Privacy Policy

We collect the following types of information through the Platform:

• Full name and contact details (email address, phone number, mailing address)
• Date of birth
• Demographic information (optional)
• School name and address
• Current GPA and academic standing
• Test scores (if provided)
• Academic transcripts
• Essays and personal statements
• Uploaded documents (transcripts, photos)
• Recommendation letters submitted on your behalf
• Names and contact information of your recommenders
• Their professional affiliations
• IP address and browser information
• Device information
• Usage data and analytics

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To evaluate your scholarship application
• To assess eligibility based on stated criteria
• To compare applications during the selection process
• To send application confirmations and updates
• To notify you of important deadlines
• To inform you of selection decisions
• To respond to your inquiries
• To maintain and improve the Platform
• To generate anonymous analytics about application trends
• To troubleshoot technical issues
• To ensure platform security
• To comply with applicable laws and regulations
• To maintain records for tax and audit purposes
• To protect our legal rights

We respect your privacy and limit sharing of your personal information:

• Selection committee members who evaluate applications
• Program administrators who manage the scholarship
• Convex (database and file storage)
• Resend (email delivery)
• Vercel (hosting and deployment)
• We do not sell your personal information to third parties
• We do not share your information for marketing purposes
• We do not share your essay content outside the evaluation process

We take the security of your information seriously:

• All data is stored securely on Convex, a SOC 2 Type II compliant cloud database
• Files are stored in Convex Storage with enterprise-grade security
• Data is backed up regularly to prevent loss
• Encryption in transit using TLS/SSL
• Encryption at rest for stored data
• Access controls limiting data access to authorized personnel only
• Regular security audits and monitoring
• Only authorized committee members and administrators can access application data
• Each user account is protected by authentication
• Administrative access is logged and monitored

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• You can view your submitted application data through your dashboard
• You can download copies of documents you've uploaded
• You may request corrections to inaccurate information before the application deadline
• After submission, contact us to discuss corrections needed
• You may withdraw your application at any time before the selection announcement
• Withdrawal will result in deletion of your application data (see Data Retention)
• You may request deletion of your account and data
• Note that winners' data must be retained for 7 years for tax purposes
• Data deletion requests must be submitted before the selection announcement to avoid retention requirements

Our Platform uses cookies and similar technologies:

• Session cookies to maintain your login state
• Security cookies to protect against unauthorized access
• Preference cookies to remember your settings
• We may use analytics cookies to understand how users interact with the Platform
• This helps us improve the user experience
• Analytics data is aggregated and anonymized
• No third-party advertising cookies
• No tracking for targeted advertising
• No cross-site tracking pixels

We retain your information for the following periods:

• Applications are kept for 1 year after the selection announcement
• After 1 year, all application data is permanently deleted
• Winners' information is retained for 7 years
• This retention is required for tax reporting and audit purposes
• After 7 years, this data is also permanently deleted
• Active accounts remain until deletion is requested
• Deleted accounts are processed according to the above timelines
• We may retain anonymized statistical data indefinitely
• This data cannot be linked back to individual applicants

The Stark Scholars Platform is designed for high school seniors and college students:

• Applicants must be at least 13 years of age
• Most applicants are 17-22 years old
• We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13
• If we discover we have collected information from a child under 13 without parental consent, we will delete it immediately
• Applicants under 18 should have parental or guardian consent
• We recommend parents review this Privacy Policy with their children

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time:

• We will post the updated Privacy Policy on this page
• The "Last Updated" date will be revised
• Significant changes may be notified via email to registered users
• Your continued use of the Platform after changes constitutes acceptance
• We encourage you to review this policy periodically