How Spike evaluates.

College facts need a source.

Spike uses federal data and facts researched from school sources. Its shared library has a rule: each school fact needs an official source link.

Costs and school rules can change. Some facts are newer or more complete than others. Check the school’s own page before you apply.

Federal sources include College Scorecard and IPEDS. These are data sources, not endorsements of Spike.

Recommendations help build your list.

Spike looks at your field, budget, and what you want in a school. It also weighs how hard it is to get in. It uses these details to help fill gaps in your list.

A match score helps rank the schools Spike suggests. It does not show your odds of getting in. The story analysis in Matching is a separate read.

Admission tiers describe difficulty.

The model starts with a school’s admission rate and academic ranges. It looks at the grades and scores you’ve shared. It also takes the school’s test policy into account.

Reach, target, and safety are estimates based on a set of rules. They are not proven odds for you as a person. Strong grades do not mean you will get in.

Matching takes a wider view.

Matching has two parts. The match score is a fixed formula that compares a school with your grades, cost, major and preferences. The story analysis reads your activities, goals and story against one college, with strengths, concerns, and guidance on what to do next.

The match score is not your chance of getting in, and the story analysis is an AI judgment. When there isn’t enough detail, a part can stay unscored. The read explains what is missing.

The match score is free. The story analysis is part of Spike Pro. The read shows source links when the research returns them.

Essay feedback should point to the writing.

Essay review considers insight, specificity, voice, and craft. It checks prompt fit on its own. Notes can point to lines in your draft and suggest an edit.

For school essays, the review also asks: does this answer the prompt? Does it show why this school? What does it add to the rest of your file? A writing score does not predict whether you’ll get in.

Essay review has gone through calibration work during development. That work helps tune how it reads a draft. It does not prove that a score can predict future admissions results.

Missing information should stay visible.

New details can change the advice. Some tools need more of your profile to give a useful answer. A missing fact should lead to a question or an unscored part.

Spike helps you prepare and make decisions. Colleges make the admissions decisions. You still submit your application through the process each college requires.

Start with your own question.

Your college list, essays, and next steps belong together.