Why I built Blueprint
I spent over $3,000 on private college counseling. Most students can't do that. So I built a platform that gives every student real guidance, without the price tag.
By Thiago Cavalcanti
In high school, I paid over $3,000 for a private college counselor. Money my family stretched to afford. What I got back was underwhelming: generic school lists, essay feedback that rarely went beyond "make it more personal," and deadline reminders I could have set myself. And I knew most of my classmates could not have afforded even that.
The problem
The average public school counselor is responsible for over 400 students. They don't have time to help every student find the right colleges, review every essay, or walk them through financial aid applications. Private counselors fill that gap, but they charge $2,000 to $10,000 per student. The result is a system where the quality of guidance you get depends on how much your family can pay.
What I'm building
Blueprint is the platform I wished existed. It combines the data-driven matching of a counselor who knows every school in the country with the essay feedback of a writing coach who's read thousands of admissions essays. The free tier gives every student access to real college matching, deadline tracking, and essay feedback. Not a 7-day trial, but a real tool you can use from start to finish.
I'm building Blueprint because I believe the college application process should reward how hard you've worked, not how much your family can spend on help.