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Terms of Service

Updated February 1, 2024

Thanks for using College Kickstart! These terms of service along with our Privacy Policy (collectively, “Terms”) govern your use and access to the Services ("Services") provided by College Kickstart LLC through our Website. By using our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

Eligibility

College Kickstart is a web-based planning application designed to help college-bound teens, parents, independent college consultants and high school counselors better navigate college admissions. You are eligible to use the Services if you are an individual who is 18 years or older residing in the United States or a school or school district located in the United States. If you are between the ages of 13 and 17, you need your parent or legal guardian to consent to your use of the Services in accordance with these Terms and to be responsible for your use of the Services. If you are younger than age 13, you may not use the Services.  Regardless of eligibility, we reserve the right to refuse use of the Services at our sole discretion.

Your Responsibilities

You agree to use Services for their intended purpose and not misuse the Services. Examples of misuse of the Services include:

  • Providing untruthful account information.
  • Probing the vulnerability of any system or network or breaching or circumventing its security or authentication measures.
  • Accessing, tampering with, or using non-public areas or parts of the Services or areas where you have not been granted access or accessing or searching the Services through non-publicly supported interfaces (e.g., “scraping”).
  • Interfering with or disrupting any user, host or network in any manner, including by  sending a virus, overloading, flooding, spamming or mail-bombing any part of the Services or spoofing or phishing others.
  • Sending unsolicited and not previously approved communications, promotions or advertisements, or spam.
  • Selling, transferring, assigning or sharing your right to use the Services in any way.
  • Using automated or other means to create accounts in bulk or to access the Services other than by using our official interface and/or APIs.
  • Storing, creating  and/or sharing materials that are unlawfully pornographic or indecent, advocate bigotry, religious, racial or ethnic hatred, are fraudulent, misleading or violate the rights of others.
  • Using the Services in violation of applicable law.

You are also responsible for understanding the limitations of our Services and recognize the following regarding the Services:

  • The Services are intended to provide directional guidance, not guarantees of admission.
  • The Services are based purely on quantitative data, such as your standardized test scores and institutions’ admissions data, and do not factor in important qualitative considerations such as the strength of your recommendations and personal statements, special talents that you have or special circumstances like being a first generation college student or underrepresented minority. Always use our Services in conjunction with an experienced professional better able to consider your overall candidacy, such as your high school counselor or a college consultant.
  • You recognize that our ability to deliver our Services is limited by the timeliness, specificity and accuracy of the data we use to carry out our analysis. This includes your personal information and other generally non-public information (“Personal Information”) and the admissions data provided by each of the institutions we cover. For example, most institutions report admissions data well after the completion of an admissions cycle. Depending on when you use our Services and the particular institutions on your list, the admissions data may not be for the current year. Alternatively, though an institution might report an overall admission rate, the admission rates for departments/majors within that institution may be drastically different. To help you understand where we get our information, we publish source data references for each school on your list.

Your Subscription

When you sign up to use our Services through our website or separate subscription agreement, you may be assigned or asked to select a subscription plan ("Plan"). The Plan defines the Services that you are authorized to access throughout the subscribed term (“Subscription Period”). Each Plan may vary in terms of scale, scope, the number and type of authorized users, Subscription Period and pricing ("Fee").

Unless stated otherwise, a Plan entitles you (or each of your authorized users) to use our Services for a single application cycle that runs from January 1 to December 31 of a single calendar year. During the Subscription Period, there is no limit to the number of times a user may modify/refine their college plan.

Because it is possible to take full advantage of our Services in a very short period of time, your Fee is billed up front and paid in full in advance of having access and use of the Services and is nonrefundable. You are responsible for all taxes. You can cancel your subscription at any time but we do not issue refunds or prorations.

Your subscription provides you the right to use the Services in accordance with these Terms.  No other rights in the Services are granted and we retain all ownership rights, including all trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, proprietary rights and other intellectual property rights, title and interest in the Services. 

Third-Party Websites or Services

Our Services may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not owned or controlled by College Kickstart and as described in more detail in the Privacy Policy. Access to or use of third-party sites or services are at your own risk. We are not responsible for any loss or damage of any sort relating to your dealings with these parties. We encourage you to be aware of when you leave the Service, and to read the terms and conditions and privacy policy of any third-party website or service that you visit.

Confidentiality

From time to time, information may be provided by you or us ("Discloser) to the other ("Receiver"), whether orally or in writing, that is designated as confidential ("Confidential Information").  Such information includes but is not limited to your Personal Information or the Personal Information of the students you serve, your results, access to new or improved Services before they are made available to the general public, and the terms of your agreement with us.  Confidential Information does not include any information that is publicly available or known to the Receiver prior to the disclosure.

When Confidential Information is disclosed, the Receiver agrees to: (i) protect the confidentiality of the Confidential Information using the same degree of care it uses with its own confidential information of similar nature, (ii) not use any Confidential Information for any purpose outside the scope of these Terms, and (iii) not disclose Confidential Information to any third party until it becomes publicly available.

From time to time we may invite you to test new or improved Services before they are made available to the general public. Should you agree to participate in this type of testing, you agree to not disclose any information about the features and functions of the pre-released Services without express written permission from College Kickstart LLC or until the new and/or improved Services have been made generally available, whichever is sooner.

