A claim needs a source
We distinguish checked facts from a school’s own statements, someone’s reported experience and our interpretation. Calling a school “warm” or “rigorous” takes more than repeating its brochure. When we cannot establish something important, we say so.
Sources
We prioritize public records, accreditation and regulatory material, current school documents, independent reporting, and attributable original interviews. School sources can establish what a school offers or says about itself; they cannot independently establish culture or outcomes.
Aggregators, forums, and reviews help us discover questions. They do not establish sensitive facts. AI output is never a source.
Links should help you leave
When another source is more useful, we link to it: the exact admissions page, current handbook, public dataset, accrediting record, Niche profile, reporting, or specialist guide. We prefer deep links that help you verify or act over generic homepages.
Opinion and fairness
In “Our read,” we explain why a feature might suit one family and give another pause. We include our confidence and the limits of the evidence. A school deserves a fair account of what it is trying to do, including when we have questions about the result.
Sensitive reporting
Claims involving safety, bullying, discrimination, discipline, admissions impropriety, legal matters, leadership disputes, or identifiable people require heightened sourcing, privacy review, proportionate language, and a meaningful opportunity to respond.
AI and image policy
We use AI to assist with research, drafting, editing and review. An AI answer is not a source, and agreement between models does not verify a claim. Material claims must be checked against the original sources before publication. Generated images are labeled as illustrations and never presented as documentary images of real schools, campuses, or students.
We require a provenance record before publishing any visual. Photographs of a named school must be commissioned, permissioned, or licensed for our editorial use; being visible on a school website or social feed is not permission to republish it. Contextual stock is identified when it could be mistaken for the school being discussed, and images of minors receive heightened rights and privacy review.
Official video and social posts
A specific school video, Instagram post, or Reel can sometimes show an ordinary moment more clearly than another paragraph: a campus tour, rehearsal, class project, assembly, or student tradition. We embed these selectively, verify that the publishing account is controlled by the school or district, and explain why the item is relevant. It remains the school's own account of itself—not independent evidence that every student has the experience shown.
Video players and social posts load when you choose to open them. Some preview images load from YouTube before that click. You can read the complete guide without playing the media, and a caption plus direct link remains useful if a post disappears or cannot be displayed. Promotional media never carries a material claim on its own.
Freshness
Check the year beside a price or deadline and the review date on the article. Tuition for one school year is not a promise about the next. Our review schedule calls for admissions checks each cycle, tuition checks annually, leadership and campus checks every six months, and a full profile review at least annually. For an upcoming application, follow the linked school page for changes made since our review.