From one student to another

I got played by my school. I'm building this so you don't.

GradFax is a grad school search tool that pulls from official data only — not the marketing departments, not the brochures, not the admissions reps paid to close you.

Real stats. Real lifestyle factors. Real answers. And it'll never cost you a dime.

This isn't a startup. It's a public service born out of frustration.

Try the Search Demo →

No spam. I hate that too.

Why I'm building this

My father came to this country for one reason: to give me a good life. A good education. That was always the plan. I was never not going to college. I worked my ass off to get in.

And then I got there.

The campus tour was beautiful. The admissions counselor was friendly. They told me everything I wanted to hear. I enrolled. I paid. Nearly six figures by the time I was done.

I went in for psychology. I left with a marketing degree — not because I changed my mind, but because they didn't offer what they sold me. Not a single class in what I actually came for. I found out after I was already enrolled.

The irony? I studied marketing. I know exactly what they did to me. I got sold. The bastards played me with their own playbook.

I ended up studying abroad just to get the education I was promised. Three years of waiting and a plane ticket I couldn't afford — for something my university should've had from the start.

"The reason health insurance exists is because doctors were getting people sick to keep the business going. There's no education insurance. No one's checking these institutions. We're just getting scammed and smiling through it."

I'm applying to grad school now. And I refuse to make the same mistake twice. So I'm building the tool I wish I had.

What GradFax actually is

A search tool that treats you like an adult. You tell it what you want — budget, location, weather, walkability, whatever matters to you — and it finds programs that actually fit. No filters to fiddle with. No refreshing and losing everything. Just answers.

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Official data onlyGovernment databases. Verified stats. Nothing self-reported by the schools trying to sell you.
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Lifestyle factors includedCost of living, walkability, weather, food, transit — the stuff that affects your actual life.
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Search like a humanJust describe what you want in plain English. No dropdowns. No 47 filters.

This isn't just a tool. It could be a movement.

I'm one person building this in my spare time because I'm pissed off and I think you should be too. But I can't do it alone. If this resonates with you, here's how you can help:

Share your storyGot screwed by a school? I want to hear it. Send it to me.
Spread the wordKnow someone applying to grad school? Send them here.
Help build itDesigner? Developer? Data nerd? Reach out.

Education is freedom. It shouldn't be a scam.

A bachelor's degree is the new high school diploma. We don't have a choice about whether to go — we just have a choice about where. And right now, that choice is made with bad information, marketing spin, and $100 application fees that add up before anyone even reads your essay.

I'm building GradFax because someone should. Get on the list and I'll let you know when it's ready.

This will always be free for students.Schools can pay for visibility if they want. They can't pay to change their data. That's the line. You're not the product here.
— Josh
Building this because I learned the hard way