Why Fourposts exists
Because “I'll just use a spreadsheet” stops working around application #4.
Here's what actually happens during application season: you're juggling a dozen schools with different deadlines, hunting for scholarships between classes, trying to remember which teachers you asked for recs, and your parents keep texting “how's the application going?” while you're already stressed enough.
Meanwhile your grades still matter, your extracurriculars still need you, and somehow you're supposed to write a compelling personal essay about who you are as a person.
Your brain is constantly switching between two modes: “what do I need to do right now?” and “how am I doing overall?” Those are genuinely different ways of thinking, and cramming them into one spreadsheet is why it all feels so chaotic.
Fourposts is the app we wish existed when we went through this. Today shows you what's due. Work shows you how you're doing. Apps tracks where you're going. Money tracks how you're paying for it. Four tabs. Four questions. Open it, see exactly where everything stands, get back to your life.
We get it
For students
You're not disorganized — you're overwhelmed. There's a difference. Fourposts gives you two views that match how you actually think: a Today tab for what's due right now (check it on the bus, cross things off after school) and a Work tab for how you're doing in your classes (grades, GPA, the big picture). No more bouncing between five apps and a spreadsheet.
For parents
You want to help, but every question feels like nagging. Fourposts lets you see where things stand without starting a fight at dinner. The Work tab shows grades and GPA at a glance — research shows that when students can see their own progress, their confidence goes up and their grades follow. Your kid stays in control. You stay informed. No social features, no comparing your kid to anyone else — just their stuff, organized.
For counselors
You're managing hundreds of students through the same stressful process. Fourposts keeps them organized so your meetings can be about strategy, not status updates. It works alongside whatever your school already uses — it's a personal organizer, not a replacement for your guidance.
Who builds this
Fourposts is built by Josh — a PhD candidate in the business school at the University of Guelph with a background in experimental and applied psychology. His research focuses on how people explore new interests and make decisions when they're juggling a lot of options — which, if you think about it, is pretty much the entire college application experience.
That combination — understanding how the mind works under pressure, and studying how people navigate big life choices — is exactly why Fourposts is designed the way it is. The Today/Work split comes from research on self-regulated learning: doing mode and reflection mode are genuinely different mental states. The no-shame language comes from self-efficacy research. The daily habit loop — open, see, complete, done — comes from behavioral science on habit formation. None of this is accidental. Every design decision is backed by research about how students actually think and feel when the stakes are high.
Fourposts is part of Opus Vita, a small studio in Canada that builds tools for students and researchers. We take your family's privacy seriously — no ads, no data selling, no social features that pit students against each other. Just a clean, private space to stay organized through one of the most important seasons of your life.
Senior year is hard enough.
Let Fourposts handle the tracking so you can handle the rest.