Terms of Service

Effective August 21, 2026

These terms govern your use of The Human Reader (“we,” “us”) and the services offered at thehumanreader.com. By submitting a form or otherwise using this site, you agree to these terms.

What we provide

We provide feedback, scores, and coaching on college application essays, UC Personal Insight Questions (PIQs), and related written materials. All feedback is written by a human reader — we do not use AI to write, rewrite, or generate any part of your essay, and we do not use AI to generate the substance of the feedback you receive. We use automated matching only to pair your submission with an appropriate human reader.

No guarantee of outcomes

Your Application Score and any written feedback are diagnostic opinions intended to help you improve your writing. They are not a guarantee of admission, a specific score improvement, financial aid, or any other outcome. College admissions decisions depend on many factors outside our control.

Your essay stays yours

You retain full ownership of anything you submit. Submitting an essay, PIQ, or paragraph to us does not transfer any ownership or license beyond what is needed for a matched reader to read and respond to it. Do not submit writing that isn’t your own or that you don’t have permission to share.

Eligibility and parental consent

You must be at least 13 years old to use this service. If you are under 18, you confirm that a parent or guardian is aware of and consents to your use of this service, including the submission of your essay content to a matched human reader.

Free offers

The free Application Score and free paragraph review are each limited to one submission per person and are offered at our discretion. We may decline or limit submissions that appear abusive, automated, or unrelated to a genuine college application essay.

Acceptable use

• Submit only your own original writing, or writing you have permission to share.
• Do not use this service to plagiarize, or to have someone else’s words presented as your own beyond the feedback you receive.
• Do not attempt to disrupt, scrape, or misuse the site or its forms.

Limitation of liability

The service is provided “as is,” without warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by law, our liability for any claim arising from your use of this service is limited to the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim, and we are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including lost admissions opportunities or scholarships.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California.

Contact

Questions about these terms? Email us at review@thehumanreader.com.