Editorial Standards & Advertising Policy

1. Editorial independence

Reach is published by Test Prep Gurus, LLC. The data, rankings, admit-odds models, and written analysis on this site are produced independently of any commercial relationship. The team that builds our metrics and writes our analysis does so without input from advertisers, and no advertiser sees or approves our editorial output before it is published.

We earn revenue three ways: a paid subscription for families, clearly-labeled sponsored content from colleges, and standard advertising or affiliate links. None of these revenue sources changes how a school or college is scored, ranked, or described in our editorial surfaces.

2. What sponsorship can — and cannot — buy

A college that sponsors a placement on Reach can buy:

• A clearly-labeled featured tile in relevant browsing surfaces (for example, alongside the alternatives we show on a college profile).
• A richer, sponsor-written profile section — additional description, media, or links — that is labeled as sponsored.
• An opt-in lead-capture form so interested families can ask to hear from the college directly.

Sponsorship can never buy:

• A higher position in any ranking, leaderboard, or sorted list.
• A better rating, score, tier, or “verdict” anywhere on the site.
• A change to our admit-odds, net-price, mobility, or earnings models, or to the inputs behind them.
• Inclusion in — or exclusion from — our editorial “strategic alternatives,” “similar colleges,” or comparison surfaces. Those are chosen by our models, not by who pays.
• Removal or softening of accurate, unfavorable data or analysis.
• Any placement that is not labeled as sponsored.

We do not sell placement in our rankings, and we will decline any sponsorship that is conditioned on changing our editorial output.

3. How we label sponsored content

Following the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s guidance on disclosures, every paid placement on Reach is:

• Clearly labeled — with the word “Sponsored” or “Paid partner,” in plain language, never a vague euphemism.
• Adjacent and unavoidable — the label sits on or directly above the sponsored unit, before you engage with it, not buried in fine print or on another page.
• Visually distinct — sponsored units are styled so they read as advertising, not as our editorial analysis.

Outbound links inside sponsored content are tagged so they are not treated as editorial endorsements by search engines.

4. Where our data comes from

Our rankings and analysis are built from public, primary-source data. Major sources include the University of California Office of the President (UCOP), the California Department of Education (CDE), the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS, the Civil Rights Data Collection, EDFacts, and College Scorecard), Opportunity Insights, the National Center for Education Statistics, and colleges’ own published Common Data Sets. Each surface names its sources, and our full method is documented on our Methodology page. A sponsor cannot substitute its own numbers for the public-source figures we display.

5. Accuracy and corrections

We work hard to verify what we publish, but errors are possible. If you believe something on the site is inaccurate — a data point, a label, or a sponsored claim — email hello@prepgurus.com with the page and the specific issue. We investigate every report. When we confirm a material error, we correct it promptly and, where it affected published analysis, note the correction. Sponsored claims are held to the same accuracy standard as our editorial content; we review sponsor-supplied copy for accuracy before it goes live and will remove a claim we cannot substantiate.

6. Conflicts of interest

Test Prep Gurus, LLC also provides test-preparation and admissions consulting to families. Where our analysis touches services we sell, we aim to present the data plainly and let families draw their own conclusions. We are not affiliated with the University of California or any government body, and we disclose our commercial relationships rather than hide them.

7. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our products evolve. The “Last updated” date above reflects the most recent revision.