early strategy.
of users capitalize on appropriate early admission opportunities.
average early opportunities identified per list.
College Kickstart brings clarity, balance, and structure to college planning, so counselors, consultants, students, and families can focus on the right conversations at the right time.
Support student and parent conversations with objective analysis that reinforces your expertise and keeps the focus on thoughtful college planning.
From the first list to reporting on outcomes, College Kickstart is the planning tool that sets students up for success.
Students, families, counselors, or consultants enter academic details and the schools under consideration, depending on how each team runs its process.
College Kickstart categorizes every school as likely, target, reach, or unlikely, then grades the overall list for balance.
Families and counseling teams see where the list stands before the next conversation. List grades make balance concrete and easier to discuss.
Schools can layer their own historical outcomes alongside national admissions data.
Counselors and consultants review every student's list at a glance, then lead the conversation with shared data.
For recruited athletes, development admits, or other unique situations, counselor adjustments reflect what you know about the student and the school.
Counselors and consultants use College Kickstart to make planning conversations clearer, more balanced, and more data-driven.
“College Kickstart enhances my productivity and has helped me grow my practice. I save time, manage expectations, and have the data to back up my recommendations in a format that families really appreciate.”
“Although the entire platform has been beneficial for our counseling staff, parents, and students alike, the most impactful piece for me has been the admissions trends and data presentations that George leads. I so appreciate his efforts and approach in sharing the data; it is unbiased and clearly communicated.”
“Having the College Kickstart reports to help me prepare for my board report was a lifesaver. Instead of spending time on data collection, I was able to focus on the key messages I wanted to convey based upon the data that was in these reports.”
“Allows me to have honest conversations with students and families with reliable data. Keeps feedback about college selectivity from being personal or a judgment call.”
College Kickstart began as a blog publishing data-driven analysis of college admissions. Counselors kept asking for the underlying tools, so we built them.
Fifteen years later, we’re a focused team committed to keeping the data current and supporting every customer with the care that shaped the platform from the start.
Read our story →
George started College Kickstart as a research blog analyzing admissions data. Counselors started reaching out for the underlying tools, and a platform was born.
Tom leads the next chapter of College Kickstart, focused on serving more counseling teams without losing the close customer relationships the platform was built on.
