Frequently Asked Questions

Launchpad is a backward-planning tool that helps students and their families stay ahead of critical deadlines — college applications, military academy nominations, vocational program enrollment, magnet school auditions, and more. You tell us your goal and your student's grade level, and we map out every deadline between now and launch day so nothing slips through the cracks.

The core deadline tracker is completely free. You can create a student profile, select a goal type, and track all key deadlines at no cost. We also offer Career Horizon — an AI-powered career exploration add-on — for $4.99/month.

Launchpad supports students from middle school through 12th grade. The earlier you start, the more runway you have — many competitive programs and scholarships require preparation that begins years before the application deadline.

We currently support five goal types: university/college, military service academies, vocational/trade programs, career-focused high schools, and magnet school auditions. We also support homeschooled students with curriculum planning tools and 50-state enrollment data.

Most planning tools show you a list of tasks. Launchpad starts from your goal's deadline and works backward — identifying every prerequisite, recommendation letter request, test registration window, and application step, then anchoring each to a specific date on your calendar. You always know exactly how much runway you have left.

Deadlines change every year, and we're transparent about our confidence level. CONFIDENT means the deadline was verified directly from the official source within the current cycle. ESTIMATED means it's based on prior-year patterns and is likely accurate but should be confirmed. UNVERIFIED means it's a best-effort placeholder that hasn't been cross-checked yet. We display these badges prominently so families can prioritize what to verify themselves.

Career Horizon is our AI-powered career exploration add-on ($4.99/month). It pulls real Bureau of Labor Statistics data, visualizes career paths as flight-path rings, and lets students chat with an AI counselor to explore what careers align with their interests, where those jobs are concentrated geographically, and what the typical education pathways look like.

Yes. Homeschooled students can toggle a homeschool modifier on any goal type. This unlocks curriculum planning tools, homeschool-specific application notes, and 50-state enrollment requirement data — because homeschool regulations vary dramatically by state and most planners ignore that entirely.

Not yet — scholarship tracking is on our roadmap. We plan to add deadline-anchored scholarship alerts tied to your student's profile. Want to be notified when it launches? Sign up for free and you'll be the first to know.

Launchpad was built by Sriram Baloo, a 14-year Special Forces veteran whose own children attended seven different schools across multiple states. After watching families — including his own — miss critical deadlines simply because no one told them in time, he built the tool he wished had existed. Every feature reflects a real parent's frustration.

We will never sell, share, or monetize your child's data. Period. There are no ads on Launchpad. We do not work with third-party data brokers. We do not share data with colleges, military branches, or any other institutions. Your student's information is used for one purpose only: to give your family the clearest possible picture of the road ahead.

Yes. If you subscribe to Career Horizon, you can cancel at any time with no penalty. The core deadline tracker remains free regardless of whether you subscribe or cancel. We believe families should stay because Launchpad is genuinely useful — not because cancellation is hard.