Students make life-shaping college decisions while counselors work with scattered anecdotes instead of systematic data but one startup just raised $3.2M to change that. With backing from Gokul Rajaram and Google Ventures CEO David Krane, Nerd Apply has built the world’s largest qualitative admissions dataset with over 100,000 de-identified applications that capture essays, activities, and real outcomes counselors can actually use in advising conversations. As application volumes surge and acceptance rates plummet, discover how this privacy-first platform is bringing transparency to college admissions while helping counselors move beyond the same 80 ultra-selective schools.