Country of Residence
United States
Age
16
Project title
Scholark
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Scholark is a free, student-built college-access platform that brings GPA planning, college research, essay support, AP learning, and SAT/ACT preparation together—and now serves 10,000+ students.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
Scholark: https://sribyju.github.io/ | Portfolio: https://sribyju.github.io/Portfolio | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shriyan-avadhanula-744190428 | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sri.a06/
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Scaling (We’re expanding impact to new locations or in new and innovative ways)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
Scholark began with a frustration I knew firsthand: while planning for college, I had to jump between dozens of sites to find GPA tools, test prep, college information, and application guidance. Some resources were confusing; others put their most useful features behind paywalls. I started by building a GPA tracker for my own IB coursework. As I used it, the bigger problem became clear: students weren’t short on ambition—they were expected to assemble a complicated college journey from disconnected tools. My “aha” was that I could build the connected, student-first toolkit I wished existed: one place to understand your academics, explore colleges, prepare, and decide what to do next. I kept adding the tools I needed and made them free for everyone. Scholark has since grown to 10,000+ monthly users, showing how a solution rooted in a student’s real experience can meet a much wider need.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
College planning can feel like a maze. GPA planning, college research, essays, scholarships, SAT/ACT preparation, and AP learning are scattered across disconnected sites. Students must sort through conflicting information and often encounter subscriptions or paywalls just when they need the most help. That fragmentation costs time and can make students feel behind before they start. It matters to me because I experienced the confusion as a student: I had the motivation, but not a clear, connected, affordable path. Students should not need a large budget or private counselor to understand their options and take a confident next step. Scholark works to make practical guidance and learning tools easier to find, understand, and use—without paywalls.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Scholark brings the college journey into one free platform. Students can calculate and plan GPA, research and compare 200+ universities, explore admissions and scholarship resources, develop essays, study AP subjects, and prepare for the SAT and ACT. Instead of sending students across disconnected sites, Scholark helps them move from a question to a concrete next step in one place. Its library includes 3,480 original AP practice checks, 7,444 SAT/ACT questions, and 50 full-length practice simulations, alongside calculators and planning tools. The core toolkit is free, with no subscription or premium paywall. I build and improve the platform around real student needs, bringing planning, practice, and opportunity into one accessible system.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Scholark now serves 10,000+ students each month, giving students a free college-planning and learning toolkit they can use without piecing together paid, disconnected resources. The platform helps learners plan GPA, compare more than 200 universities, explore scholarships, build essays, and practice for AP and SAT/ACT exams. Its library includes 3,480 original AP practice checks, 7,444 SAT/ACT questions, and 50 full-length simulations. My work has also been featured in 30+ national and international media articles, bringing wider visibility to student-led innovation and free college access. My broader work includes DataShadow, a separate privacy platform for which I filed a U.S. provisional patent. Next, I want to measure not just reach, but how Scholark helps students prepare, clarify their college plans, and act on opportunities.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Many college-prep tools solve one small task, send students elsewhere, or reserve their most useful features for paid tiers. Scholark connects academic planning, college research, application support, scholarships, AP learning, and SAT/ACT preparation in one student-built system—and keeps the core toolkit free. It is already reaching 10,000+ students monthly, with resources for comparing 200+ universities, 3,480 original AP practice checks, 7,444 SAT/ACT questions, and 50 full-length simulations. The innovation is not simply having more content; it is making the full college journey actionable and accessible without paywalls. My wider work includes DataShadow, a privacy-focused platform for which I filed a U.S. provisional patent. That filing is separate from Scholark, but the same approach—spot a real systems gap, prototype a useful tool, and keep improving it—drives both. My work has been featured in 30+ national and international media articles.
How many people are on your team?
1
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
I currently lead Scholark as its creator and lead developer. I own the product direction, design, engineering, educational content, and ongoing improvements, and make decisions close to the needs students face. I build the core platform independently and learn from student use, public feedback, and outside expertise. As Scholark grows, I plan to create more ways for students and educators to help shape its roadmap.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next year, I plan to strengthen Scholark in four ways: improve accessibility and mobile usability; keep college, scholarship, and exam resources current; make guided next steps clearer so students can move from a question or skill gap to a practical plan; and build relationships with schools, counselors, libraries, and youth organizations that can connect students to free support. I also want to measure outcomes beyond visits—such as practice completed, plans created, and opportunities pursued—so the roadmap reflects what genuinely helps learners. My goal is to grow Scholark’s reach and usefulness while keeping its core toolkit free.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
Scholark’s first invitation is the product itself: students can use practical tools immediately, without subscriptions or premium gates. More than 10,000 students engage with it each month through GPA planning, college research, essay support, AP study, and SAT/ACT preparation. My work has also been featured in 30+ national and international media articles, bringing broader attention to student-built solutions. I want to turn that visibility into action by sharing demos and resources with schools, counselors, libraries, and student communities, and by inviting students and educators to help shape improvements. Success means more than views: students using the tools, sharing them with peers, and taking a clearer next step toward college.
