Application guides, written like a friend wrote them.
No paywalls, no consulting upsell. Every guide is short, specific, and assumes nobody has told you any of this before.
The cold-email playbook
How to write to a stranger — a professor, a lab manager, a studio, a nonprofit — and actually hear back. Subject line, three sentences, one attachment.
Your first real CV
A one-page template for anyone applying to their first program, internship, or opportunity — even with no formal experience yet. How to make curiosity and side projects count.
The 'why this program' essay
A structure that works for almost any application — research programs, scholarships, fellowships, summer schools. Three paragraphs, one specific anchor, your real voice.
Asking for recommendations
Who to ask, when to ask, and what to give them so the letter sounds like you and arrives on time.
Asking for financial help
Most programs that say they want a diverse group have more aid than they advertise — but you have to ask. Language that works in the aid statement, without sharing more than you want to.
A year-by-year timeline
When to do what, without the panic. A calendar for the student figuring this out alone, or with a family who hasn't done it before. Works for research, arts, internships, scholarships — anything competitive.
A living library.
We add new guides every month based on what students ask us. Missing something? Tell us.