Shortlist
Support
Help for subscriptions, school list management, essays, recommendations, financial-aid comparison, rankings methodology, and app privacy.
Include the app version, device model, iOS version, and a short description of the issue.
How do I restore purchases?
Open Shortlist, go to Settings, then use Restore Purchases in the subscription area. Shortlist asks Apple StoreKit to refresh the subscriptions tied to your Apple ID.
How do I cancel a subscription?
Subscriptions are managed by Apple. On your device, open Settings, tap your Apple ID, choose Subscriptions, select Shortlist, and cancel before the renewal date.
How does the 7-day trial work?
Eligible Pro and Family subscriptions include a 7-day free trial. Apple manages eligibility, billing, renewal, and cancellation. If you do not cancel before the trial ends, the selected plan renews through the App Store.
Does Shortlist require an account?
No. Shortlist v1 does not require an Atlas Peak Media account. Subscriptions are tied to your Apple ID through StoreKit.
How does iCloud sync work?
When CloudKit is available, Shortlist can sync user-authored application data through your private iCloud database — school lists, essays, recommendation tracking, test scores, financial-aid offers, and notes. If iCloud is unavailable, Shortlist keeps working with local SwiftData storage and labels the sync state in Settings.
How does the Family plan parent dashboard work?
On the Family plan, a parent or guardian can view a read-only dashboard of the student’s school list, deadlines, and decision status. The dashboard does not show essay text or private notes by default, and the student controls what is shared. The Family plan supports up to three students per subscription.
How are the rankings calculated?
Shortlist’s 24-dimension rankings draw on public federal data: College Scorecard, IPEDS, BLS, ACS PUMS, NCES CIP, MAP State Equality Index, USDA, Clery, OCR, IRS 990, EADA, HUD FMR, and others. Each dimension shows its source, vintage, and pipeline row count. Open the Methodology section in the app to see the full citation list, peer-group rules, and suppression notes. Shortlist never accepts payment for ranking placement.
How does the test-score advisor work?
Shortlist compares your SAT or ACT score to each school’s 25th and 75th percentile bands and recommends submit, submit with caveats, do not submit, or test-optional. Bands come from College Scorecard. Final submission decisions are yours and depend on the school’s test-policy stance for the cycle you’re applying in.
How does the financial-aid award comparison work?
Enter each school’s award letter (grants, scholarships, loans, work-study, expected family contribution). Shortlist computes a side-by-side cost comparison and a true-net-cost figure that adds room and board, books, and HUD Fair Market Rent for the school’s metro area. You can build an aid-appeal packet from any school card.
How do exports work?
Pro users can export PDF and CSV summaries for individual schools, the whole school list, financial-aid comparison, and the methodology source manifest. Exports include source notes, vintage labels, generated timestamps, and a not-advice disclaimer.
Why are some ranking dimensions empty?
Eight of the 24 dimensions depend on federal datasets that require manual download (FSA Composite Financial Scores, FSA Heightened Cash Monitoring, Clery Act crime, OCR Title IX, EADA athletics, USDA Food Access, IRS 990 endowment, HUD FMR). Those dimensions are cited in Methodology with row count zero until the bundle ingests them. The rest of the rankings continue to work.
Does Shortlist store my Face ID or Touch ID?
No. Biometric app lock is handled locally by Apple LocalAuthentication. Shortlist does not receive or store biometric templates.
How do I delete data?
Delete individual schools, essays, recommendations, test scores, and aid offers in the app, or delete the app to remove local Shortlist data. If iCloud sync is active, manage iCloud app data through Apple ID and iCloud settings.
How do I report a bug?
Email shortlist@atlaspeakmedia.com with your device model, iOS version, Shortlist version, what you expected, what happened, and any screenshots or screen recordings that help explain the issue.