Comparison
Kolly AI review: Kolly, Kollegio and Pave for students and parents
This Kolly AI review is for students and parents choosing an AI admissions tool. It covers Kolly, the free Kollegio and Pave, using each company's own pages.
Facts about other products come from their own public pages, checked on . Prices and features change, so confirm them on each company's site before you decide.
Pave and Kolly AI at a glance
- Who it is for
- Pave: College counselors and the students they invite
- Kolly AI: Mainly students; parents and counselors can comment on shared essays by private link
- Cost to a student
- Pave: Through your counselor, who pays for Pave
- Kolly AI: Free tier, then $29 a month or $99 for six months; refund within 30 days
- Essay help
- Pave: Students write in Pave and get comments from their counselor, who also sees AI feedback
- Kolly AI: Drafting, rewrites, scoring on six dimensions against admitted students' essays, and a final read
- College list and deadlines
- Pave: A college list shared with the counselor, with verified data across 13+ countries, plus tasks and a timeline
- Kolly AI: School lists and deadline timelines
- Scholarships and programs
- Pave: Scholarship details on each college's page
- Kolly AI: A scholarship finder and a summer program finder
- Career direction
- Pave: A psychometric career test
- Kolly AI: Help shaping activities and honors
- Human review
- Pave: A counselor reviews the plan and the essays
- Kolly AI: AI-first; invited parents and counselors can comment
Where Kolly AI is stronger
- You can use it on your own, without a counselor.
- It is low cost: a free tier, then $29 a month or $99 for six months.
- It has scholarship and summer program finders.
- It scores each essay draft on six dimensions against essays from admitted students.
Where Pave is stronger
- A counselor reviews your plan and your essays, not only an AI.
- Your college list, essays, tasks and deadlines are shared with your counselor in one place.
- College data covers 13+ countries, which helps if you are looking beyond the US.
- A psychometric career test helps before you choose a direction.
Kolly AI review: what it does and what it costs
Kolly describes itself as an AI model built for college admissions, trained on essays from students admitted to top US schools. It is aimed mainly at students.
It builds school lists and deadline timelines, finds scholarships and summer programs, and helps shape activities. It also drafts, rewrites and scores essays, with a percentile against admitted students.
The free tier includes the timeline, scholarship finder, essay library and one full essay review. Paid use is $29 a month, or $99 for six months that renews unless you cancel.
Parents and counselors can read and comment on a shared essay through a private link, without an account.
Kollegio: the free alternative
Kollegio describes itself as an AI college counselor for students, schools and colleges, and says its service is free.
It offers a college matching quiz with recommendations and help with scholarships and financial aid. Its essay support is available at any hour and aims to keep the student's own voice.
Despite the similar names, Kolly and Kollegio are different products on different websites.
Where Pave fits
Pave is software for college counselors. Counselors invite their students, who then see their own tasks, essays, college list and deadlines.
Students write essays in Pave and read their counselor's comments. They can browse example essays and take a psychometric career test.
The AI in Pave works for the counselor. It drafts shortlists and gives essay feedback, and the counselor decides what reaches the student.
Using AI on your application essays
Colleges set their own rules on AI in applications. Read each college's policy before you let any tool draft words for you.
Tools that score a draft or ask good questions can help you think. The words in the final essay should be your own.
Which one should you choose?
Choose Kolly AI if
- You are applying without a counselor and want low-cost AI help.
- You want scholarship and summer program searches in the same tool.
- You want a score for each essay draft. For a free tool, look at Kollegio too.
Choose Pave if
- You work with a counselor, or plan to, and want one shared place for the work.
- You want a person, not only AI, to review your essays.
- You are comparing universities in more than one country.
See everything Pave does on the college counseling software page, and current prices on the pricing page.
Questions about Pave and Kolly AI
Is Kolly AI free?
Kolly has a free tier with a timeline, scholarship finder, essay library and one full essay review. Paid use is $29 a month or $99 for six months.
Is Kolly the same as Kollegio?
No. They are different products on different websites, kolly.ai and kollegio.ai. Kollegio says its service is free.
Does Kolly write essays for you?
Kolly says it can brainstorm, outline and draft, and that students keep the final say on every edit. Check each college's AI policy before you use AI-drafted text.
How do students use Pave?
Counselors invite their students to Pave. Students then see their own tasks, essays, college list and deadlines, and can take the career test.
Sources
- Kolly: the first AI model for college admissions, Kolly (checked October 28, 2026)
- Kollegio AI: your AI college counselor, Kollegio (checked October 28, 2026)
- Student tools, Pave (checked October 28, 2026)
- College counseling software, Pave (checked October 28, 2026)
Work with a counselor on Pave
If your counselor uses Pave, you will see your tasks, essays and college list in one place. Start with Pave's student tools.