FAQ
Everything you probably want to ask first
The questions we get asked most, answered in one place. If something is missing, just contact us.
What it evaluates
Which essay does this evaluate?
Two product lines: the Common App main Personal Statement for US undergraduate applications (the 650-word essay), and the UCAS three-question personal statement for UK undergraduate applications (2026-entry format — see the UCAS section below). The US-line evaluation is built specifically for the main essay; it is not designed for University of California (UC) PIQ essays, supplemental essays, or graduate and transfer personal statements.
What perspective does the evaluation take? How is this different from proofreading?
It asks where this essay actually lands in a real application pool: whether the material is worth writing about, whether it genuinely shows who you are, and whether anything sticks after the last line. It does not proofread and it does not write for you. We diagnose and point direction; the essay has to stay in your own voice.
What do I actually get?
A structured report: an overall competitiveness band, a light for each of five dimensions, the evidence from your own text behind every judgment, and revision advice sorted by priority. Reports switch between English and Chinese, so students and parents can each read in their own language.
How long does it take?
Usually a few minutes. The exact wait varies with the tier you choose and the queue. You do not need to keep the page open — completed reports appear in your history.
Reading your band and lights
How are the competitiveness bands defined?
Your report gives one band, from highest to lowest: Most selective (Harvard / Yale / Princeton / Stanford & peers), Ivy & Top 10, Top 20, Top 30, and Top 50. Essays that do not fall into any of these are marked as outside the five bands. A band is a range judgment, not an admission prediction — it answers where this essay sits competitively, not whether a particular school will admit you.
What are the five dimension lights?
The five dimensions are story originality and depth, writing quality and craft, character and authenticity of voice, quality of thinking, and overall impression and memorability. Each gets a light: green means this dimension is working for you, yellow means there is a real weakness worth fixing, red means it is actively dragging the essay down. Work the red first, then yellow, and leave the greens alone.
What is the relationship between the band and the lights?
The band is the headline; the lights are the breakdown. Two essays can both land in Top 20 and need completely different work — one weak on craft but strong on material, the other structurally scattered but genuinely reflective. Revise by the lights, not by the band.
Does the report give me a numeric score?
No. The public output is bands and lights only, with no internal score shown. That is deliberate: a number pushes applicants toward optimizing the number instead of fixing the things that actually change how the essay reads.
Pricing and credits
How is it priced?
By credits. The three services — a quick evaluation, a full report, and a comparative re-evaluation of a revised draft — each consume a different amount. Current prices and what each tier includes are shown on the recharge page, always up to date.
Do unused credits expire?
No. Credits stay in your account with no expiry. Evaluations that fail or never produce a report are not charged, and anything already deducted is refunded automatically.
Which payment methods are supported?
International cards via Stripe, and WeChat Pay. Pick a channel on the recharge page.
Privacy and security
Is my essay used to train models?
No. Your essays are never used for model training, and they never appear on any public page or sample.
Who can see my essay?
Only your own account. The admin backend does not surface essay text for display, and quoted passages appear only inside your own report.
Can I delete my essays and reports?
Yes. Delete individual evaluations from your history, or contact us by email as described in the privacy policy to have your data removed.
Reports, revision, and re-evaluation
Can I evaluate again after revising?
Yes, and you should. A revised draft goes through comparative re-evaluation, which reads it against your previous report and shows what actually changed — what improved, and what got weaker. A single evaluation tells you how one draft reads; consecutive ones tell you whether your changes worked.
Are reports bilingual?
Yes. Reports switch between English and Chinese on the same evaluation result — switching language does not re-run the evaluation and does not change the conclusions.
The report says my material is weak. Should I change topics?
Not necessarily. Most of the time the problem is not the material but the angle and what you chose to cut — the same experience with a different opening and half the background removed can read completely differently. The report distinguishes a material problem from an execution problem; follow that, and do not switch topics just because you saw a red light.
Can I share my report with a counselor or my parents?
Please do. Reports are meant to be read and acted on. Handing someone the report together with the revision advice is far more useful than telling them secondhand that the feedback was negative.
UCAS three-question evaluations
Does Personal Statement Grader support UK UCAS statements?
Yes. From the 2026 admissions cycle the UCAS personal statement is a three-question format, and the evaluation fully covers it. Tiers follow the UK applicant pool — Oxbridge; G5 (excluding Oxbridge); Russell Group; Meets; Below — independent from the US-line bands.
What are the character rules for the three questions?
At least 350 characters per answer and no more than 4,000 characters in total including spaces — the official UCAS rules. An answer under 350 characters cannot be submitted for evaluation; slightly over-length drafts can still be evaluated with trimming advice, but the official system rejects over-long statements, so trim before you finalize.
How does the UCAS evaluation differ from the US one?
Two independent systems: different objects (three answers vs a 650-word essay), different tier scales (UK pool vs US pool), separate rubrics. The two report depths (Quick / Full) work the same way and cost the same credits — see the recharge page for current pricing.
Can a dual applicant reuse the same activities?
The material can be shared; the narrative cannot. The UK essay answers “what have you prepared for this subject” while the US essay answers “who are you.” See the guide UCAS vs Common App: Same Material, Two Different Essays for the full division of labour.
See a real report first
The sample reports page publishes real outputs from both product lines — the same sample essay through the full report and the quick evaluation, in exactly the format you will receive.
View sample reports →Last updated 2026-09-17