Founder & Mission
Welcome to GraduateSmart
What GraduateSmart is and who it’s for — a free nonprofit platform that helps students and families plan for college and careers.
Create a free accountGraduateSmart
100% free for students and families · No ads ever
Your Future.Your Roadmap Plan.
Whether you're in high school or already in college, find your path — and a way to pay for less of it.
- No credit card required
- No ads or upsells
- We never sell student data
- Built for high school & college students
My Roadmap Plan
Senior year plan
88%
Match score
18
Credits
$7.4K
Savings
AI Roadmap Plan preview
From goal to action plan
1
Career match
Software Engineer
2
Target school
State University
3
CLEP plan
18 credits before fall
Everything GraduateSmart does
Ten ways we help — pick the one you came for
You do not have to use all of it. Start with whatever brought you here.
300+
Career paths
3,000+
Colleges and trade schools
34
CLEP exams tracked
100%
Free, always
Career data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · School data: IPEDS · Exam data: College Board
College credit by exam
Six CLEP exams can save you about $8,600
That's at an in-state public university — at a private one, the same six exams are worth about $29,000. Each exam you pass replaces a college class you would otherwise pay for.
See how much CLEP could save you
Each exam you pass replaces a college class you would otherwise pay for.
6
Most students who use CLEP strategically take 4-8 exams. About 21 credits from 6 exams.
Projected savings
$8,610
21 credits earned · ~1.4 semesters skipped
Based on $410/credit at an in-state public university.
CLEP credits are accepted by 2,900+ U.S. colleges. Acceptance varies by major — your CLEP plan on GraduateSmart confirms each exam against your target school's policy.
Our mission
College planning should not be a privilege.
Good college and career planning should not depend on what your family can pay for. GraduateSmart is free for every student. We built it for the families who are usually left to work this out alone — first-generation students, minority students, and anyone whose school counselor is stretched across hundreds of kids.
Free access to the same planning tools families often pay for
Clear pathways for first-generation and underserved students
Career, college, CLEP, CTE, and scholarship planning in one place
Built for access
No ads. No upsells. No credit card.
We help students see options they may not have known existed: affordable schools, CLEP credits, CTE pathways, scholarships, internships, and careers with real earning potential.
Free
for families
HS + College
students supported
1,000+
opportunities
40+
certifications
Everything in one place
Every tool you need to plan your future
One platform connecting your career goals to the schools, credits, and opportunities that get you there faster and cheaper than the traditional path.
Build my Roadmap PlanAI Roadmap Plan Generator
Describe your goals and our AI builds a personalized Roadmap Plan in seconds - complete with career match, target school, CLEP exams, and step-by-step milestones. Already in college? Add your major and get a degree-completion plan built automatically.
Personalized College Match
Every school scored 0-100 based on your GPA, test scores, and budget. Instantly see your Safety, Match, and Reach schools across 3,000+ colleges and trade schools.
CLEP & CTE Planning
Earn free college credits before graduation. Plan CLEP exams, AP courses, industry certifications, and CTE programs - all tracked in one place.
Side-by-Side School Comparison
Compare up to 4 schools at once - tuition, acceptance rate, graduation rate, CLEP policy, and your personalized match score - with a winner highlighted in every category.
Application Timeline
A 12-month college application calendar auto-built around your grade, your schools, and every application deadline — early action, early decision and regular. Export to iCal with one click.
Scholarships & Opportunities
Browse 1,000+ scholarships and internships across all 50 states and DC. Smart Match filters out the ones you're ineligible for and surfaces the best fits based on your profile.
CTE & Career Pathways
Explore 8 career clusters, 500+ CTE programs nationwide, 1,500+ industry certifications - CompTIA, AWS, CNA, OSHA, ServSafe, PLTW - and civil-service exams that lead to stable government jobs, many of which need no college degree. Many certifications are free through your school district or a local career and technical center.
300+ Career Explorer
Browse careers with real salary ranges, job demand levels, required education, and the schools that offer each program. Find what fits you - not just what sounds good.
Application Tracker
Track every college application from Researching to Enrolled. Monitor essay status, recommendation letters, deadlines, and scholarship awards - all in one Kanban board.
Financial Aid Decoder
Compare college aid letters side by side in plain English, estimate your real net cost, and check your Pell Grant and fee-waiver eligibility - so you know what each school will actually cost before you commit.
College Match
Your score for every school
Add your GPA and test scores and GraduateSmart instantly scores all 3,000+ schools from 0-100. Every result also shows whether the school accepts your CLEP credits and how much you would save.
