The College Savings App for Parents Who Plan Ahead

Your child's future
is already written.
The question is by whom.

Most parents know they should be saving more for college. Prepared parents know exactly how much, where it is, and what's left to close the gap.

$313KProjected 4-yr cost
0%Parents start too late
1450Avg SAT target score
Get it on Google Play
9:41
CollegeCountdown
Emma · Class of 2027
Days Until College
847
days remaining
Enrollment
Aug 28, 2027
Days in High School
1,460 total
Progress
42% complete
Updated today
Your Savings Gap
$38,420
gap to close
Projected cost
$124,800
Current savings
$86,380
Monthly needed
$1,240 / mo
3 deadlines this month
Scholarship Pipeline
$14,500
tracked so far
Gates Scholar
Applied ✓
National Merit
Due Jan 15
Local STEM Award
Draft
SECURE 2.0 Act
Roth Rollover Tracker
$35,000
max rollover eligible
529 Balance
$86,380
Years Held
11 years ✓
Roth Eligible
$35,000
Target: 1450 SAT
Test Score Tracker
1320
latest composite
Math
680 / 800
Reading & Writing
640 / 800
Gap to target
130 pts
Scroll
The Uncomfortable Truth

By the time your child asks
“Can we afford this school?”
the answer is already decided.

Not by chance. Not by the market. By the decisions made — or not made — in the years before that question was even asked. CollegeCountdown exists for the parents who refuse to let that moment arrive unprepared.

See where you stand today
$313K
Projected 4-year cost at a private university in 2030
3.2%
Average annual tuition inflation — compounding every year you wait
67%
Of parents underestimate what college will actually cost

The math doesn't care about your intentions. It only counts the years you saved.

CollegeCountdown Advisory Team
Everything You Need. Nothing You Don't.

Twelve tools.
One command centre.

From 529 tracking and career path planning to scholarship pipelines, AI homework help, and full-length SAT/ACT practice — every feature answers the question before you think to ask it.

Visibility

Your 529, finally visible.

See your balance, growth trajectory, and funding gap — alongside real-time college cost projections — in one clear view.

Learn more →
Intelligence

A scholarship pipeline, not a list.

Get AI-generated appeal letters in seconds. Turn rejection into a second conversation.

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Test Prep

SAT/ACT scores. Every attempt tracked.

Log test dates, track SAT and ACT scores section-by-section, chart progress over time, and set parent-defined target scores.

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Academic

GPA and school profile in one place.

Parents set grade level, GPA, high school name, and target score — so every feature from scholarship matching to test prep is personalised from day one.

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Teen Dashboard

Invite your teen. They'll feel it.

Send a private invite by email or text. Once they join, teens see their own countdown, milestones, scholarships, and college list.

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Community

Generosity, beautifully organised.

Turn grandparents, aunts, and family friends into contributors. A shareable gift link turns birthday money into compounding college savings.

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Banking

Every account. One truth.

Connect 529s, custodial accounts, Roth IRAs, and savings via Plaid. One consolidated view of what you actually have versus what you actually need.

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SECURE 2.0

The $35K benefit hiding in your 529.

Unused 529 funds can now roll into your child's Roth IRA tax-free — up to $35,000 lifetime. The SECURE 2.0 Act made it possible.

Learn more →
Test Prep

AI-powered SAT & ACT practice.

Personalised practice tests generated by AI, section-by-section scoring, and a smart coach that explains every wrong answer.

Learn more →
Career Path Plan

Map a career, not just a major.

Choose from hundreds of career paths and get a personalised college plan — the right major, projected earnings, and a 4-year course roadmap.

Learn more →
Teen Only Plan

Built for teens who own their future.

Teens get their own countdown, scholarship tracker, SAT/ACT coach, and career compass — everything they need to plan on their own terms.

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AI Tutor

Homework help that actually teaches.

Stuck on calculus, chemistry, or an essay draft? The AI Homework Helper walks teens through problems step-by-step. Available 24/7.

Learn more →
Simple, Transparent Pricing

A plan for every family.
Start free. Upgrade when ready.

30-day free trial on all paid plans. No credit card required to start.

Teen Only

For teens planning independently

$1.99/mo
Start Teen Plan
  • Personal college countdown
  • Scholarship tracker & pipeline
  • SAT / ACT score tracker
  • AI-powered test prep coach
  • Career path explorer
  • 4-year high school course plan
  • Teen-only dashboard
  • College list builder
Most Popular
Family Plus

The complete family command centre

$4.99/mo
Start Free Trial
  • Everything in Teen Only
  • Parent dashboard & oversight
  • 529 savings tracking
  • Savings gap analysis
  • SECURE 2.0 Roth rollover tracker
  • Bank account linking (Plaid)
  • Teen invite & shared dashboard
  • Gift link for family contributions
  • AI scholarship appeal letters
  • Multiple teen profiles
Best Value
Family Plus Annual

Best value — save 28% vs monthly

$49.99/yr
~$4.17/mo · saves $9.89 vs monthly
Start Annual Plan
  • Everything in Family Plus
  • Save $9.89 vs monthly billing
  • Priority support
  • Early access to new features
  • Career Path deep-dive reports
  • Projected earnings by major & school
  • Advanced scholarship matching
  • Year-round financial planning tools

All plans include a 30-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel any time

Free Tool · No Sign-in Required

Student Loan Calculator

Estimate monthly payments under every federal repayment plan — including the new RAP plan launching July 2026.

