Frequently Asked Questions

College Decoded is a comprehensive college planning platform that helps students search 6,500+ colleges, explore 1,000+ careers, and save money through features like CLEP planning, scholarship matching, and net price calculations. Our free tier gives you unlimited college search, while premium tiers unlock personalized insights and smart tools.

Yes! Our Free tier is 100% free forever with no credit card required. You get unlimited college and career search, 3 saved colleges, RIASEC career assessment, and basic practice questions. Premium features like Net Price Calculator, full CLEP planning, and Smart Counselor require a paid subscription starting at $19/month.

College Decoded is designed for high school students (grades 9-12), adult learners returning to education, parents, and counselors. Whether you're just starting to think about college, returning to finish a degree, or finalizing your applications, we have tools to help at every stage of your journey.

We offer four plans: Free ($0/forever) - Unlimited search, 3 saved colleges. Basic ($19/mo) - 25 saved colleges, Net Price Calculator, homework helper. Plus ($39/mo) - Unlimited saves, full CLEP planning, parent dashboard. Premium ($79/mo) - Everything unlimited, 24/7 Smart Counselor, essay assistant. View full pricing details →

Yes! Upgrades take effect immediately with prorated billing. Downgrades take effect at the end of your current billing period. You can cancel anytime and keep access until your billing period ends.

All paid plans include a 14-day free trial. No credit card required to start. You'll only be charged after the trial ends if you choose to continue.

We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on all paid plans. If you're not satisfied for any reason, contact us within 30 days for a full refund. No questions asked.

Yes! Annual plans save 20% compared to monthly. Students with .edu emails get additional discounts. High school counselors can request free resource access with sample previews and no student roster or student-record tools. Military families receive special pricing through our military benefits calculator.

Verified high school counselors can request free read-only resource access at /counselors. The application verifies work email through a magic link and then goes through school-site review. The account includes guides, worksheets, calculators, share links, and sample dashboard previews, but no student rosters, notes, uploads, messaging, reports, or student-record tools.

Deal Score is our proprietary metric (0-100) that measures the value of a college based on graduation rate, earnings after graduation, net price, and student satisfaction. A higher score means better value for your investment. It's designed to cut through marketing and show you the real ROI of each school.

Our Net Price Calculator uses the same methodology as official college NPCs but works across all schools. Tier 1 uses income brackets for estimates. Tier 2 adds assets, family size, and special circumstances for more accurate results. Most estimates are within $2,000-5,000 of actual awards.

CLEP (College-Level Examination Program) lets you earn college credit by passing exams instead of taking courses. Each exam costs ~$90 and can replace courses worth $1,000-3,000 in tuition. Students typically save $20,000-50,000 by strategically using CLEP exams. Our CLEP Planner shows you exactly which exams each college accepts.

We have 6,500+ accredited U.S. colleges and universities, including 4-year universities, community colleges, and trade schools. Our data is updated regularly from official sources including IPEDS, College Scorecard, and individual institution websites.

Our database includes 6,500+ accredited institutions. The default search view filters out schools with incomplete data for your selected education level, which typically shows around 1,700-2,000 schools. You can see every school by adjusting the filters in the sidebar. We filter by default to ensure you only see schools with complete cost, admissions, and outcome data.

Click "Get Started" on any page. You can sign up with Google, Microsoft, or email magic link. No password required - we'll send you a secure link to sign in instantly. No credit card needed for the Free tier.

Go to Settings → Subscription and click "Cancel Plan." You'll keep access until your current billing period ends. You can reactivate anytime without losing your saved data.

Yes. We use industry-standard encryption (256-bit SSL) for all data transmission. We never sell your personal information to third parties. You can delete your account and all associated data at any time from Settings. Read our Privacy Policy for full details.