Frequently asked questions
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About the platform
What is The Counsel Project?
The Counsel Project is an AI-powered college and career counseling platform that grows with you from middle school through college and into your career. Our AI guide, Ismene, learns your interests, courses, and goals over time and helps you make informed decisions at every stage. You can also connect with independent human counselors through our marketplace for personalized one-on-one guidance.
Who is Ismene?
Ismene is the AI guide built into the platform. She is conversational, remembers your journey across sessions, and adapts her tone and recommendations based on your lifecycle stage — playful and curious for middle schoolers, goal-focused for high schoolers, peer-like for college students.
Who is The Counsel Project for?
Students aged 13 and older — from middle school exploring early interests, through high school planning college applications, into college choosing majors, and beyond into early career navigation. Parents can also join to stay informed about their student’s journey. Independent counselors can join the marketplace to support students.
Pricing & subscriptions
How much does it cost?
Explorer (middle school, ages 13–14) is free, with 5 AI chat questions per day. Planner (high school, $6/month) and Navigator (college, $4/month) include unlimited AI chat and all features. You can also buy a one-time Day Pass for $0.99 if you only need access for a single day. New Planner and Navigator users get a 30-day full-access trial with no credit card required.
Is there a free trial?
Yes — new high school and college users get a 30-day reverse trial with full access to everything. No credit card is required to start. After 30 days you can choose to subscribe, drop to the free Explorer tier, or buy Day Passes as needed.
Can I cancel my subscription anytime?
Yes. You can cancel through the Stripe customer portal accessible from your account settings. After cancellation you keep access through the end of your current billing period, then drop to the free tier.
Age policy & COPPA
Is there a minimum age?
Yes. Users must be at least 13 years old to register. We block under-13 registration at signup, in compliance with COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act). Support for younger students is planned for a future phase with full parental consent flows.
Can parents access their student’s account?
Parents can register separately and link to their student’s account with the student’s consent. Parents see a tailored dashboard with the parts of the student’s journey the student has chosen to share. Parents have their own Ismene chat scoped to their student’s context.
AI, privacy & data
What does Ismene know about me?
Ismene uses the information you provide — your grade, school, courses, career interests, RIASEC assessment results, journey events, and chat history — to give personalized guidance. We do not use student data for advertising or profiling. AI-generated content is informational and does not replace professional counseling.
How is my data protected?
All data is stored on Supabase (PostgreSQL) with row-level security, meaning your records are isolated from other users at the database level. Transmission is encrypted. We use Anthropic’s Claude API for AI; conversations are processed under Anthropic’s data policies. See our Privacy Policy for details.
Can I delete my account and all my data?
Yes. Contact us at manish@ismene.ai and we will delete your account and all associated data, including chat history, journey events, and uploaded documents. California residents have specific rights under CCPA — see our Privacy Policy.
Do you sell my data?
No. We do not sell personal information to anyone, and we do not use student data for advertising or third-party profiling.
Counselors
How does the counselor marketplace work?
Independent counselors join the platform and list their availability and rates. Students browse, request a session, and pay through the platform. The platform takes a small fee from each session. Counselors are independent contractors — not employees of Luminous Consulting LLC. Verification of counselor credentials is being added in phases.
Are counselors school employees?
No, not in this version. The MVP marketplace is for independent counselors only. School-employed counselors are a planned future expansion.
Contact & support
How do I report a bug or ask for help?
Use our Contact page or email manish@ismene.ai directly. Include your account email and a description of what happened. For account issues, please do not share your password — we will never ask for it.