Sample match results
IllustrativeState University
Accepts CLEP
City College
Accepts CLEP
Metro University
Partial CLEP
Tech Institute
Accepts CLEP
Flagship U
No CLEP
Elite College
No CLEP
CLEP & CTE programs
Earn college credits before you graduate.
Each passing CLEP exam earns 3–6 college credits — the same credits you would pay $600+ per course to take in college. Pass 6 CLEPs and you can skip an entire semester.
Early credits plan
18 credits before fall
Pass 6 CLEPs → save a full semester → $18,000–$25,000 in tuition
Replace your first-year gen-ed classes with CLEPs you take in high school
Track all 34 CLEPs, 39 AP courses, and 1,500+ industry certifications in one place
Exam-by-exam CLEP charts for 800+ colleges — every score and credit linked to its source
Simple to get started
How GraduateSmart works
Up and running in minutes. No setup required.
01
Create your free account
Sign up in under 2 minutes. No credit card. No ads. No upsells.
02
Build your profile
Add your GPA, test scores, grade level, and career interests to unlock personalized recommendations.
03
Explore & get matched
Browse hundreds of careers, get matched to schools, discover CLEP exams, and compare colleges side by side.
04
Build & track your Roadmap Plan
Generate an AI Roadmap Plan or build your own. Track applications, deadlines, and CLEP progress all the way to enrollment.
Test prep
Pass the exams that decide whether you graduate — and where you go next
Two different tests, two different jobs. Your state's graduation exams decide whether you get a diploma; the SAT and PSAT decide which colleges will read your application. GraduateSmart preps you for both, free, with per-topic mastery tracking that shows exactly what to review next. Parents can follow along, too.
- 8 statewide exam systems across 13 states, plus the national SAT suite
- 36 subjects across math, science, English & social studies
- 3,000+ practice questions and 40+ full simulated exams for state tests, plus 500+ SAT questions
- Per-topic mastery tracking, with progress parents can see
State graduation exams
The exams standing between you and a diploma
13
States covered
36
Exam subjects
3,000+
Practice questions
40+
Full simulated exams
Exam systems we cover
New York RegentsTexas STAARFlorida EOC & FASTGeorgia MilestonesVirginia SOLSmarter BalancedOhio's State TestsNew Jersey NJGPA
SAT & PSAT
The exam that decides where you can apply
500+
Practice questions
30
Skill topics
Reading & Writing · Math
One bank, all four assessments
SATPSAT/NMSQTPSAT 10PSAT 8/9
Practice questions with worked explanations, plus a full-length adaptive practice test that gives you an estimated score range. For an official score, use College Board's own free practice tests in Bluebook.
See what SAT & PSAT prep coversWatch & learn
See GraduateSmart in action
Short, free guides on college, careers, and paying less for both.
Platform Walkthroughs
Build a Free Career Roadmap in Minutes
Watch GraduateSmart turn a single goal into a complete, step-by-step college-and-career roadmap in real time.
Build your roadmapMoney, Scholarships & CLEP
CLEP: Earn College Credit for Under $100
How CLEP exams — free to study via Modern States — turn a ~$95 test into real college credit and cut tuition costs.
Explore CLEP savingsCivil Service Pathways
How to Get a NYC Civil Service Job
The civil service pathway most students never hear about — stable, good-paying careers you can pursue without a four-year degree or debt.
Explore careersRead & grow
Reading recommendations, matched to your grade
Every free account includes a personalized reading list — classics, career reads, and college-level picks chosen for your grade level. Check off what you've read and we'll recommend what's next.
Built for everyone involved
Who is GraduateSmart for?
Students get a clear plan. Parents get visibility into it.
Are you a school counselor? Email us for cohort access
Students
Explore careers, find your perfect school, earn CLEP credits, compare colleges, track applications, and build a plan that saves you time and money.
- AI-generated Roadmap Plans
- College match scores
- CLEP & CTE planning
- Application timeline & tracker
Parents
Stay connected to your child's planning without hovering. See Roadmap Plan progress, upcoming deadlines, accepted schools, and coaching tips - all in a dedicated parent dashboard.
- Child Roadmap Plan progress ring
- Upcoming deadline alerts
- CLEP credits earned
- Coaching tips & insights
No account needed
Three tools you can use right now
You do not have to sign up to get something useful today. These are open to everyone.
CLEP policy lookup
Search a college and see which CLEP exams it accepts, the score it needs, and the credits it grants — every figure linked to the page we read it from.
Try it nowState exam prep
Browse every topic on your state’s graduation exams and see how much practice each one has. Lessons and questions open up with a free account.
Try it nowMajor explorer
Browse college majors and see which schools actually award each one.
Try it nowReady to build your future?
Join students and families using GraduateSmart to plan smarter, save more, and graduate ahead of schedule. Completely free — always.