Checkmate College Client Services Agreement

College Checkmate LLC (“Checkmate College,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) provides educational coaching, college-planning, in-college student-support, organization, guidance, and accountability services under the Checkmate College brand. The adult who signs the enrollment agreement is the “Client.” The student receiving services is the “Student.” The person authorized to manage membership billing is the “Membership Manager.” The Client is ordinarily the initial Membership Manager unless Checkmate College records a different authorized person. Billing authority does not itself create access to Student information.

The online service is intended for Students age 13 or older. If the Student is age 13–17, the Client must be a parent or legal guardian authorized to consent to the Student’s participation.

1. Purpose and Included Services

The Student may begin with the Checkmate College journey that matches where the Student is today. The Getting to College journey covers planning, applications, financial-aid and scholarship processes, enrollment, and Day One readiness. The In College journey covers semester planning, organization, accountability, course and deadline support, professor and campus-resource guidance, registration, financial-aid process guidance, college administration, and other ordinary student-success responsibilities.

The $210 monthly membership guarantees two 30 minute one-to-one Team Huddles by Zoom during each monthly service period. For a new Getting to College relationship, the first Team Huddle is centered on building the Game Plan and starting to make Moves. For the In College journey, the first Team Huddle for the relationship or new semester, as applicable, is centered on building the Semester Game Plan and starting to make Moves. The membership also includes a customized Board appropriate to the active service; organization, accountability, and deadline support; proactive follow up; quick-question access between Team Huddles through approved communication channels; and Parent Position Updates when applicable and permitted. If something important genuinely needs more live time, the Student may request an additional Team Huddle. Checkmate College may approve one additional 30 minute Team Huddle for that monthly service period, subject to availability and at no additional charge. An extra Team Huddle is need-based, is not guaranteed, does not automatically recur, and does not roll over.

A Student who completes the Getting to College journey may continue into the In College journey without creating a new account or membership. When that continuation is activated, the completed Getting to College game is preserved as a read-only archive and the active Board changes to the current semester. A Student who is already in college may begin directly with the In College journey.

Services are personalized to the Student’s situation. Checkmate College may adjust the order or emphasis of services based on deadlines, progress, the Student’s stated goals, the active service, and what needs attention now. The Student’s service choice, membership payment, or continuation does not expand family access to Student information. Adult-Student sharing remains controlled separately under Section 9.

2. What Checkmate College Does Not Do

• Guarantee admission, acceptance, scholarships, financial-aid eligibility or amounts, housing, enrollment, course availability, grades, GPA, academic standing, retention, graduation, employment, or any other result.
• Make decisions for colleges, professors, instructors, advisors, scholarship providers, government agencies, testing organizations, employers, or other third parties.
• Act as the Student’s official academic advisor, registrar, financial-aid officer, tutor, instructor, disability-services provider, health provider, or representative of the Student’s college.
• Submit, certify, attest to, or electronically sign applications, FAFSA forms, scholarship applications, enrollment documents, academic work, or other official submissions on the Student’s behalf.
• Write or substantially create an application essay, personal statement, assignment, or response for the Student to submit as the Student’s own work.
• Provide legal, tax, accounting, investment, lending, medical, mental-health, or other licensed professional advice.
• Serve as an emergency, crisis, or continuously monitored 24/7 service.

3. Student Ownership and Family Responsibilities

The Student owns the work and decisions. Checkmate College can organize the Board, explain options, help prepare questions or communications, identify resources, and make the next Move clear, but the Student and Client remain responsible for decisions, accuracy, deadlines, attendance, academic work, official communications, and final submissions. The Student and Client agree to provide accurate and timely information; verify official requirements and deadlines with authoritative sources; complete and submit required materials by the actual deadline; personally review documents before submission; attend scheduled meetings prepared to participate; maintain control of personal accounts and credentials; and follow each institution’s academic-integrity, application, conduct, and artificial-intelligence rules.

4. Deadlines and Third-Party Information

Deadline tracking is a support service, not a transfer of responsibility. Colleges, instructors, campus offices, government agencies, and other organizations may change deadlines, requirements, schedules, forms, policies, course availability, or procedures without notice. Checkmate College is not responsible for errors, outages, delays, lost submissions, portal problems, email filtering, changed third-party rules, or inaccurate or incomplete information supplied by the Client, Student, or a third party.

