For high schoolers applying to US universities from abroad
Your US applications, finally under control.
Add the universities you're dreaming of. Edlume tells you what's due when, what each one asks from international students, what it'll cost you, and where people usually slip up. You tick things off as you go, and your essays get a proper read before you hit submit.
Two minutes. No credit card.
The 2026–27 calendar
- Nov 1Early Decision & Early ActionMost early deadlines
- Jan 1Regular DecisionMost fall between Jan 1 and 15
- Mid-MarchDecisions come outThrough early April
- May 1You pick your schoolLast day to accept an offer
- 1,078
- US universities, each with its own page
- 151
- charge international students a higher fee
- 86
- keep fee waivers for US students only
The big names are all here. 1,078 universities in total.
The plan
We catch the slip-ups before they cost you an admission
Every university tucks its rules for international students somewhere deep in its website. Edlume pulls them together and checks your choices, school by school.
- One calendar
- Every deadline, the right SAT date, and when to ask for your letters. One click and it's in your phone's calendar.
- The traps
- Two binding Early Decisions at once, an English test the school doesn't take, a fee waiver that's for Americans only. You hear about it before it's too late.
- Your progress
- Tick off each step, school by school. One look and you know what's left.
- Your parents
- Send them one link. They see everything, and you get fewer "so, where are you at?" texts.
- Blocking
Two Early Decision applications: New York University and Boston University
Early Decision is binding. You can only have one active ED application at a time. Switch one of them to another round.
- Check
Fee waiver for US students only: Arizona State University
You'll have to pay the application fee at these universities.
- Good to know
Higher fee for international applicants: Arizona State University
You pay $5 more in total than a US applicant would.
And your essays
Does your essay read like a school assignment? That's the first thing we fix.
The difference
What worked at school works against you here.
At school, you were graded on method: a thesis, a plan, a tidy conclusion. A US admissions reader gives your essay a few minutes and is looking for one thing: who you are.
| What your teacher liked | What a US reader wants |
|---|---|
| Announcing your plan in the intro | Starting in the middle of a scene |
| Big, formal words | Plain sentences that sound like you |
| Listing everything you've done | One story, told up close |
| Staying neutral, writing "we" or "one" | Saying "I", and what you actually felt |
| Ending on the moral | Ending on who you are now |
What we look for11 good-student habits that sink an essay
We only flag a habit if it's really in your text, and we quote the exact sentence.
- 01The exam structureThesis, plan, development, conclusion.
- 02The cliché opening"Since I was a child…", a famous quote, a dictionary definition.
- 03Where are you?Passive voice, "one", "we", nothing about how you felt.
- 04Telling, not showing"Resilience" and "passion" with no scene behind them.
- 05The résumé in disguiseAwards and rankings your activities list already covers.
- 06The fancy register"Furthermore", "moreover", phrases learned by heart.
- 07The moral at the end"This taught me that anything is possible."
- 08Translated from your languageActually, eventually, "do the needful", idioms taken word for word.
- 09Thanks and complimentsPraise and gratitude that don't move the story forward.
- 10The hardship essay where you vanishThe difficulty takes up all the space. You don't.
- 11Context nobody gets"Bac blanc" or "JEE coaching" with no explanation. Or the tourist brochure.
A real review
Here's what you get back
This is the actual review screen, on an excerpt from a sample essay. Every full review looks like this.
- A score out of 10One question: does this essay help your application or hurt it? Most first drafts land between 3 and 6. That's normal.
- Six criteriaVoice, story, reflection, specificity, structure, language. Each one scored and explained.
- Your habits, quotedThe exact sentence, why it trips up a US reader, and a lead to fix it yourself.
Solid material hidden under a debate-club structure. The reader meets your résumé before they meet you.
Six criteria
- Voice2/5
- Story & scenes3/5
- Reflection2/5
- Specificity3/5
- Structure2/5
- Language & register4/5
- Habit 01
Exam-essay structure
"In this essay, I will explain how my passion for medicine was born, how it grew, and what I intend to do with it."
Why it hurts. This is a thesis statement for an exam. The reader already knows where the essay is going, so curiosity ends in the first line.
Where to go — Open inside the evening at your father's pharmacy that you mention in paragraph 3. What were you holding? What was said?
We will never write your essay for you.
First, because universities spot it and it can cost you. Second, because it wouldn't work anyway: an essay written by someone else doesn't sound like you, and that's the one thing the reader is looking for. We show you what's not working, ask the right questions, and you do the writing.
- No rewritten sentences
- No generated intros or conclusions
- Just questions and leads, built from your own draft
For parents
What you're paying for, no jargon
You don't need to know how US admissions work to follow your child's applications. Here's what the Season Pass includes, and what we'll never promise you.
