Terms of Service, WaveScholar

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding legal agreement between you and WaveScholar, LLC ("WaveScholar," "we," "us," or "our"), governing your access to and use of the WaveScholar website, mobile application, and related services (collectively, the "Service"). By creating an account, accessing, or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY, INCLUDING THE ARBITRATION PROVISION AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IN SECTIONS 11 AND 12, WHICH AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS.

1. Who May Use the Service; Parental Consent

Minimum Age. You must be at least 13 years old to create an account or use the Service. The Service is not directed to, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from, children under 13.

Users Under 18. If you are under the age of 18, you represent that a parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to these Terms on your behalf, has consented to your use of the Service, and is aware of and authorizes any payment associated with your account.

Parent/Guardian Accounts. Where payment is required, the parent or legal guardian providing payment information ("Account Holder") agrees to these Terms in full, including the arbitration and liability provisions, and is responsible for charges incurred on the account.

Eligibility Representation. By using the Service, you represent that all information you provide is accurate and that you have the legal capacity to agree to these Terms (or, if a minor, that a parent/guardian has done so on your behalf).

2. The Service

WaveScholar provides tools intended to help students with college planning, including organizing profile and academic information, generating suggestions related to essay topics, extracurricular and "passion project" ideas, and related planning resources, including informational content such as application deadlines and admissions requirements. WaveScholar may use artificial intelligence or third-party processing tools to generate some content and suggestions.

THE SERVICE IS AN INFORMATIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL TOOL ONLY. IT DOES NOT PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATIONAL CONSULTING, ADMISSIONS COUNSELING, FINANCIAL AID ADVICE, OR LEGAL ADVICE, AND IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR GUIDANCE FROM A QUALIFIED SCHOOL COUNSELOR, INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT, OR FINANCIAL ADVISOR. See Section 8 (Disclaimers) below.

2A. Student and User Responsibility for Deadlines, Requirements, and Data Accuracy

The Service may display information such as application deadlines, essay prompts, required essay or word counts, submission requirements, and related admissions details ("Institutional Information"). Institutional Information is compiled from third-party sources, may be generated or summarized using artificial intelligence, and is provided for convenience and planning purposes only.

You acknowledge and agree that:

Institutional Information may contain errors, omissions, or outdated data, and colleges and universities may change their deadlines, requirements, or application processes at any time without notice to WaveScholar;
WaveScholar does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any Institutional Information, including any deadline, essay prompt, essay/word count, or requirement shown in the Service;
You are solely responsible for independently verifying all deadlines, requirements, essay prompts, and submission instructions directly with the official source (the institution's admissions office, official website, or the Common Application/Coalition Application platform) before relying on them;
You are solely responsible for the timely and complete submission of any college application, and neither WaveScholar nor its AI assistant is responsible for any missed deadline, incomplete application, rejected submission, or other adverse outcome resulting from reliance on Institutional Information provided through the Service;
WaveScholar strongly recommends confirming all deadline and requirement information directly with each institution, and, where appropriate, with a qualified school counselor or independent educational consultant, sufficiently in advance of any deadline.

This Section 2A survives termination of your account and applies notwithstanding anything else in these Terms.

3. Accounts

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.

You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and to update it as needed.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, provide false information, or are used in a manner that creates risk or legal exposure for WaveScholar or other users.

4. User Content

Definition. "User Content" means any information, text, essays, resumes, files, academic records, or other materials you submit, upload, or input into the Service, including but not limited to GPA, school information, essay drafts and ideas, extracurricular/passion project descriptions, and uploaded resumes.

Ownership. You retain all ownership rights in your User Content. We do not claim ownership of your essays, resumes, ideas, or other personal content.

License to Us. By submitting User Content, you grant WaveScholar a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to host, store, process, transmit, and display your User Content solely for the purpose of providing, maintaining, and improving the Service to you. This license ends when you delete the applicable content or close your account, except for residual copies retained in routine backups for a limited period, or as required by law.

No Use to Train Third-Party Models Without Disclosure. We will not use your identifiable User Content to train third-party AI models in a manner that exposes it to other users or the public. Where the Service uses third-party AI tools to process your content (e.g., to generate essay or project suggestions), such processing is described in our Privacy Policy.

Your Responsibility for Content. You are solely responsible for your User Content and represent that you have the right to submit it and that it does not infringe any third party's rights or violate any law.

