Current college students who went through applications themselves a year or two ago. They know what the Common App looks like right now, which schools they got into and what they’d do differently.

Every mentor applies, tells us how we can confirm they attend college, agrees to our code of conduct, and is reviewed by the Alongside team before their profile appears. Mentors who have verified their college email, or whose enrollment we have checked, show a blue verified check next to their name.

A 10-minute video call to see whether you click with a mentor before booking a full session. It’s free: one intro per mentor, and up to three a month.

Use it to say hello, share what you’re working on, and ask how the mentor would help. If it feels right, book a 60-minute session from their profile.

A session is 60 minutes, one-on-one, in Alongside’s private video room. You bring the questions: an essay draft, a college list you’re unsure about, how to prepare for an interview, or what a major is really like.

Your mentor gives feedback, ideas and a clear next step. Afterwards they can send you notes on what you covered, and suggest a day for your next session so you can book it in one tap.

No. The video room runs in your browser on a phone, tablet or laptop. It opens from your dashboard 5 minutes before the start; press “Join session” and you’re in.

Students aged 13 and older. If you’re under 18, you need permission from a parent or guardian and you give us their email when you sign up, so they get a copy of every booking email.

Each mentor sets their own price for a 60-minute session, shown on their profile and again before you book. The 10-minute intro call is free.

During our pilot you pay your mentor directly after the session, and Alongside doesn’t charge anything. No subscriptions and nothing to buy up front.

After your session, pay your mentor directly using the payment details (for example a Venmo or Zelle name) shown on your booking and in your confirmation email.

Alongside doesn’t take or hold any money during the pilot, so there is nothing to pay on the site itself.

Cancel or reschedule from your dashboard. Nothing is paid until after the session, so cancelling costs nothing, but please give your mentor as much notice as you can: they have set that hour aside for you.

Yes. You can book any mentor at any time, and the free intro call is there so you can find the right fit before you commit to a full session.

One rule for everyone, students and mentors alike:

• Wait 15 minutes. If the other person hasn’t joined 15 minutes after the start, you can leave, and it counts as a no-show.
• Running late? Join as soon as you can. The session still ends at its booked time.
• If the mentor doesn’t show up, you owe nothing, and you get one free 60-minute session with that mentor (or help choosing another one).
• If the student doesn’t show up without cancelling, the session counts: the family pays the mentor as booked, because they kept that hour free. From a package, the session is used.
• Free intro calls cost nothing either way, but please cancel if you can’t make it.
• Mentors who miss two sessions within 90 days are paused automatically: hidden from students and unable to take new bookings until the Alongside team talks with them.
• Video trouble isn’t a no-show. Try rejoining from the dashboard; if it still won’t connect, choose “Get help” on the session and we’ll help you set a new time at no cost.
• Can’t make it? Cancel or reschedule from your dashboard as early as you can.
• After every call, we ask the student and the mentor whether it happened, so the Alongside team spots no-shows and follows up. You can also choose “Get help” on the session in your dashboard.

Yes. You get an email when you book, a reminder the day before, and a short reminder about an hour before the session, each with the time in your time zone. You can also add the session to your calendar from your dashboard or the email.

Sessions take place in Alongside’s private video room, not on personal apps, and mentors agree never to share or ask for phone numbers, personal email, social media accounts or outside meeting links. A mentor’s profile can show a few public posts, but mentors never follow, friend or message students off Alongside.

Every mentor is reviewed before joining and agrees to a code of conduct. Parents of students under 18 are copied on every booking email, and any session can be reported to the Alongside team from the dashboard.

Each mentor applies with their college, degree, class year and major. Most verify their college email address by entering a code we send to it, and then get a blue verified check next to their name; the profile shows their school’s domain, never the address. Others tell us another way to confirm they attend, such as a link to their LinkedIn or college profile. We never ask for government ID.

The Alongside team reviews every application personally. We can also check a mentor’s enrollment ourselves, which earns the same blue check. Approved mentors without either show no check. Changes to a mentor’s college, degree, major, bio or photo send the profile back for review.

Not at the moment. Alongside may record sessions privately for safety in the future; if that changes, it will be explained here and in the Terms before it starts. Mentors are never allowed to make their own recordings.

No. Mentors give feedback, ideas and coaching, but your essays and applications stay yours. That is also what admissions officers expect, and it’s part of the code of conduct every mentor agrees to.

Choose “Get help” on the session in your dashboard within 30 days and tell us what happened. The Alongside team reviews every report and makes it right, and a mentor who breaks the code of conduct is removed.

Sessions are one-on-one between the student and the mentor, but you’re welcome to be nearby or drop in to say hello (we ask students to join from a shared space at home). You are copied on every booking email (the confirmation, the reminders and the mentor’s notes afterwards), so you always know when and with whom your teen is meeting.

Every mentor profile shows their college, class year, major, what they help with and reviews from students who completed a verified session. Mentors are reviewed by the Alongside team before they appear, and a blue verified check means they confirmed a college email or we checked their enrollment.

Email us at alongside.mentors@gmail.com. We reply within one business day.

For a problem with a booked session, the fastest route is “Get help” next to the session on the dashboard.