2026–2027 application cycle
Your college counselor inside the Common App.
Specialized counseling on demand — holistic help across essays, activities, and colleges, at a fraction of private counselor rates.
5 questions free · No credit card required
Students
10,000+
trusted across previous application cycles
Founders
Princeton, MIT & Columbia
alumni who built Sherpa for access
Guidance
Real counseling data
trained to guide — not ghostwrite
Rising stakes
Admissions is more competitive than ever. Everyone deserves an equal shot.
Acceptance rates keep falling. Applicant pools keep growing. And the students getting the most help are usually the ones who can already afford it. Everyone else is left to figure it out alone — or with no real help at all.
Harder to stand out
When more students apply and fewer spots open up, a strong application isn’t enough on its own — your story has to be clear, coherent, and distinctly yours.
Stressful, confusing, and lonely
Navigating Common App means essays, activities, deadlines, and supplements with constant second-guessing. Students need someone to turn to for advice — not another generic tip list.
Private counseling isn’t for everyone
Private counselors run $200+ an hour, often thousands or even tens of thousands over the course of a couple months. The students who’d benefit most from expert guidance are usually the ones who can least afford it.
Meet Sherpa
Thinks like a counselor. Lives in your Common App. Priced for everyone.
Sherpa is built to showcase you and your strengths — so your activities, essays, and colleges tell one coherent story that admissions readers can follow.
Lives where you work
A Chrome sidepanel beside Common App — not another tab or portal to remember.
Available 24/7 on demand
Ask at midnight before a deadline or between classes. No appointments, no waiting room.
Specialized college help
Dedicated help for each school’s supplementals — tailored to that college, not generic essay tips.
Writing help
Link Google Docs, revise with full application context, and import back when you’re ready. Guidance, not ghostwriting.
Holistic advice
Every answer sees your whole application — so your story stays coherent across activities, essays, and colleges.
Just ask — or highlight to ask
Type a question, or select any line in Common App and ask about that exact part with your full application in mind.
A full cycle for less than an hour of private counseling
$199 for the 2026–2027 application cycle — counselor-style help for a fraction of private rates. See full pricing & add-ons
How it works
Get started in three steps.
Sherpa takes minutes to set up. We've designed it to sit seamlessly beside your Common App workflow — and be there when you need it.
- 1
Sign in & install
Continue with your Google account, then install the Sherpa Chrome extension.
- 2
Sync your Common App
Connect your application — new or already in progress — and Sherpa will sync it.
- 3
Ask, anytime, anywhere
Ask questions, highlight text, open essays in Google Docs, or explore college supplements — day or night.
Achieve your dream
Sherpa can guide you to the top.
Dream schools aren't reached one tip at a time. On every question, Sherpa looks at your whole application — so the climb stays coherent, and the story at the summit is yours.
01
A clear story
Help shaping a through-line admissions readers can follow.
02
A coherent climb
Activities, essays, and colleges checked against each other.
03
A stronger summit
Submit knowing the whole application holds together.
What students and parents say
I finally stopped rewriting the same paragraph. Sherpa caught that my essay and activities were saying the same thing — and helped me go deeper instead.
We were quoted thousands for a private counselor. Sherpa gave our daughter someone to ask at 11pm when she was stuck on a supplemental — for a fraction of that.
Highlighting a sentence in Common App and getting an answer about my whole application felt unfairly useful. Like having a counselor in the tab.
I needed to know it wouldn't write the essay for her. It didn't. It pushed her to think harder — and that was the point.
FAQs
Any questions?
Here are answers to common questions. If you still need help, contact us at help@applysherpa.com.
Does Sherpa write my essays for me?+
No. Sherpa helps you brainstorm, revise, and stay consistent across your application — it does not ghostwrite. Your voice stays yours; the goal is clearer thinking, not a finished essay someone else wrote.
Is Sherpa AI?+
Yes — but it’s not a generic chatbot. Sherpa is trained on real counseling data, reads the Common App you’re actually filling out, and answers with your whole application in mind. ChatGPT doesn’t sit beside the form, doesn’t know your activities and essays together, and wasn’t built to guide without ghostwriting. Sherpa was.
How is Sherpa different from a traditional college counselor?+
A great human counselor is deep, personal, and often expensive or hard to get time with. Sherpa is counselor-style guidance beside Common App — always on, holistic across your application, and priced for a full cycle instead of hourly retainers. Many families use both; others use Sherpa when private consulting isn’t an option.
Is Sherpa a replacement for a human counselor?+
No. Sherpa is affordable, always-available help with the application you’re already filling out. A human counselor can still add judgment, advocacy, and long-term planning. Many families use Sherpa with school counseling; others use it when a private retainer isn’t realistic.
How does Sherpa use my application data?+
After you consent, Sherpa syncs the Common App you’re filling out so every answer can see your real activities, essays, and colleges. That context stays with your account to guide you in-product — it isn’t sold as a data product.
Will colleges know I used Sherpa?+
No. Sherpa is private help beside Common App. Nothing is submitted to colleges for you, and schools aren’t notified that you used Sherpa. What they see is the application you choose to send.
Is Sherpa only for Common App?+
Yes. Sherpa is built to sit beside the Common App form you’re using to apply — that’s the point. Other application systems aren’t supported yet.
Can I use Sherpa as a transfer student?+
Not yet. Sherpa currently works with Common App first-year applicants only. Transfer and Coalition applicants aren’t supported — we’re focused on getting the first-year experience right first.
How much does Sherpa cost?+
Sherpa 2026–2027 is $199 for the full application cycle — less than an hour with many private counselors. You can start with 5 questions free (no credit card). Question packs ($29 +50 Questions Pack · $49 +100 Questions Pack) are on the Pricing page.
Do I need a credit card to try Sherpa?+
No. Start with 5 questions free — same features as Sherpa 2026–2027 (essay help, college supplementals, and full Common App context), no credit card required.
Let us be your guide.
Install Sherpa beside Common App and get counselor-style help for the climb — starting with 5 questions free.