The Season Pass includes
- A dated plan for every university on the list
- Alerts on strategy conflicts, English tests, fees and fee waivers
- Step-by-step progress for each application
- The whole calendar on your phone, with a reminder a week before each deadline
- A read-only link to follow along, without nagging
- 10 full essay reviews: feedback and questions, never rewriting
- The Edlume guide: 58 pages on everything from the list to the visa
Haven't used a review yet? Full refund within 14 days.
What we'd rather tell you before you pay anyone
- Cost
- At many private US universities, tuition, housing and living costs add up to more than $80,000 a year. For the F-1 student visa, the university's I-20 form requires proof you can fund at least the first year.
- Financial aid
- Only a handful of universities admit international students without looking at their finances and then cover their full need. Most offer internationals limited aid. Check each university's international financial aid page.
- Admission rates
- Many selective universities admit a smaller share of international applicants than American ones. A great essay makes an application stronger. It doesn't guarantee a yes.
PricingOne season, one price
A private admissions consultant often costs thousands for a season. Here, the plan is free for up to 5 universities, and the Season Pass covers the rest of the year.
| Free | Essay Pack | RecommendedSeason Pass | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $19$6.33 per review | $79 |
| Universities in your plan | Up to 5 | Up to 5 | Unlimited |
| Alerts, calendar, requirements table | Included | Included | Included |
| Calendar sync & parent link | Included | ||
| Essay diagnostic | Included | Included | Included |
| Full essay reviews | 3 | 10 | |
| The complete guide (58 pages) | Free excerpt | Free excerpt | Included |
| Valid until | — | May 31, 2027 | May 31, 2027 |
| Refund | — | 14 days if unused | 14 days if unused |
| Build my plan | Get it | Get it |
Season Pass
$79- Universities in your plan
- Unlimited
- Alerts, calendar, requirements table
- Included
- Calendar sync & parent link
- Included
- Essay diagnostic
- Included
- Full essay reviews
- 10
- The complete guide (58 pages)
- Included
- Valid until
- May 31, 2027
- Refund
- 14 days if unused
Essay Pack
$19$6.33 per review
- Universities in your plan
- Up to 5
- Alerts, calendar, requirements table
- Included
- Calendar sync & parent link
- Essay diagnostic
- Included
- Full essay reviews
- 3
- The complete guide (58 pages)
- Free excerpt
- Valid until
- May 31, 2027
- Refund
- 14 days if unused
Free
$0- Universities in your plan
- Up to 5
- Alerts, calendar, requirements table
- Included
- Calendar sync & parent link
- Essay diagnostic
- Included
- Full essay reviews
- The complete guide (58 pages)
- Free excerpt
- Valid until
- —
- Refund
- —
The 25 mistakes that cost people an admission
A free excerpt from the Edlume guide: the month-by-month calendar, this season's SAT dates, and the 25 mistakes students who had the grades make every single year.
- The full calendar, from junior year to your visa
- The 2026–27 international SAT dates
- The checklist to reread before every submission
The complete guide (58 pages, 15 chapters) comes with the Season Pass.
The questions families ask us
Do I need an account?
Not to get started. Your plan saves in your browser. Create a free account when you want it on your phone and your laptop.
Is the information reliable?
We keep it up to date all season, and every university page links to the school's official pages. Universities sometimes change their rules along the way, so if something looks off, one click and you can check.
Do I need the SAT as an international student?
It depends on the university, and the rules for internationals aren't always the same as for Americans. Your plan shows each school's test policy with a link to its testing page, and picks the SAT date whose scores arrive before your first deadline.
Is the plan free?
Yes, up to 5 universities, with every alert and the full calendar. The Season Pass adds unlimited universities, calendar sync, the parent link and 10 essay reviews.
Is it a person or an AI reading my essay?
An AI model, working from a rubric built for international applicants. So the review comes back in a minute, even at 2 a.m. the night before a deadline, for a fraction of what a consultant charges. It doesn't replace your school counselor. It gives you more rounds of feedback between meetings.
Will universities know I used Edlume?
There's nothing to know: Edlume doesn't write anything. You get feedback and questions, and you do all the writing, just like working with a teacher.
Does it work for supplemental essays?
Yes. Paste the university's question and word limit. Among other things, we check whether your "Why us?" could be sent to another school unchanged. That's the most common problem by far.
Do you keep my essay?
No. It's sent for the review and not kept afterwards. It's never published or used to train anything.
Which school systems do you know?
French baccalauréat, IB, British (IGCSE/A-levels), American-curriculum international schools, Indian (CBSE/ICSE), Chinese (gaokao track), Korean (CSAT), West African (WAEC/NECO), and Arabic-medium and Latin American national systems. Other systems still get the full review.
What if it doesn't help?
If you haven't used a full review, write to us within 14 days of your purchase and we'll refund you in full.
Two minutes to know exactly where you stand.
Type in your universities. We'll handle the rest.
Build my plan