Indemnity

College Kickstart agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless You, and your trustees, officers, directors, employees, contractors and agents from and against any and all claims, causes of action, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees and costs) and all amounts paid in settlement arising from or relating to the Service directly infringing the copyright, patent, trademark, and other intellectual and proprietary rights of a third party. College Kickstart shall have no indemnification obligation, and You shall indemnify College Kickstart under these Terms, for claims arising from any alleged infringement related to the combination of the Service with any of Your or any of Your licensor’s products, service, hardware, or business process(es), so long as such use was not authorized or directed by College Kickstart in writing. College Kickstart’s indemnifying obligations are expressly conditioned upon each of the following: (i) You will promptly notify College Kickstart in writing of any threatened or actual claim; (ii) College Kickstart will have sole control of the defense and settlement, if any, of any claim giving rise to the above indemnity obligations; provided, however, that no settlement will be binding against You without Your prior written consent; and (iii) You will cooperate with College Kickstart to facilitate the defense and settlement, if any, of any claim. This section states the entire liability of College Kickstart and the sole and exclusive remedy of You and the other indemnified persons listed above for infringement claims and actions related thereto.

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless College Kickstart and its members, employees, contractors and agents from and against any and all claims, causes of action, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees and costs) and all amounts paid in settlement arising from or relating to your misuse of the Services, breach of these Terms or violation of any law. College Kickstart may assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you have agreed to indemnify College Kickstart and you agree to assist and cooperate with College Kickstart in the defense or settlement of any such matters.

No Warranty

College Kickstart has no fiduciary duty to you. THE WEBSITE AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING,WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE. USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Limitation of Liability

COLLEGE KICKSTART (INCLUDING ITS AFFILIATES, MEMBERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUBCONTRACTORS OR LICENSORS) IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES OR, IN ANY EVENT, FOR DAMAGES EXCEEDING THE LESSER OF ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100.00) OR THE FEES YOU PAID TO COLLEGE KICKSTART FOR THE TRANSACTION FROM WHICH THE CAUSE OF ACTION AROSE. THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SECTION APPLIES WHETHER THE ALLEGED LIABILITY IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER BASIS, EVEN IF COLLEGE KICKSTART HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE AND TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW IN THE APPLICABLE JURISDICTION.

For jurisdictions that do not allow us to limit our liability: Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement, if your jurisdiction has provisions specific to waiver or liability that conflict with the foregoing, then our liability is limited to the smallest extent possible by law. Specifically, in those jurisdictions not allowed, we do not disclaim liability for: (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence or that of any of its officers, employees or agents; or (b) fraudulent misrepresentation or intentional misconduct; or (c) any liability which it is not lawful to exclude either now or in the future.

Assignment

This Agreement, and any rights and licenses granted hereunder, may not be transferred or assigned by you, but may be assigned by College Kickstart without restriction.

Termination

Termination may result in the forfeiture and destruction of all information associated with your account including, without limitation, your Personal Information. You may terminate your account by following the instructions on the Website. The provisions regarding use of website and Services at your own risk, Right to Refuse Service, Indemnity, No Warranty, Limitation of Liability, General and Terms Applicable to School Subscribers survive termination for any reason.

Governing Law

You agree that: (i) the Service shall be deemed solely based in California (where we have our headquarters); and (ii) the Service shall be deemed a passive one that does not give rise to personal jurisdiction over College Kickstart, either specific or general, in jurisdictions other than California. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without respect to its conflict of laws principles. Any claim or dispute between you and College Kickstart that arises in whole or in part from the Service shall be decided exclusively by a court of competent jurisdiction located in Alameda County, California. The Service is controlled and operated from our facilities in the United States. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, all materials found on the Service are solely directed to individuals, companies, or other entities located in the U.S.

English Language

The English language version of these Terms govern. All disputes, claims and causes of action (and related proceedings) will be communicated in English.

Export Compliance

You agree to comply with all laws, restrictions and regulations relating to the export of products and information. For purposes of the U.S. Export Administration Act (“Export Laws”), you state you are: (a) not a citizen, or otherwise located within, an embargoed nation (including without limitation the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) comprehensively embargoed countries of Iran, Syria, Cuba, North Korea and Sudan and certain Specially Designated Nationals (“SDN”) listed by OFAC as updated from time to time and (b) not otherwise prohibited under the Export Laws from receiving such products and information.

Cooperation with Authorities and Police Enforcement

We will cooperate with law enforcement authorities as required by law. We will cooperate with law enforcement agencies in any investigation of alleged illegal activity regarding the use of the Service when requested.

Notification Procedures

You agree College Kickstart may provide notifications to you via email, written or hard copy notice, or through conspicuous posting of such notice on our Website. You may opt out of certain means of notification or to receive certain notifications.

Entire Agreement/Severability

These Terms are the entire agreement between you and College Kickstart regarding its subject matter. If any provision of these Terms are deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect. College Kickstart's failure to assert any right or provision under this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

Changes to Terms

If we make a material change to these Terms, we will post a notice of those changes on our Website or notify you by email (sent to the email address specified in your account) to keep you aware of the changes prior to the change becoming effective. You are bound by changes to these Terms when you use the Website after those changes have been posted. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our Terms of Service.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about these Terms, the practices of this Website or your dealings with this Website including any bugs or actual or potential threats to the security of our Website and protection of your personally identifiable information, please contact us at  support@collegekickstart.com.

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