Arjun K.
Stanford CS '29
Software EngineeringSeed-stage B2B SaaS
Shipped the analytics dashboard now used by 40% of paying accounts.
“His admissions interviewer called it "the most genuine extracurricular on your application."”
Admissions Cycle 2026 · Limited seats
Real company.
Real work.
Real reference letter.
While every other applicant submits another research paper, College Lift students ship real product at venture-backed startups, and get a founder’s name on the reference letter.
200+
Students placed
98%
T-20 acceptance rate
150+
Partner companies
$0
Owed until placement
The problem
Every applicant now looks
exactly the same.
Admissions officers read the same paragraph forty thousand times. Research paper. Olympiad medal. Self-started nonprofit. Another “passion project.” The bar for what’s remarkable has moved, and most families haven’t noticed.
- A research paper nobody outside the family will read
- An Olympiad medal four kids in their grade also have
- A nonprofit with three donors and a Squarespace
- Another "passion project" indistinguishable from the last 40,000
So we built the one thing nobody else has.
The outcomes
Six students. Six companies.
Six reference letters nobody else had.
These are the actual placements and actual outcomes from our 2024–25 cohorts.
Sarah L.
Wharton '29
Growth & MarketingSeries A consumer
Ran a launch campaign that grew the user base 40% in one quarter.
“Wrote her common app essay on a business trade-off she actually made.”
Marcus R.
MIT '28
Product DesignPre-seed fintech
Redesigned onboarding. Conversion lifted 25%.
“His portfolio did the work three admissions essays couldn't.”
Emily P.
Columbia '29
OperationsSeed-stage logistics
Cut supplier cycle time 35%. Stayed on 18 months part-time.
“The founder extended her internship twice before she applied anywhere.”
James T.
Harvard '29
DataSeries A analytics
Built the churn prediction model that's still in production.
“His founder wrote him a personal letter of recommendation.”
Riya N.
YC Founder
FounderHer own company
Raised a $2M seed round off the product she built in our program.
“Skipped the traditional path entirely.”
The companies
Your kid works at companies on
these cap tables.
Every partner company in the CollegeLift network is venture-backed, vetted, and actively shipping. No shadowing. No coffee runs.
Convexia
YC S25
AI-maximalist pharma company.
Asimov
YC W26
Movement data for humanoid robots.
Blume Benefits
YC W24
AI copilot for health insurance brokers.
Backed by
Y Combinator
a16z
Sequoia
Accel
Greylock
Founders Fund
Benchmark
First Round
150+Partner companies
45%Non-technical roles
1 : 4Acceptance rate
The process
How a student goes from
application to placement.
Six steps, roughly eight weeks end-to-end. You don’t pay until step four.
- 01
Apply
~15 minYour child submits a 15-minute application covering their interests, skills, and goals.
- 02
Consultation
1:1 callA one-on-one call to map real strengths to real roles. No scripted sales pitch.
- 03
Matching
150+ partnersWe present curated roles from our vetted network. Your child picks the one they want.
- 04
Commitment
Risk-freeNDA and paperwork are signed. The program fee is only invoiced after the contract is.
- 05
Bootcamp
1 weekA one-week intensive on the specific skills they'll need starting day one.
- 06
Launch
3+ monthsA three-month summer placement. Most students extend to a year or more.
The bootcamp
A week that turns a smart kid
into a useful hire.
Every placed student goes through an intensive before day one. Not lectures. Not theory. Specific skills for the specific company they’re joining.
5days · ~30 hrs · 1:1 office hours with alumni mentors
- Technical fundamentals
- Git, the command line, the specific stack of the company they're joining. Hands-on, not theoretical.
- Professional communication
- How to write a Slack message that doesn't get ignored. How to run a standup. How to disagree in a PR review.
- Startup context
- Runway, fundraising stages, the difference between pre-seed chaos and Series B process. What their company is actually trying to do.
- Day-one deliverables
- They ship something in week one. Not coffee runs. A real pull request, a real deck, a real customer call.
The guarantee
You pay nothing until your child is
placed in a role they’ve accepted.
The program fee is invoiced only after a signed internship contract. If we can’t place your child, the conversation ends. No paperwork, no invoice, nothing owed.
$0
Owed until placement
3 mo
Minimum placement length
Parent FAQ
The questions you’re
actually wondering about.
Apply
15 minutes now.
A reference letter in six months.
Applications for Summer 2026 placements are open. Submit below and a program advisor will schedule the one-on-one consultation.
- One application per student. No fee to apply.
- Consultation call within one business day.
- Nothing owed until an internship contract is signed.