Your information. Your next step.

Aggregate website analytics

We count page views, uses of the comparison pages, clicks to official provider websites, and successfully saved program-information requests. These are event totals, not unique visitor counts. We store daily totals by approved page, general source category and approved campaign label for up to 90 days.

These analytics do not use cookies or visitor IDs and do not store IP addresses, full referrer URLs, search terms, arbitrary query-string values, email addresses or form contents. A short-lived hashed network value is used only to limit excessive requests and is not part of the analytics totals. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals turn analytics off.

Our purpose and the information we work with

Education, Then What? (ETW) is an independent education information and connection service. We organize, explain and enhance publicly available and appropriately shared education and workforce information to help prospective students and families explore opportunities and connect with post-secondary providers. Within the permissions that apply to each source, ETW may collect, organize, verify, correct, combine and analyze information; create educational materials and research; and publish, distribute, license or sell authorized content, reports and services. Personal information is used and disclosed only for the specific purposes and choices described below.

Different information carries different permissions. Public access does not automatically authorize unrestricted copying or reuse. We respect applicable source licenses, confidentiality, intellectual-property rights and privacy requirements. We do not claim ownership of your personal information or unlimited rights to everything a person or organization sends us.

Institutions, partners and nonprofits

We may use an organization’s public program descriptions and appropriately supplied updates to improve listings and research, within the rights available for that material. Representatives who contact us may provide business contact details and correspondence that we use to respond, verify information and manage the relationship. Simply emailing us does not authorize selling personal contact information.

Broader uses of partner-provided content or datasets—including commercial analysis, publication, redistribution, licensing or sale—must be covered by the applicable source license or a separate agreement defining the permitted material, purposes, recipients and rights. Any commercial data or content agreement must identify the covered material, the sender’s authority, permitted uses, payment terms, duration and any rights to publish, modify or sublicense it. Rights not granted by that agreement or the applicable source license are not assumed. Confidential information and personal records require separate, express treatment. A partner’s permission does not replace an individual’s privacy rights or override obligations attached to school records.

Do not send student rosters, education records, confidential documents, health information, financial account details or another person’s contact list through our inquiry channels. Any proposed school-data service requires a separate review and appropriate agreement before transfer. Our public guides and direct program inquiries are not a school-records collection service.

When you request program information

We collect your first and last name, email, ZIP code, program interest, institution preferences and the role you select. Phone is optional. We also record your contact permission, age-group confirmation (13–17 or 18 and older), optional future-newsletter interest and adult paid-recruitment choice, the form version and submission time. We do not ask for your date of birth, grades, school records, income or immigration status.

Provide your own contact details. This form is for people age 13 or older. A parent or guardian can use their own details to explore options for a younger student.

How we use your request

Education, Then What? uses your program interests, ZIP code and institution preferences to identify relevant options, personalize program information and respond about next steps. We contact you by email and may call about your request if you provide a phone number. The form does not authorize marketing texts.

Requests are stored in the website’s private database and copied to a restricted Google spreadsheet for follow-up. An hourly process checks for new requests and sends our team an email notification. Your contact details are not published on the website.

We may combine program interests and ZIP codes to understand regional demand and discuss it with education providers. Those reports exclude names, email addresses and phone numbers. We combine or withhold small groups where reporting could identify someone. Reports can support research, resource development and discussions with prospective paying education partners. Requests are self-reported interests, not verified applicants or enrollment commitments.

Optional paid referrals and school recruitment

You can choose ETW guidance only or, if you confirm you are 18 or older, optional school recruitment. Guidance only does not authorize selling or sharing your contact details with schools for recruitment. Both choices leave public guides and comparisons free to use.

If you select the adult school-recruitment option and affirm its permission, you authorize ETW to share or sell your name, email, optional phone, ZIP code, role, program interest and institution preferences to matching participating community colleges, public or private colleges and universities, and career or trade schools. Their admissions or recruitment teams may use these details to email you about relevant programs and call if you provide a phone number. This permission does not cover unrelated marketing, unrestricted resale, marketing texts, or automated or prerecorded marketing calls.

Participating providers may pay ETW for an inquiry, referral or recruitment service. Exchanging personal information for payment may be a sale of personal data under privacy law. You do not pay for submitting this request. Among providers that match your stated interests and preferences, paying participants may receive referral priority. Participation does not establish that a school is your best option; the service does not cover every provider.