5. Writing, Applications, Coursework, Academic Integrity, and AI

Checkmate College may provide brainstorming, writing instruction, feedback, proofreading, editing, communication coaching, and message starters. Our role is coaching and support, not authorship or completion of the Student’s work. The Student must originate and approve the substance of application materials, coursework, messages, forms, and other submissions and is responsible for originality, truthfulness, accuracy, and final content. The Student is responsible for following each institution’s current rules regarding AI, editing, outside assistance, academic integrity, and conduct.

6. FAFSA, Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Money

Checkmate College may explain general processes, help organize required steps, identify questions to ask, and point the Student or family toward official resources relating to FAFSA, scholarships, cost of attendance, account balances, payment deadlines, and financial aid. Eligibility, aid calculations, tax treatment, scholarship rules, award amounts, and lending decisions are controlled by government agencies, institutions, and other third parties. Checkmate College does not provide legal, tax, accounting, investment, lending, or individualized financial advice.

Sensitive-information rule: Do not send Checkmate College Social Security numbers, tax-return copies, banking passwords, FSA IDs, full financial-account numbers, authentication codes, or other credentials through ordinary email, text, the Board, or video chat unless Checkmate College has expressly provided a secure method for a specific necessary purpose.

7. Monthly Billing, Two-Month Initial Commitment, Membership Lifecycle, Cancellation, and Refunds

$210 monthly membership. Payment is due in advance for each monthly service period. By completing recurring checkout with Checkmate College’s payment processor, the Client authorizes recurring charges to the payment method on file as described in this Section.

Two-month initial commitment for new memberships. A new membership begins with two consecutive monthly service periods. The minimum initial financial commitment is $420 total, billed as $210 when the membership is activated and $210 on the next recurring monthly billing date. The Client authorizes both payments when enrolling, subject to applicable law and any written exception agreed to by Checkmate College.

Real service begins in Month 1. The two-month start is not a waiting or setup-only period. Checkmate College begins the applicable Board, Game Plan or Semester Game Plan, Team Huddles, guidance, accountability, and active Moves during the first service period. The second service period provides the follow-through window to continue the work, adjust as circumstances change, and address the next priorities.

Month-to-month after the initial commitment. After the first two paid monthly service periods, the membership renews for successive one-month service periods until canceled.

Cancellation during the initial commitment. The Membership Manager may send cancellation notice at any time. If notice is received before the two-month initial commitment has been completed, the membership will be scheduled to end after the second paid monthly service period; the second committed monthly payment remains due and authorized. The Client is not required to give a separate cancellation notice after the second payment.

Cancellation after the initial commitment. After the first two paid monthly service periods, the Membership Manager may stop the next renewal by emailing help@checkmatecollege.com before the next billing date. There is no additional 30-day or 60-day cancellation-notice period.

Checkmate College to Checkmate College continuation. When an active Checkmate College membership continues directly into Checkmate College without ending, that transition does not restart a new two-month initial commitment. A former membership that has ended and is later restarted may be subject to the then-current enrollment terms, which will be disclosed before reactivation.

Membership lifecycle. Checkmate College may display operational states such as Active, Break/Summer, Paused, Cancelling, Ended, or Restarting so everyone can understand the service status. These operational labels preserve history and clarify what happens next. Changing an in-app service state does not by itself pause, cancel, refund, or restart payment processing. A billing change is effective only when confirmed through the applicable billing process or in writing by Checkmate College.

Refunds. Cancellation does not retroactively refund services already billed or delivered, or a monthly service period that has already begun, except where required by law or expressly agreed in writing. Checkmate College may cancel or decline to renew services and will refund any prepaid amount for services it elects not to provide.

Restarting. A former Student may be able to restart service without creating a new account. Reactivation is subject to current availability, pricing, current initial-commitment terms if applicable, updated agreements or consents when required, and successful payment activation.

Price changes. Checkmate College may change pricing for future billing periods after the initial two-month commitment by providing advance written notice. A price change will not be applied retroactively, and the Membership Manager may cancel before the new price takes effect.

