Last updated June 2026
By creating an account, making a payment (including as a parent or guardian paying on a student's behalf), or otherwise using Ascend, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use Ascend.
Ascend is intended for high school students at least 13 years old. If you are under 18, you confirm that a parent or legal guardian has reviewed and consented to these terms on your behalf. If a parent or guardian creates an account, makes a payment, or otherwise interacts with Ascend in connection with a student's use of the service, that parent or guardian also agrees to be bound by these terms.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You may not share your account, transfer it to another person, or create an account using false information. You must promptly notify us of any unauthorized use of your account.
Ascend provides a project-based college-prep planning and accountability platform, including personalized roadmaps, milestones, mission tracking, and coaching feedback. Ascend is an educational planning and accountability tool. It is not admissions consulting, educational consulting, tutoring, legal, financial, or professional advice, and Ascend is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any college, university, or admissions body.
Some content provided through Ascend — including project roadmaps, milestones, "what to bring" suggestions, check-in summaries, and coaching feedback — is generated in whole or in part by automated systems and large language models. AI-generated content may be inaccurate, incomplete, generic, or unsuitable for your specific situation. You are solely responsible for reviewing, verifying, and deciding whether to rely on or act upon any AI-generated content, and for anything you ultimately submit to any school, program, employer, or third party.
Ascend offers monthly and quarterly subscription plans, billed in advance on a recurring basis at the price disclosed to you at signup. Subscriptions automatically renew at the then-current renewal price (which may differ from any introductory price) unless cancelled before the renewal date. You can cancel at any time from your account settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period, and you retain access through that period. We do not provide prorated refunds for partial billing periods.
We offer a full refund of your initial payment if requested within 7 days of your first payment and you have not submitted or had approved any missions. Outside of that window, or once you have submitted or had a mission approved, refunds are issued at our sole discretion. To request a refund, contact support@ascendapply.com. Refund eligibility may be assessed automatically based on your account activity and payment history, and the result of that assessment does not itself create an entitlement to a refund where one would not otherwise be owed.
If a payment for your subscription fails, is reversed, or is not received (for example, a declined renewal charge or a chargeback), we may automatically restrict or suspend access to paid features of your account until the outstanding amount is paid or the subscription is otherwise resolved. We may attempt to retry failed payments and will make reasonable efforts to notify you before or when access is restricted. Restoring payment may automatically restore access; it does not retroactively grant access to any period during which your account was suspended.
You retain ownership of the content you submit to Ascend, including check-ins, mission proofs, project descriptions, and uploaded files ("your content"). By submitting your content, you grant Ascend a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to host, store, reproduce, display, and use your content to operate, provide, and improve the service. You also grant Ascend a license to use your first name, age or grade level, general location, project description, and outcomes in marketing and promotional materials (for example, student success stories), unless you opt out by emailing support@ascendapply.com.
Ascend's roadmaps, mission templates, coaching frameworks, software, designs, and other platform content are owned by Ascend or its licensors and are protected by intellectual property laws. Your subscription gives you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use this content for your own personal, non-commercial use while subscribed. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, sell, or create derivative works from Ascend's content without our written permission.
You agree not to: misuse, scrape, or attempt to reverse-engineer the platform; share, resell, or provide unauthorized access to your account; submit false, fraudulent, abusive, harassing, or unlawful content; impersonate another person; interfere with the operation or security of the service; or use the service for any purpose other than your own (or, for parents, your child's own) college-prep planning.
If we determine, in our reasonable judgment, that you have violated these terms, we may take one or more of the following actions, depending on the severity and frequency of the violation: (a) issue a warning explaining the violation and the terms at issue; (b) place a flag or note on your account for review; (c) temporarily suspend your account and access to the service for a period we determine; or (d) permanently ban your account from the service. Each warning, suspension, or ban will include a stated reason. We may take these actions without prior notice where we believe it is necessary to protect the platform, other users, or third parties. A temporary suspension or ban does not entitle you to a refund of any amounts already paid, and does not pause or excuse any payment obligations unless we state otherwise in writing.
Ascend provides structure, planning tools, and coaching to help you build a project. We do not guarantee admission to any college or university, receipt of any scholarship, award, or other outcome. Outcomes depend on many factors outside our control, including your own effort, consistency, and circumstances, as well as decisions made by third parties such as schools and admissions committees.
The service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or that the service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Ascend and its officers, employees, and affiliates will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, opportunity, or goodwill, arising out of or related to your use of the service. Our total liability for any claim arising out of or relating to these terms or the service will not exceed the total amount you paid to Ascend in the 12 months before the claim arose.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Ascend and its officers, employees, and affiliates from any claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of your violation of these terms, your content, or your misuse of the service.
Ascend relies on third-party services to operate, including payment processing (Stripe), data storage and authentication (Supabase), AI content generation (OpenAI), email delivery (Resend), analytics (Google), error monitoring, and customer support tooling. Your use of Ascend may be subject to the terms and policies of these providers, and we are not responsible for their availability, errors, or policies.
We may suspend or terminate your account as described in Section 12, for non-payment as described in Section 8, or for any other reason at our discretion, including discontinuing the service generally. You may delete your account at any time from Settings. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including ownership, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and indemnification) will survive.
We may update these terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice (for example, by email or in-app notice). Continued use of Ascend after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.
These terms are governed by the laws of the state in which Ascend is organized, without regard to conflict-of-law principles, except where applicable law requires otherwise.
Questions? Email support@ascendapply.com