Built by a parent who went looking for help and couldn’t find it.

A few years ago, our founder Reginal Joseph started doing what millions of parents do every year: trying to figure out how to help his kid get to college without going broke.

What he found was a maze. Counselors were stretched thin. The college-search sites were pay-to-play. The "free" tools were usually lead magnets for thousand-dollar coaching packages. And nobody was connecting the dots between what a student actually wants to do, the right schools for that goal, and the money it would take to get there.

So he built the thing he wished existed.

GraduateSmart starts with a student's goal — engineer, nurse, game designer, electrician, welder, software developer, anything — and works backwards: the majors that lead there, the schools that offer them, the early college credit that cuts the cost, and the scholarships they qualify for. One roadmap that ties it all together.

The nonprofit was formed to make sure that tool stays free for the families who need it most. Private college counseling can run into the thousands of dollars. We don't think a student's future should depend on whether their family can afford that. So we cover the cost, and we keep it open to everyone.

“No premium tier. No ‘unlock this feature.’ No selling your data. We're funded so families don't have to be.”

— Reginal Joseph, Founder