We are Cialfo

We support high school students and their counselors throughout the early career exploration and college search and selection process. Read our story!

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Who are we?

Headquartered in Singapore, with over 250 employees located worldwide, Cialfo is a fast-growing, global edtech company and student-first career exploration and college application network.

Originally inspired by the Olympic motto Citius, Altius, Fortius, our name Cialfo reflects what we believe education is really about: becoming a better (faster, higher, stronger) version of yourself.

We support high school students and their counselors throughout the early career exploration and college search and selection process. With our cutting-edge technology, we help students and everyone who supports them – their counselors, parents, and university recruiters - think differently about their options in an increasingly cluttered and confusing space, so they can take the best next steps towards realizing their ideal future.

Today, we hold a trusted partner status among over 1000 higher education institutions in 50+ countries, as well as counselors and leaders at more than 2000 schools globally.

Our mission

Our measure of success is to make education accessible to 100 million students globally by 2030.

What we do

Cialfo helps high school students to:

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Get faster access to reliable, unbiased information and resources related to colleges, courses, and scholarships

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Aim higher and discover their best-fit courses and majors without the limitations of geography

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Build a stronger plan for their future with the help of Cialfo’s AI-driven recommendations and guidance from expert Student Education Advisors

With Cialfo, school leaders and counselors can:

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Develop faster and more streamlined workflows for counseling, reporting and data-backed decision-making

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Achieve higher levels of student and parent engagement

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Create a stronger framework of college application and scholarship guidance for their students

Cialfo helps higher education institutions to:

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Enjoy faster ways to understand and adapt to emerging trends impacting the entire education sector

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Make higher quality decisions about their international recruitment strategies, based on real-time data and insights

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Build stronger relationships with our global network of 250,000 students, their counselors and parents by creating high-touch engagement experiences

2017

Year founded

2000+

Schools use Cialfo

1000+

Universities globally trust Cialfo

105+

Countries have active Cialfo users

250

Passionate Cialfolks across the world

Our story

How it started

Though Cialfo was founded in its present form in 2017, our story goes back further, to when our CEO and Co-founder Rohan Pasari was a student himself. The confusion and dissonance he experienced while trying to find his ideal college choice would later become his inspiration for starting Cialfo along with Stanley Chia and William Hund.

See our timeline here

Early growth

We have spent four years connecting with counselors and educators worldwide to deepen our understanding of their most pressing needs while building a comprehensive career exploration and college application offering to help address them.

By 2021, over 250,000 students and their families were using Cialfo not only to connect with counselors, but also with over 1,000 universities in 50 countries, making it a truly global community and a powerful network, too.

The future awaits

As we grow, we aim to create an exceptional, “360” experience for the entire higher education ecosystem that puts students front and center. Join us!

Our clients

Jserra Catholic High School
HFS
John Burroughs
Chirec International School
Episcopal Academy
International School of Kuala Lumpur
Durham University
Florida International University
RYAN
UWC
Mahatma Gandhi International School
Oberoi Intl School
Krea University
Amity University
Christopher Columbus School
Castilleja
OP Jindal University
Leiden University
Brooklyn Friends School
The University of British Columbia
University of Toronto
Washington State University
Xi'an Tieyi High School
The University of Queensland
Branksome Hall Asia
Shanghai Qibao Dwight High School
Tsinghua University High School
The Alice Smith School
Cathedral JC
Trinity School
University of Warwick
American School in Japan
Imperial College London
Yk Pao School
Ningbo Foreign Language School
Dhirubhai Ambani International
American School of the Hague
University of Guelph
Trinity College Dublin
Reedley
Hill School
Shenzhen Middle School
Plaksha University
University of Bath
Shiv Nadar Schools
IE University
Manthan School
BVIS Hanoi
Lancaster University
The University of Melbourne
Bangalore International School
Aditya Birla World Academy
SAS

Here’s what some of our clients say about us

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"Working with Cialfo feels like being home after a long time. Excellent support and service, easy-to-use features, gathered with a friendly team who always welcome feedback not only makes things easier but it makes it fun. I feel lucky and privileged to go through our usual stressful application session with my first graduating class with Cialfo."

Güniz Gucukoglu
Ted Izmir College, Turkey

"We are excited to partner with Cialfo in increasing higher education access to students across the globe. Since 1890 Washington State has been committed to advancing, extending and applying knowledge through global engagement. Our partnership with Cialfo allows us to deliver on that mission to the 1600+ schools where students use Cialfo to apply to colleges and universities. Our partnership with Cialfo allows us to share the Coug spirit with 100+ countries and inspire future Cougs."

Dr. Daniel Saud
Director of International Programs, Admissions, Recruitment & Marketing, Washington State University

“It's sometimes very hard to figure out the success rate [of recruitment initiatives]. But for Cialfo with this tool [Higher Ed Insights], it’s much easier for the institution to figure out the success rate.”

Carolyn Barr
International Relations Adviser, Leiden University

"Cialfo's customer support, professional development, and dedication to non-stop product improvement have not only made my work easier, but also have made it easier for our whole counseling team to elevate our counseling program. This is especially visible in the application results at our school."

Francis Miller
Director of College Counseling, Xian Tie Yi High School, China

Our investors

Vulcan Capital
Seek
Lim Teck Lee
Square Peg
Alto Partners
B Capital Group
Bisk
SIG
DLF Venture
January Capital
SEEDS Capital
Tiger Global

Awards

PIEoneer Awards 2022 finalist
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2021 Education Investor Awards Finalist
Edtechx Asia
2018 Education Investor Asia
2021 SOUTHEAST ASIA EDTECH

Our partners

NACAC Group Logo
Global Leadership League Logo
International ACAC Logo
Slate Logo
Parchment logo
Common app logo

Cialfo in the media

We’ve been in the news!
Go to our Press page
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Our values

Cialfolks around the world are guided by some common values that drive all our behaviours and decisions. These are:

Student-first

The student is the center of our world. All our actions, plans, and decisions are designed with a student-first attitude.

Community-driven

We want to change the world, and this cannot happen without the support of the larger community.

Impact at scale 

Changing the world necessitates doing difficult things, and making the choices that would have a larger impact. We think scale in everything we do.

Our team

We are a global team, living and working out of different corners of the world. Our diversity is what makes us special. At last count, we had 19 different nationalities represented in Cialfo!

Apart from our head office in Singapore, we also have offices in India, China, and the United States. Of course, a number of us also work remotely - you’ll find Cialfolks in 14 different locations across the world.

Get in touch with us!

Contact us