Terms of Service
The deal between you and A2Z College Guide
THE SHORT VERSION: ACG is a free tool that helps you find colleges that fit you. We never let a college pay to change your results. These terms explain what you can expect from us, and what we expect from you. We’ve kept them readable on purpose — if anything here isn’t clear, email us and we’ll fix the wording.
1. What ACG is — and isn't
A2Z College Guide (“ACG,” “we,” “us”) is a free guidance tool: a Matchmaker that scores and ranks colleges against what you tell us, a Catalog you can sort and compare, and a Library of plain-spoken guides. It runs on public data from the U.S. Department of Education and similar official sources.
It is information, not advice. ACG is not your guidance counselor, financial advisor, or attorney. It’s built to help you make your own decision — not to make it for you. Treat it as one well-informed input among several.
A high score is not a promise. A strong match means a college looks like a good fit on the data — not that you’ll be admitted, that you’ll get aid, or that the price we estimate is what you’ll pay. Colleges decide who they admit and what they charge. We don’t, and we can’t guarantee any outcome.
2. Who can use ACG
ACG is built for students — usually high-schoolers — and the parents, counselors, and mentors helping them.
- Under 13: ACG is not directed to children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect their personal information. If you’re under 13, please use ACG together with a parent or guardian who agrees to these terms.
- Ages 13–17: You’re welcome to use ACG. We strongly encourage you to involve a parent or guardian, and by using it you confirm that one is aware you’re here.
- Everyone: You agree that the information you enter is accurate enough to be useful, and that you won’t pretend to be someone else.
3. The honest-list promise
THIS IS THE COMMITMENT EVERYTHING ELSE RESTS ON
No college can pay to change your scores, your rank, or your shortlist. We don’t accept money from colleges for placement or for leads. The scoring formula is published, so you can check our math yourself. If ACG ever shows sponsorship or advertising, it will never alter your results — and we’ll tell you plainly where it appears.
4. Where the numbers come from — and their limits
Public data. Scores draw on the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard and related official datasets. That data can lag roughly 18–24 months behind the present, and it can contain errors we’ve inherited.
Estimates, not quotes. Net prices are estimates based on income bands — not offers, not guarantees. Always confirm cost and financial aid directly with the college.
What we don’t show. Some third-party rankings are proprietary and we can’t display or recreate them. ACG isn’t a ranking magazine; it’s a fit tool.
5. Your account and what you enter
You may be able to create an account to save lists and preferences. Keep your login reasonably secure; you’re responsible for what happens under your account. You own the information you enter. By entering it, you give us permission to use it to run the service — to compute your matches and save your list — as described in our Privacy Policy.
6. Using ACG fairly
Please do: use ACG for your own college search, and share it with friends, classmates, and family.
Please don’t: scrape or bulk-harvest the data; resell or relicense it; reverse-engineer the service to break or game it; pass it off as official college or government communication; use it to break the law or harm anyone; or upload anything malicious.
7. Our brand and content
The ACG name, look, writing, and the particular way we express the scoring method belong to Purple Lumen. The underlying government data is public; our presentation of it is not. Please don’t copy our brand or content without permission.
8. Links to other sites
ACG links out to college websites, official net-price calculators, and other resources. We don’t control those sites and aren’t responsible for their content, accuracy, or practices. When you leave ACG, their terms apply, not ours.
9. The tool is provided “as is”
We work hard to be accurate and useful, but we can’t promise ACG is error-free, always available, or a perfect fit for your exact situation. To the fullest extent the law allows, ACG is provided “as is,” and we aren’t liable for decisions made solely on the basis of it. Use it as one input — alongside the colleges themselves, the people who know you, and your own judgment.
10. Changes, and ending things
We’ll keep improving the tool, and we may update these terms. We’ll post the date at the top and flag meaningful changes. Continuing to use ACG means you accept the current version. You can stop any time, and you can ask us to delete your account — see the Privacy Policy for how.
11. The legal basics
These terms are governed by U.S. law, with the specific state to be set before launch. If something goes wrong, email us first — we’d much rather fix it directly than formally.
A note on this draft. This is a v1, plain-language version written to be read. It will be reviewed by counsel before ACG launches, and the finalized terms will control. Nothing here is legal advice.