8. Team Huddle Scheduling, Rescheduling, Late Changes, and Service Boundaries

The two guaranteed Team Huddles are scheduled by mutual availability. The Client/Student should give at least 12 hours’ notice whenever reasonably possible to cancel or reschedule. A proper reschedule does not use an additional Team Huddle. A cancellation made with at least 12 hours’ notice returns that Team Huddle to the Student for the current service period. Checkmate College generally provides reasonable grace for an occasional late cancellation because unexpected things happen. Repeated cancellations made inside 12 hours, or a missed Team Huddle without notice, may count as one of the two guaranteed Team Huddles. If Checkmate College cancels or reschedules, the Team Huddle never counts against the Student’s allowance. Genuine emergencies or unusual circumstances may receive additional grace at Checkmate College’s reasonable discretion. Unused guaranteed Team Huddles do not automatically roll over. If something important genuinely needs more live time, the Student may request an additional Team Huddle. Checkmate College may approve one additional 30 minute Team Huddle for that monthly service period, subject to availability and at no additional charge. Requests may also be handled through a Board message or shorter call when that is sufficient. Additional appointments beyond the approved third Team Huddle are not included in the monthly membership unless separately agreed in writing.

Between Team Huddles. Board messages, text, email, and phone may be used for reasonable quick questions, clarification, and help with a current Move. These channels are asynchronous and are not continuously monitored. Checkmate College aims to respond promptly, generally within one business day, but no specific response time is guaranteed. Longer planning, coaching, document-review, or problem-solving conversations may be moved to a scheduled Team Huddle or separate appointment. The membership does not include unlimited on-demand meetings, unlimited document revisions, or 24/7 availability.

Emergencies and urgent safety needs. Checkmate College is not an emergency, crisis, medical, mental-health, legal, or safety-response service. For immediate danger or urgent health or safety concerns, contact 911, 988 where appropriate, campus safety, a licensed professional, or another appropriate local resource rather than waiting for a Checkmate College response.

9. Communication, Family Support, Membership Authority, and Adult-Student Privacy

The Student and assigned Checkmate College teammate are the two teammates in the 2•1•0 model. Family members may support the team, but they are not automatically entitled to the Student’s information. For a minor Student, the parent/legal guardian may receive progress information and participate as permitted by law, this Agreement, and the Privacy Policy.

At age 18, minor-based family access pauses unless and until the adult Student affirmatively authorizes specific sharing. The adult Student controls permitted family access to progress, Parent Actions, Team Huddle information, family messages, and ASK PARENT participation. Payment, Client status, or Membership Manager status does not itself grant access to Student information. Family permissions may be changed or revoked prospectively by the adult Student.

Checkmate College may contact the Student and, where applicable and permitted, the Client or family members through Board messages, email, text, phone, scheduling tools, and related service channels. Checkmate College may make disclosures reasonably necessary to address a credible safety concern, comply with lawful process, protect rights or security, notify an insurer or counsel, or preserve evidence. Such a disclosure does not create ongoing family access.

10. Technology, Board Access, Privacy, and Records

Services may use the Checkmate College Board, Parent Hub, email, text messaging, video meetings, scheduling tools, cloud services, and payment processors. No internet-based system is completely risk-free. Checkmate College will use reasonable administrative and technical practices to protect information in its control, and its Privacy Policy is incorporated by reference where applicable. The Client and Student agree to use their own accounts responsibly and not to share login credentials.

Checkmate College may retain versioned agreements, electronic-signature evidence, consent and authority records, date-of-birth/age-transition records, membership-manager records, family-sharing grants and revocations, continuation approvals, membership lifecycle events, completed-game and semester archives, Board activity, resource-verification records, material communications, safety or incident records, and related audit information for legitimate business, legal, insurance, security, quality-control, and dispute-resolution purposes. If a complaint, incident, claim, investigation, or litigation is reasonably anticipated, Checkmate College may preserve relevant records beyond ordinary retention periods.

Checkmate College is not the Student’s school and does not represent that FERPA applies to Checkmate College in the same manner that it applies to educational institutions. Checkmate College will not audio- or video-record a Student meeting unless all legally required permissions and any appropriate parent/legal-guardian consent have been obtained and documented in advance. The Client and Student agree not to record meetings without advance written permission from Checkmate College and any other participant.

