How It Works
Everything you need to navigate the college search — a web app that runs entirely in your browser, with no server, no login, and no subscription.
PlanMyCollege is a web app that runs entirely in your browser. Think of it as a very capable binder — everything organized, everything searchable, nothing requiring a login or a monthly fee.
A task list that runs from the start of senior year through Decision Day — with details, links, and a place to save notes on each step.
Add schools, track application status, score each one across criteria that matter to your student, and compare them side by side.
Store GPA, test scores, activities, and interests. The app uses this to personalize AI prompts and highlight relevant scholarships.
Plain-English explanations of FAFSA, the Common App, Early Action vs. Regular Decision, financial aid letters, and your state's scholarship programs.
Ready-to-use prompts for ChatGPT or Claude — pre-filled with your student's details. Research schools, find scholarships, brainstorm essays.
A scratchpad for free-form thoughts, plus a place to save links to AI conversations so you can find them again later.
This is the one thing worth understanding before you dive in — because it's different from most apps you use.
Nobody is harvesting your student's information. Nothing is being sold. No company can take the tool away from you. There's no server to breach, because there's no server.
If you want a backup, or if you want it on two computers, you handle that yourself. It takes about 5 seconds and the steps are covered below.
Your data lives in your browser's local storage — a private spot inside the browser itself. Two things to know:
Open the app in Chrome on your laptop = your data. Open it in Safari on your phone = a blank start. The data doesn't travel with the URL — it lives inside the browser.
Most "clear browsing data" options don't touch local storage — but aggressive options or extensions sometimes do. Keeping a recent export on hand is the safe move.
Every change saves automatically as you go — no "Save" button needed. But keeping a recent export file gives you a complete, portable backup of everything.
Look in the bottom-left corner of the sidebar.
Your browser downloads a file — something like planmycollege-2026-05-12.json. This contains everything: every task, note, school, and score.
Documents folder, Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, an email to yourself. Do this roughly once a month, and definitely after big milestones.
Same corner of the sidebar. Pick your JSON file. The app asks you to confirm before overwriting anything. Done in seconds.
Good times to export: after school visits, after FAFSA filing, after acceptances start arriving, and after any session where you made a lot of updates.
The JSON file is portable — use Import/Export to move between devices.
Work on your main device. Export regularly and put the JSON file in a synced folder (Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud). On any other device, visit the app URL and Import the latest JSON. Manual — but nothing breaks silently.
Changes don't merge. Whoever exports last wins. If only one person is editing at a time, you're fine.
Pick one browser and stick with it. Don't open the app in two different browsers on the same computer — Chrome and Safari each have their own local storage.
Yes — just visit the app URL in Safari or Chrome on your phone. Use Import/Export to move data between your phone and laptop.
Both versions are identical — same features, same interface, same data. The only difference is where your browser stores your data.
Open at: planmycollege.app
Your data saves in your browser tied to that URL. As long as you always open the app from the same browser at that address, your data will be there. Easy to bookmark, easy to share with family members.
Watch out for: clearing "all site data" for planmycollege.app in your browser settings. Most routine clears won't touch it, but aggressive privacy tools can. Keep a monthly export just in case.
Download the HTML file and open it locally. Your data saves in your browser tied to that file's path on your computer — not the file itself.
Important: if you move the file to a different folder, your browser treats it as a new location and you'll start with a blank slate. Always import your last export when this happens.
Also: Chrome and Safari each keep their own separate data — opening the file in a different browser means starting fresh there too.
If you start with the hosted version and later open the downloaded file (or vice versa), you'll see two separate datasets — they don't sync. Pick one and stick with it. Use Export/Import if you ever need to switch.
A quick lookup for the most frequent tasks.
| What you want to do | Where to go |
|---|---|
| Mark a task complete | Click the checkbox to the left of the task on the Dashboard |
| See task details, links, or save notes | Click the task text — it expands |
| Add a new school | Schools page → + Add a school |
| Score a school | Edit the school → Score tab |
| Use AI to research a school | AI Prompts → "Research a school" → Copy → paste in ChatGPT or Claude |
| Save an AI conversation URL | Notes & Research → + Save a link |
| Back up everything | Sidebar bottom-left → Export |
| Move data to another computer | Export a JSON, transfer the file, Import on the other device |
| Wipe and start over | Sidebar → Reset (asks twice — it's permanent) |
The prompts are pre-filled with your student's details and designed to work in ChatGPT or Claude. A few things worth knowing:
The "Research a school" prompt asks the AI to return data in a specific format. When it responds, copy the entire response, then go to Schools → Import from AI and paste it. The app will create a new school card with all the details filled in automatically.
AI responses aren't gospel. Always verify deadlines, costs, and specific program details against the school's official website. AI can be confidently wrong. Use it to surface things to look into, then confirm with the source.
Save your chat links. Both ChatGPT and Claude let you share a link to a conversation. Save useful ones in the Notes & Research section — you'll want to find them again later.
Most problems have a one-step fix.