Terms of Service

Last updated: July 13, 2026

These terms govern your use of Lodestar. By creating an account, you agree to them.

What Lodestar is

Lodestar is an organizational tool for STEM PhD and fellowship applications: tracking programs, professors, deadlines, letters of recommendation, and documents. It is a coach, not a ghostwriter — Lodestar helps you organize and sharpen materials you write yourself. No feature in Lodestar generates, writes, or submits application content on your behalf.

Lodestar does not guarantee admission, funding, or any other application outcome. Deadline information, timing estimates, and any advisor-search results are aids to your research, not a substitute for verifying directly with each program.

Your account

You're responsible for the accuracy of what you enter and for keeping your login credentials secure. Lodestar never asks for, and will never store, your password to any application portal — enter those only on the school's own site.

The free plan and the $20 unlock

Lodestar is free to use for up to 3 programs, including the full tracker, timeline, and journey view. A one-time payment of $20 unlocks unlimited programs, recommender letter drafting, the document vault, and deadline reminders for that account. This is a one-time license fee, not a subscription — it does not renew or recur.

Payments are processed by Stripe. Refund requests are handled case-by-case — email hello@lodestargrad.com and we'll work it out with you directly.

Your content

You own what you upload — your CV, statements, and notes. You grant Lodestar the limited right to store and process that content solely to provide the product to you. We don't use it to train models, and we don't share it beyond the processors listed in the Privacy Policy.

Acceptable use

Don't use Lodestar to store or transmit content you don't have the right to, to attempt to access other users' data, or to interfere with the service's operation.

Availability and changes

Lodestar is provided "as is," without warranty of any kind. We aim for high availability but don't guarantee uninterrupted access. Features described as in-progress or upcoming (like the statement-of-purpose feedback engine) are not yet part of the product and may change before they ship.

Termination

You may stop using Lodestar and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles.

Changes to these terms

If we materially change these terms, we'll update the date at the top of this page and, for significant changes, email active users.

Contact

Questions about these terms: hello@lodestargrad.com.