One direction, four years, and the dates that actually matter.
Trellis is a four-year plan for high school. It lays out what to do each season from the ninth-grade course sequence to the May reply date, scores how clearly a student’s activities point in one direction, and carries the California calendar — the UC filing window, Cal State Apply, COSMOS, SSP, AMC, USACO, the Synopsys fair — that national guides leave out.
No account, no server, no analytics. Everything stays on your phone.
The score goes down when you add a ninth club
Every other tool in this category rewards accumulation. Add an activity, watch a number rise. That instinct produces the well-rounded, indistinct profile that loses at selective colleges — ten APs and twelve clubs is the median application at a competitive Bay Area high school, not a strong one.
Trellis measures the opposite thing. The focus score is built from how much of a student’s real effort points one way, how many years it has run, what roles they have held, and whether an outsider could verify any of it. Add something unrelated and the app shows you the number falling, in red, and says why.
It is not a probability, it is not an odds estimate, and it does not predict an admission decision. It measures how legible one direction is. That is the only thing about a profile that is actually in a family’s control.
What it does
- The four-year planForty-nine dated items by grade and season, from mapping the course sequence in ninth grade to sending the final transcript after graduation.
- The focus scoreFocus, depth, initiative and evidence — with the next concrete rung to climb in whichever direction the student is already deepest in.
- The depth ladderEleven directions, each with eight rungs. “Go deeper, not wider” becomes an instruction instead of a platitude.
- The California calendarAMC, AIME, USACO, Science Olympiad, Synopsys, ISEF, COSMOS, SSP, SIMR, RSI, Boys and Girls State, county internships — with the months applications actually close.
- The college listReach, target and likely, with per-school steps and the right deadline for each plan — including the UC 30 November window and Cal State Apply.
- The family reportOne page written for the parent who has not opened the app: where things stand, what is next, what was missed.
Built for the UC calendar, not just the Common App
Nine campuses, one application, one deadline on 30 November, no early option of any kind, no recommendation letters, four personal insight questions at 350 words, a capped-weighted GPA that counts tenth and eleventh grade only, and no test scores considered at all.
Every one of those is different from the Common App, and every national admissions app is built around the Common App. Cal State Apply — a separate application with a separate deadline in early December — is usually missing entirely.
Free, and Trellis Plus
- FreeThe current season of the plan, five activities, three schools, the focus score, and four of the guides.
- Trellis Plus$12.99 a month or $69.99 a year, each with a 7-day free trial. All four years, unlimited activities and schools, the full program calendar, the family readiness report, and the whole library. Billed by Apple; cancel any time.
Guides
- The UC application is a different gameThe UC application opens 1 August, files 1–30 November, has no early action, reads no recommendation letters, and ignores test sco…
- What a spike actually is, and why twelve clubs hurtSelective colleges read tens of thousands of well-rounded applications. A spike is the one sentence a reader remembers. Here is wh…
- The summer that carries the application is decided in FebruaryCOSMOS closes in February. SSP and SIMR close in February. RSI closes in January. A calendar of the competitive summer programs Ba…
- The four-year plan, season by seasonGrade by grade and season by season, from the ninth-grade course sequence to the May reply date. Built around the California calen…
- Four things share the word "early" and they are not variations on a themeED is binding and removes your ability to compare aid offers. REA blocks other early applications. EA does neither. And the UCs ha…
- How many AP courses is the right numberColleges evaluate rigor against what your school offers, using the counselor’s school profile. There is no number — but there is a…
Questions
Does Trellis tell me my chances of getting in?
No, deliberately. Chancing calculators are everywhere, they are mostly guesses, and a percentage gives an anxious family nothing to do on a Tuesday. Trellis tells you what to do this season and whether the activities point anywhere.
Is this for the parent or the student?
Either. There is a parent mode that changes the wording and surfaces the conversation guides and the family report. Both modes show the same plan.
Is it only useful in California?
The plan, the focus score and the library work anywhere in the US. The calendar and the UC and Cal State material are California-specific, which is the part no other app does.
Where does my data go?
Nowhere. There is no account and no server, and nothing typed into the app is transmitted. Only Apple and our subscription provider see purchase status, keyed to a random identifier.
Are the dates guaranteed?
No, and the app says so on every screen that shows one. Programs and colleges move their deadlines every year. Trellis shows typical windows so you know when to go and check.