At launch, requests are stored for ETW review. No details are automatically sent to schools, and paid routing is not active. Your adult recruitment permission records your choice for future matching referrals. Before releasing an inquiry, ETW will check that the permission remains applicable and has not been withdrawn and will require the receiving provider to accept written restrictions on use, security, onward disclosure and handling of privacy requests. Payment does not expand your permission. We will identify the receiving institution when making a referral and explain any paid relationship. You can withdraw before a referral or ask afterward which institutions received your details. ETW may refuse or suspend a referral relationship where a provider cannot meet these requirements. Providers do not acquire ownership of your personal information or an unrestricted right to resell it. A referral is not an application, admission offer or enrollment commitment.

We do not offer paid referrals involving a minor’s contact details. Parents may submit their own contact details to explore options for a younger student; do not provide the child’s contact information. Selecting a newsletter alone never authorizes a referral or sale.

Newsletter choices

Newsletter signup is optional and unchecked by default. Selecting it records interest in the future newsletter. No newsletter is sent automatically from this form. You can withdraw the request and newsletter preference using your removal key, or email us to change your preferences.

Storage and removal

We keep requests while responding and managing your preferences. Retention depends on the purpose and any applicable legal obligation; submitting a request does not grant perpetual marketing or sale rights. We do not currently apply a fixed automatic deletion period to all requests. You can remove a request at any time with the key provided after submission. This removes it from the website database; the next successful hourly update removes the corresponding spreadsheet record. Notification emails contain a link to the tracker rather than a copy of your contact details. Copies retained in service backups follow those services’ retention processes. Information retained only for a legal obligation, dispute, security investigation or suppression request must be limited to that purpose; it is not a separate source of recruitment leads. No fixed backup-erasure deadline is promised here.

If you lose your key or need help, email edthenwhat@gmail.com from the address you used. We may ask you to confirm ownership before making changes. Earlier launch-interest records can also be removed with their original keys.

To limit spam, the website briefly stores a hashed network identifier with a request count. It expires after an hour and is cleared on a later submission. Hosting services may process technical request logs. No advertising pixel is added by this form. We do not upload contact details to advertising platforms or use this form to create cross-site advertising audiences. We use only the interests you provide for this matching service. Starting cross-site advertising or adding new tracking technologies would require a separate assessment and any applicable notice, consent and opt-out controls before use.

Privacy choices and withdrawal

Email edthenwhat@gmail.com to request access to or a copy of your information, correct it, stop contact, change your newsletter choice, opt out of sales or recruitment sharing, or ask which institutions received your details. You may use the subject “Privacy request.” We may ask for limited confirmation that you own the relevant email address. An authorized agent may contact us about an opt-out request, subject to verification of their authority. You do not need to create an account, purchase anything or explain why you want to opt out. Please do not send identification documents or additional sensitive information unless we specifically request a necessary verification step.

You can withdraw the entire request with your removal key. Withdrawal stops future ETW use or sharing for the withdrawn purpose; it cannot undo an earlier disclosure. Schools that already received your details process them under their own notices and applicable law. You can ask them to stop contact or delete the information; contact us for help identifying a recipient. We do not promise immediate deletion from another organization’s independent systems.

Additional rights, response deadlines and appeal rights may apply depending on your location and the laws covering the business. If we decline a request, we will explain the reason and how to ask for reconsideration, subject to lawful limits on disclosure. To appeal, email the same address with “Privacy appeal” and identify the request. We will apply the response and appeal deadlines required by the law covering your request and explain any permitted extension. You may also contact your state privacy regulator. You can continue using the public guides if you decline recruitment sharing or withdraw permission. We may retain the minimum information needed to honor a do-not-contact request or meet a legal obligation.

A Global Privacy Control signal prevents this form from accepting a new paid-referral choice. To withdraw an existing request that we cannot identify from a browser signal, use your removal key or email us. Updates to this notice do not expand permission attached to an earlier submission. A new purpose, recipient category or contact channel requires the additional notice and permission applicable to that change before it begins. Nothing in this notice waives a privacy right or authorizes conduct prohibited by applicable law.

Your cost estimates and comparisons

Cost estimates stay in the current page and are not saved by the application. Shared comparison links contain public career or program identifiers. Search links can contain the search text and filters you choose, so keep personal information out of searches you plan to share.

Remove a request

Enter the removal key shown after submission. The response does not reveal whether an email address is on our list.