11. No Outcome Guarantee

Admissions, scholarships, financial aid, enrollment, course registration, grades, GPA, academic standing, retention, housing, graduation, career, and employment outcomes depend on factors outside Checkmate College’s control, including the Student’s academic work, attendance, conduct, choices, application quality, instructor decisions, institutional policies, course availability, available funding, competition, and other third-party decisions. The family is purchasing a defined process of planning, guidance, organization, accountability, and human support — not a particular result.

12. Term and Termination

For a new membership, this Agreement includes the two-month initial commitment described in Section 7 and then continues month to month until canceled or terminated. Checkmate College may suspend or terminate services for nonpayment, harassment, threats, abusive or unsafe conduct, repeated nonparticipation, dishonesty, requests to engage in unethical or unlawful conduct, misuse of Checkmate College systems, or another material breach of this Agreement. Billing and refunds after termination are handled under Section 7.

13. Important Release of Certain Claims

14. Limitation of Liability

14A. Client Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Client agrees to indemnify and hold harmless College Checkmate LLC and its owners, employees, contractors, and agents from third-party claims, liabilities, damages, and reasonable costs arising directly from fraud or intentional misconduct by the Client or Student; knowingly false information provided by the Client or Student; unauthorized access to another person’s account; intellectual-property infringement caused by material supplied by the Client or Student; illegal use of Checkmate College systems; or a material breach of this Agreement by the Client. This Section does not require the Client to indemnify Checkmate College for Checkmate College’s own gross negligence, willful misconduct, or other liability that cannot legally be shifted.

15. Intellectual Property and Marketing

Checkmate College retains ownership of its original templates, Boards, checklists, roadmaps, worksheets, methods, branding, and other proprietary materials. The Student and Client receive a limited, personal, noncommercial right to use materials supplied for the Student’s own college-planning and in-college support process. They may not resell, publish, or commercially distribute those materials without written permission.

Signing this Agreement does not grant Checkmate College permission to use the Student’s name, image, testimonial, admissions result, academic result, work, or identifying story for marketing. Any such use requires a separate voluntary written release, including any additional consent required for a minor.

16. Independent Service

Checkmate College is an independent service provider. This Agreement does not create a fiduciary, partnership, joint venture, employment, agency, attorney-client, financial-advisory, therapist-patient, medical-provider, or school-student relationship.

16A. No Reliance on Contrary Oral Promises

The Client acknowledges that Checkmate College has not promised or guaranteed any result except the services expressly described in this Agreement. The Client is not relying on an oral promise, sales statement, social-media post, advertisement, conversation, or informal communication that directly contradicts this Agreement. Nothing in this Section permits deceptive or fraudulent representations.

16B. Force Majeure

Checkmate College is not responsible for delay or inability to perform caused by circumstances reasonably outside its control, including severe weather, natural disaster, widespread internet or telecommunications failure, governmental action, labor disruption, widespread provider outage, war, civil emergency, or similar extraordinary event. Checkmate College will make reasonable efforts to resume affected services.

17. Florida Law; Disputes

The parties agree to try in good faith to resolve concerns directly before filing a lawsuit when practical. This Agreement is governed by Florida law, without regard to conflict-of-law principles and subject to any nonwaivable consumer protections. Unless applicable law requires otherwise, any court proceeding relating to this Agreement will be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in Marion County, Florida.

18. General Terms, Survival, and Electronic Signatures

This Agreement, together with the applicable Privacy Policy, payment authorization, and any signed addendum incorporated into it, states the parties’ agreement concerning the services and replaces prior discussions on the same subject. Changes to this Agreement must be in writing and agreed to by the affected parties, except for operational policies or future pricing updates expressly allowed above. If one provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain effective. Failure to enforce a provision once does not waive the right to enforce it later. Provisions that by their nature should continue after cancellation or termination—including payment obligations already incurred, intellectual property, releases, limitations of liability, indemnification, governing law, and dispute provisions—survive. Electronic records, electronic signatures, and counterparts may be used to the extent permitted by law.

Effectiveness. This Agreement becomes binding when the Client electronically signs it and the first $210 membership payment is successfully processed. For a new membership, the Client’s authorization at enrollment includes the second $210 payment that forms the two-month initial commitment described in Section 7. The “Effective Date” is the date both conditions have been satisfied. No Checkmate College countersignature is required.

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Version: 2026-09-23-v14