Application Guide

GradAisle helps you discover and compare US master's (MS, MA, MEng) programs based on your academic profile, budget, location preferences, and field of interest. We use AI-powered matching to surface programs in tiers — perfect, close, and explore — with explanations to guide your research.

Important: GradAisle is an informational matching tool. We do not submit applications on your behalf, guarantee admission, or act as an admissions consultant. Always verify deadlines, requirements, and fees on each university's official website before applying.

Start from the landing page or sign in and choose how to enter your background:

• Upload a résumé (PDF)— up to 10 MB. GradAisle can extract your education, work experience, research, publications, and skills using AI. If parsing is unavailable, you can switch to manual entry.
• Enter details manually — name, undergraduate major, GPA, and graduation year without uploading a file.

After either path, you review and confirm your profile before moving to onboarding.

Onboarding has five steps. Your answers shape which programs appear in your matches and how visa and funding tags are shown.

• Residency — US citizen or permanent resident (undergrad completed in the US), or international student who completed undergrad in the US on F-1 or similar. See our Visa FAQ for how this affects matching.
• Degree goal— Master's (MS / MA / MEng). PhD support is not available yet.
• Field of study — Choose a STEM category and specific field from our program database.
• Tuition budget — Annual range from $8,000 to $60,000. Matching weighs programs against this cap.
• Location — Select US regions or states on the map, or choose no regional preference.

When you finish, GradAisle runs the matching process and takes you to your results.

After onboarding, you are taken through a short loading flow while GradAisle:

• Reads your profile
• Scores programs against your preferences and budget
• Ranks matches with AI into perfect, close, and explore tiers

Signed-in users can run up to 3 full match runs per 24 hours. Guest users can complete the flow without an account; profile and results are stored in your browser until you sign up.

Your match results appear on the results page, grouped by tier. Each program card shows:

• Match score and tier assignment
• Tuition, application fee, and deadline (with days remaining)
• Funding and visa-related tags (for international profiles)
• A link to the program's official page when available

Guest vs. signed-in

• Guests see the top 3 matches; additional results are blurred until you create a free account.
• Signed-in users see all matches and can generate full AI-written match reasons from the dashboard (up to 10 reason streams per 24 hours).

You can rate match quality on the results page to help us improve the platform.

After signing up, your guest profile and matches are saved to your account. The dashboard has four tabs:

• Matched — Your current match results with AI explanations. You can clear matches and start over with a new onboarding run.
• Saved — Programs you bookmarked for comparison.
• Browse — Search the full program catalog with filters for region and deadlines.
• Uploads — Manage PDF résumés linked to your account (upload, activate, or delete).

Open any program from your results, saved list, or browse tab to see a detail page with:

• Overview, tuition, and application deadline
• Funding — TA waivers, union status, insurance, and stipend details
• Visa & work authorization — STEM OPT, CPT, Day 1 CPT, and related flags
• Application requirements and a suggested timeline (materials such as SOP, letters of recommendation, GRE, and TOEFL/IELTS)

Important: Application requirements and process timelines on program detail pages are illustrative examples based on program tier and field — not pulled from a live admissions database. Always confirm exact requirements, word limits, and deadlines on the university's official graduate admissions site.

GradAisle ends at research and shortlisting. When you are ready to apply:

• Use the program's official link (when shown on the card) or the university's graduate admissions portal.
• Prepare materials early — request recommendation letters well before the deadline, and draft your statement of purpose with time for review.
• Track deadlines on each program card; passed deadlines are marked clearly.
• After an offer, follow the university's steps for enrollment. F-1 students typically apply for an I-20 through the institution's international student office — consult your DSO for guidance specific to your situation.

For immigration-related questions about programs on GradAisle, see the Visa FAQ.

Current limits

• 3 AI match runs per signed-in user per 24 hours
• 10 AI match-reason streams per signed-in user per 24 hours
• Master's programs only; STEM fields in the category picker

Coming soon

The following options appear in onboarding but are not yet available:

• International undergrad with a non-US degree
• PhD programs
• Humanities broad category

Need help? Visit Support or email admin@gradaisle.com.