In your corner, all the way.
Your kid deserves a real college counselor. Now your family can afford one.
Start tonight with Arc, an AI coach that texts like a friend. Add a real counselor when you want one, by the hour or shared with a Circle.
Next session: Thu 4:30 pm
Early Action deadline in 26 days Application readiness · 72%
Sample conversation. Arc coaches; it never writes the essay.
Two kinds of help. One plan the whole family can see.
Boutique counseling costs thousands and leaves parents guessing. School counselors care, but have hundreds of students. Arcling puts a real expert and a tireless AI coach on the same page, literally.
Arc, a coach in their pocket
Arc texts your student from day one. It nudges deadlines, brainstorms essays, answers the 11 pm questions, and keeps momentum when motivation dips.
- Plain texts, no app to download
- Builds a plan, then follows your counselor's
- Flags stress and stuck points to the counselor
Coaches the writing. Never writes it.
A real counselor, when you want one
Credentialed and background-checked. Book an hour, or share one with a small Circle of families. They build the list, coach the essays, and make the judgment calls.
- Balanced college list, with reasons
- Essay coaching, draft by draft
- Financial aid, merit, and net-price strategy
Works for you, never for a college.
You, in the loop without nagging
You see the plan, the list, and what's due next. A short weekly update tells you what happened and whether you need to do anything. Usually you don't.
- Weekly digest in plain English
- Prices published before you book
- One place for aid, deadlines and decisions
Your evenings, back.
A week with Arcling, for a junior named Jordan.
Not a brochure. Jordan's family has Arc and a counselor. With Arc on its own, every day but Thursday looks the same.
Arc knows the calendar, the plan, and who holds the login. Small nudges, early.
The counselor makes the calls. Notes land in the shared plan, so Arc and parents see the same thing.
Good week. Nothing you need to do.
Parents hear what happened in plain English, with an explicit "nothing needed from you."
The 11 pm question gets answered at 11 pm. The counselor sees the draft, not the panic.
Names and messages are illustrative. The rhythm is real: Arc keeps momentum, the counselor makes the decisions, parents stay informed.
Start Arc freeAdmissions people and builders.
Drew Magliozzi
Founder and coachOver 20 years, Drew founded and led Veritas Tutors, Signet Education, and Mainstay, whose AI coach texted more than 10 million students on the way to and through college. Arc is what he learned there. He's the author of How to Get Into (Your) Harvard, and he still coaches families himself.
James Aylward
James spent years at Teachers Pay Teachers building products that helped independent educators reach the students who needed them most. At Arcling he brings those marketplace instincts to a new problem: helping expert independent counselors build sustainable practices, and making sure families can actually find them.
Built for families doing this without a playbook.
Arcling was designed for the families boutique counseling skipped. If one of these sounds like your kitchen table, you're in the right place.
Nobody at home has done this before.
You want someone who has read thousands of applications, will explain the whole game in plain language, and won't make you feel behind for asking.
What changes: Arc turns every deadline into a plain next step, starting tonight. A counselor can start from zero with you when you want one.
Every college conversation turns into a fight.
Your kid is capable. You're exhausted from being the deadline police. You want a third voice your teenager will actually listen to.
What changes: Arc does the nagging, kindly. You get the Friday digest instead of the Tuesday argument.
Your school counselor has hundreds of other students.
They're great and they're stretched thin. You want someone with time for your kid, without paying boutique agency prices.
What changes: Arc answers at 11 pm. A counselor, from $299 an hour, takes the big calls.
Not a fit if you want someone to write the essay or guarantee a school. No counselor here will do either, and you should run from anyone who offers.
From "where do we even start" to a real plan.
Start Arc free
A parent or student signs up, and Arc sends the first text tonight. No app to download. Nothing is charged for 30 days.
Get a plan and a Friday digest
Arc learns your student's goals and turns them into next steps. Every Friday, parents get a plain-English note on what happened and whether anything is needed.
Add a human when you're ready
Book an hour with a counselor, or reserve a seat in a Circle. Arc keeps going either way, and it's included with any paid coaching.
Plain prices, stated upfront.
Every price is published. Most of this industry hides the number until you're on a sales call. We'd rather you know before you meet anyone.
Arc
$99once, through decision day
One flat price covers your student from the first text to the day they choose a college. Works on its own or alongside a counselor.
- First 30 days free, from the first text
- Never charged if your student never texts
- Cancel anytime before the charge
- Included with any paid coaching
Free for families with a College Board fee waiver.
Private hours
From $299per hour, Arc included
One-on-one time for the big calls: the list, the essay, the aid strategy. Every counselor's rate is published before you book.
- Book one hour or several, same rate
- Notes land in the plan Arc and parents see
- Arc for your student, at no extra cost
Counselor bookings are based on availability.
A Circle
Opening spring 2027$1,075per seat at a full Circle, Arc included
A small group of families shares one expert counselor. Every family that joins lowers the price for everyone, including you.
- You see your final price before you pay anything
- Invite a friend to lower your price
- Try it first: a free roundtable is a sample Circle session
Near-peer Circles, led by a recent graduate rather than a counselor, start at $425.
Five things every family can hold us to.
College admissions is a market with very little accountability. This is ours, in writing.
The things families ask first.
Arc texts your student: deadline nudges, essay brainstorms, financial aid reminders, and honest answers at odd hours. If you add a counselor, Arc follows the plan they set and flags stuck points back to them. It coaches the writing and never writes it.
Yes. Arc is $99 on its own, covers your student through decision day, and the first 30 days are free. Add a counselor whenever you want a human making the bigger calls, and Arc comes included.
It's built in. Your counselor shapes the list around net price and merit aid, not just admission odds, and keeps FAFSA and the CSS Profile on the calendar. Arc nudges every aid deadline. We can't promise an aid outcome, but you will never miss one for lack of knowing.
Private hours start at $299, with Arc included, and every counselor's rate is published. Drew's are $499. Bookings are based on each counselor's availability. A seat in a Circle is $1,075 when the Circle is full, and every family that joins lowers the price for the others. Every price is published before you book.
A small group of families who share one expert counselor, with group sessions plus one-on-one time for each student. Circles open in spring 2027. Reserving a seat is free, and a free roundtable lets you sit in on a sample session first.
We place students from the same high school in different Circles whenever we can. And your student's list, essays, and strategy are discussed one on one, never in the group.
Many families start in the spring of junior year. Sophomore year is better: course selection and activities get planned instead of rushed. Seniors in the fall are welcome too. We'll triage.
No, and you should run from anyone who does. What we commit to: the strongest, most authentic application your student can submit, aimed at schools where they'll actually thrive.
In your corner, all the way.
Reach a great-fit college with your family intact.
Start Arc free tonight. Add a counselor when you're ready. Every price is published.