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Make College & Career Planning Simple, Structured, and Student-First

Encourage is a free planning program for educators supporting grades 8–12.

Over 20,000 educators trust Encourage to turn future readiness into a manageable, impactful part of their work.

Help every student envision their future, understand the steps to get there, and find purpose in their education today without adding more to your plate.

Encourage Student app

Give Every Student a Clear Path Forward

Encourage equips you with everything you need to deliver consistent, high-quality guidance that is manageable within your work. Students get personalized exploration tools; you get a clear, scalable structure to support more students effectively.

Helping Educators Guide

Students Nationwide

4 million+

Students Served

5,000

School Districts

10,000

High Schools

All 50

States & D.C. Served

Everything You Need to Support Future Planning

Student App for Future Exploration

Students explore colleges, scholarships, careers, and majors—all in one place—while learning the steps to achieve their goals.

Actionable Insights

Access clear reports to guide meaningful conversations about college, scholarships, and career fit.

Ready-to-Use Lesson Plans

11 turnkey lesson plans to spark curiosity, explore work values, and build essential skills—ideal for Tier 1 support.

Impact Tracking & Reporting

Data and strategic guidance to demonstrate impact to leadership and stakeholders.

Built for Exploration—Not Administration

We believe exploration deserves its own space. Encourage is built to support the planning and discovery phase—not replace your administrative tools. It doesn’t handle applications, transcripts, or messaging, and that’s intentional.

Instead, we help you and your students make informed, strategic choices before those final steps.

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Trusted by Leading Educational Organizations

Encourage partners with leading educational organizations across the country to support students and empower educators with meaningful college and career readiness resources.

In addition to helping students plan their futures, Encourage delivers actionable data and insights to our partner organizations, strengthening their impact and improving outcomes.

Real Impact, Real Student Journeys

With over 4 million students participating in the Encourage program, the results speak for themselves. Hear how Encourage has helped students explore possibilities, set goals, and discover purpose in their education.

Ava is a junior using Encourage to bring structure to her post-high school planning and expand her college possibilities.

Matthew is a future veterinarian using Encourage to discover scholarship opportunities and schools close to home.

Sariah is a freshman who is saying goodbye to endless googling and using Encourage to get a head start on her scholarship search.

See How Simple College & Career
Planning Can Be

Request digital or physical preference forms customized with ACTFL-specific questions.

After students complete their forms, they receive an invite to the Encourage app to explore college and scholarship matches.

Create your educator account to access insights and resources to guide future-ready skills.

Students Share Goals

via the Encourage app or a preference form.

Students Explore

colleges, scholarships, careers, and majors—online or in-app.

Educators Support

Use Encourage reports and resources to guide conversations and track trends

Free for Educators & Students —Always

Every student deserves the chance to imagine their future, discover their path, and take the steps to make it real – no matter their background or resources.

Our mission is powered by partnerships with colleges, universities, and education providers who believe in expanding opportunity. While they may offer connections to students who could be a good fit, opting in is always the student’s choice.