$37,000
6.39%
View full loan calculator →

Want the full tool with IBR vs RAP comparison, FAFSA tracker, and saved scenarios? Open full calculator →

SAT / ACT Test Prep

Your teen has a roadmap.
You have the controls.

End-to-end SAT and ACT preparation for teens — with AI-powered practice, score analysis, and parent oversight built in from day one.

For Teens
Complete Prep Roadmap
Diagnostic baseline
Start with a full diagnostic to establish a baseline. CollegeCountdown identifies weak sub-skills from day one.
15-min AI practice sessions
AI-generated drills target exactly what your teen struggles with — grammar rules, algebra, data interpretation — not random questions.
Score trend & plateau detection
Every official SAT or ACT attempt is charted. If progress stalls, CollegeCountdown flags it and recommends a focus shift.
SAT vs. ACT comparison
Both score histories shown side-by-side with a concordance overlay. Know which format gives your teen the edge.
Ready badge
A "Ready" badge appears when your teen hits their target on two consecutive practice sessions or one official test — no guessing when to stop.
Score vs. college shortlist
Target score benchmarked against the 25th–75th percentile for every school on the college list. Know exactly where you stand.
For Parents
Monitor, Manage & Guide
Real-time activity feed
See every practice session: date, duration, topic, score. A 7-day inactivity alert fires automatically if your teen goes quiet.
Predicted score band
A confidence range showing where your teen is likely to land on test day based on current practice rate — set realistic expectations early.
Set & lock target score
Only parents can set or change the target. Link it to specific colleges to show the exact gap between your teen's current score and each school's median.
Manage activities
Add clubs, sports, volunteering, and awards to your teen's profile. These feed directly into scholarship matching and college list personalisation.
In-app messaging
Tap any data point — a score drop or a strong session — to send your teen a direct message from your dashboard to theirs.
College readiness score
Combines GPA, SAT/ACT, activities, and college list into a per-school readiness indicator: Strong / On Track / Needs Work.
Ready to build your teen's test prep plan?
Free to start. No credit card.
From Parents Who Planned Ahead

They didn't get lucky.
They got organized.

These aren't reviews of an app. They're accounts of a decision made — and what it felt like to never second-guess it again.

I used to feel guilty every time tuition news came on. Now I feel like I'm already ahead of it. That shift didn't come from more money — it came from finally having a plan.

DK
Denise K.
Mother of two · Started when her eldest was in 7th grade

My daughter asked me last week if we could afford her dream school. I knew the answer. I knew it to the dollar. That's the kind of parent I wanted to be.

MT
Marcus T.
Father · 529 linked, 3 scholarships tracked

We set a 1400 SAT target in the app. After tracking every practice test and seeing the gap shrink month by month, my son hit 1410 on his third attempt. Seeing the data made it real for both of us.

AR
Angela R.
Mother of a junior · SAT target reached in 8 months

The scholarship pipeline feature alone paid for the subscription a hundred times over. My son applied to 11, won 3. The system found them. He wrote them.

RH
Robert & Joan H.
Parents of a current freshman · University of Michigan
94%
Feel more confident about college costs
3.1×
More scholarships found vs. solo research
127pts
Avg SAT score improvement tracked
$34K
Average savings increase in year one
What Most Parents Miss

The $35,000 benefit
hiding in your 529

Prepared parents know things others find out too late. Congress quietly opened a door in 2024: unused 529 funds can now roll into your child's Roth IRA — completely tax and penalty free.

CollegeCountdown tracks this automatically, surfaces the opportunity at the right moment, and shows you exactly what's eligible. Most financial advisors haven't told their clients yet.

💡
Insider advantage
Account must be open for 15 years. The clock started ticking the moment you opened your 529 — not the moment you heard about this rule.
01
Contribute to your 529
Invest what you can, when you can. Every dollar grows tax-free for as long as it stays invested.
02
Track unused balances
CollegeCountdown flags funds that won't be needed for tuition — before you even think to ask.
03
Roll to Roth, tax-free
After 15 years, roll up to $7,000/year into your child's Roth IRA. Up to $35,000 lifetime, no taxes, no penalties.
$35,000
Lifetime Roth rollover — per beneficiary
Your Move
00
HRS
00
MIN
00
SEC

The parents who started
today will never wonder
“what if we'd started sooner.”

529 tracking, SAT/ACT scores, scholarship pipeline, teen dashboard, gift links — all in one place, from day one.

529 savings tracking
SAT / ACT score tracker
Scholarship pipeline
Teen invite & dashboard
GPA & academic profile
SECURE 2.0 Roth rollover
Gift link for family
Start Your Plan — It's Free

No credit card required · Set up in under 3 minutes · Cancel any time