Accuracy of Academic Information. You are responsible for the accuracy of academic information (such as GPA and school) you provide. We do not verify this information with any school or third party.

5. Payments, Subscriptions, and Refunds

Billing. Certain features of the Service require payment. By providing payment information, the Account Holder authorizes WaveScholar and its payment processor to charge the applicable fees.

Merchant of Record. Our order process is conducted by our online reseller Paddle.com. Paddle.com is the Merchant of Record for all our orders. Paddle provides all customer service inquiries and handles returns. WaveScholar does not store full payment card numbers. Use of payment features is also subject to the Paddle Checkout Buyer Terms.

Subscriptions and Auto-Renewal. Subscriptions automatically renew at the then-current rate until canceled. You may cancel at any time through your account settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

Refunds. We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on new purchases. See our Refund Policy for details and instructions on how to request a refund through Paddle.

Price Changes. We may change our prices at any time; we will provide advance notice of price changes affecting active subscriptions.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or to violate any third party's rights;
Submit false, misleading, or another person's information without authorization;
Attempt to access another user's account or data without authorization;
Use the Service to harass, defraud, or impersonate any person;
Reverse-engineer, scrape, or interfere with the Service's normal operation;
Upload viruses, malicious code, or content that infringes intellectual property rights.

7. Independent Counselors and Third-Party Features

The Service may allow independent educational counselors or advisors who are not employees of WaveScholar to interact with certain student accounts or content (such as reviewing essays or providing feedback), where the student or Account Holder has authorized such access. WaveScholar is not responsible for the advice, conduct, or services provided by independent counselors, who operate under separate terms. See our Independent Counselor Terms for details governing counselor use of the platform.

8. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE, INCLUDING ANY AI-GENERATED OR ALGORITHMICALLY-GENERATED SUGGESTIONS OR INFORMATION (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ESSAY TOPIC IDEAS, PASSION PROJECT SUGGESTIONS, SCHOOL OR SCHOLARSHIP-RELATED INFORMATION, AND ANY DEADLINE, ESSAY PROMPT, WORD/ESSAY COUNT, OR APPLICATION REQUIREMENT), IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

WaveScholar DOES NOT GUARANTEE ANY PARTICULAR OUTCOME, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO COLLEGE ADMISSION, SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS, FINANCIAL AID OUTCOMES, TIMELY OR SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION SUBMISSION, OR ANY OTHER RESULT FROM USE OF THE SERVICE. SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS GENERATED THROUGH THE SERVICE ARE STARTING POINTS FOR YOUR OWN JUDGMENT AND, WHERE APPROPRIATE, CONSULTATION WITH A QUALIFIED SCHOOL COUNSELOR OR INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT, NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THAT JUDGMENT OR GUIDANCE. See also Section 2A regarding your responsibility to independently verify all deadlines and requirements.

9. Intellectual Property of the Service

Excluding User Content, the Service and all related software, design, text, graphics, and trademarks are owned by WaveScholar, LLC or its licensors and are protected by intellectual property laws. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service for its intended personal, non-commercial purpose.

10. Termination

You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at our discretion, including for violation of these Terms, with or without notice. Upon termination, Sections 2A, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, and 13 will survive.

11. Dispute Resolution; Arbitration

Agreement to Arbitrate. Except for disputes that qualify for small claims court, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding individual arbitration, rather than in court, except that either party may bring an individual action in small claims court.

No Class Actions. YOU AND WAVESCHOLAR AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.

Governing Law. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WAVESCHOLAR, LLC AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AFFILIATES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, WAVESCHOLAR IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY MISSED APPLICATION DEADLINE, INCOMPLETE OR REJECTED APPLICATION, OR OTHER ADVERSE ADMISSIONS OUTCOME ARISING FROM YOUR RELIANCE ON ANY DEADLINE, REQUIREMENT, OR OTHER INSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE, WHETHER OR NOT SUCH INFORMATION WAS GENERATED OR SUMMARIZED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO WAVESCHOLAR IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you.

13. Indemnification

You (and, if you are a minor, your parent or guardian) agree to indemnify and hold harmless WaveScholar, LLC from any claims, damages, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your violation of these Terms or misuse of the Service.

14. Privacy

Our collection and use of your personal information, including academic information, essays, resumes, and payment-related data, is described in our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice (such as by email or an in-app notice) before the changes take effect. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

16. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be directed to support@wavescholar.app.