Terms of Service & Liability Waiver

2. Nature of the Service — Editorial Information, Not Advice

WikiCounsellor publishes editorial articles, scholarship directories, application calendars, visa compliance briefings, and similar informational content. All content published on the Platform is general in nature and is intended as an editorial reference only. It is not, and is not intended to be, a substitute for legal advice, immigration advice, financial advice, tax advice, psychological counselling, or admissions decision-making by an authorised representative of an academic institution.

No counsellor-client, attorney-client, or fiduciary relationship is created between you and WikiCounsellor by your use of the Platform, by reading our content, by subscribing to our communications, or by sending us a message. Personalised advice is provided only under a separate, signed engagement letter with a named professional, and is not formed by general correspondence.

3. User Safety, Documentation Integrity, and Prohibited Conduct

Higher education and immigration are domains in which inaccurate or fraudulent documentation can cause severe, lasting harm to a student — including visa refusal, multi-year entry bans, revocation of admission, expulsion, and criminal liability. In keeping with global standards on user safety in educational consulting, WikiCounsellor expressly prohibits any use of the Platform that facilitates academic dishonesty or immigration fraud.

You agree that you will not use the Platform to:

• Submit, request, or distribute fabricated transcripts, forged degrees, manufactured recommendation letters, ghostwritten statements of purpose presented as your own, or any document that misrepresents your identity, qualifications, or financial standing;
• Solicit or offer impersonation services for standardized tests (including TOEFL, IELTS, GRE, GMAT, SAT, Duolingo English Test, and equivalent assessments);
• Misrepresent material facts to a consular officer, admissions committee, scholarship awarding body, or sponsor;
• Reproduce or redistribute WikiCounsellor content in a manner designed to mislead readers about its source, recency, or verification status;
• Scrape, mirror, or redistribute scholarship and visa data without written authorisation, where such redistribution would degrade the accuracy on which third-party readers rely.

We reserve the right to suspend access, refuse correspondence, and cooperate with academic institutions, scholarship sponsors, and governmental authorities where we have a credible basis to suspect conduct of the kind described above.

4. Accuracy, Currency, and Independent Verification

We invest substantial editorial effort in cross-verifying scholarship and visa data with official primary sources, including DAAD, Erasmus+, and Fulbright. Despite this, government policies, university requirements, scholarship deadlines, stipend amounts, currency conversions, and consular procedures change frequently and sometimes without notice. WikiCounsellor cannot, and does not, warrant that any specific page is current or complete at the moment you read it.

You are required to independently verify any fact you intend to rely on for an application, payment, travel decision, or legal filing by consulting the relevant official source — the issuing university, the awarding body, the embassy or consulate of the destination country, or a licensed professional in your jurisdiction — before taking action. Reliance on Platform content without such independent verification is at your sole risk.

5. Third-Party Links, Advertisements, and Sponsorships

The Platform contains links to third-party websites, programmatic advertisements served by ad networks, and references to scholarship providers, universities, and service providers. These references and advertisements are provided for convenience only and do not constitute an endorsement. We do not control third-party content, policies, or pricing, and we disclaim any liability arising from your interaction with third parties, including any contracts you may enter into with them.

Where WikiCounsellor receives compensation for an advertisement, an affiliate link, or a sponsored placement, the unit will be clearly labelled in compliance with applicable advertising regulations and with our Editorial Policy. Editorial coverage is never offered for sale; sponsorship does not influence our scholarship verification workflow.

6. Intellectual Property

All content on the Platform — including written articles, directories, infographics, photography, branding, and source code — is the property of WikiCounsellor or its licensors and is protected by international copyright and trademark law. You may view, link to, and quote brief excerpts of editorial content for personal, non-commercial purposes with proper attribution. Any other use, including reproduction in a derivative product, training of machine-learning models, or commercial redistribution, requires prior written authorisation.

7. Accounts, Communications, and User Submissions

If we make user accounts available, you agree to provide accurate information, to maintain the confidentiality of your credentials, and to be responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. By submitting a question, comment, document, or other content for editorial review or community discussion, you grant WikiCounsellor a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to use, edit, redact, and display the submission for the purposes of operating the Platform, subject to any privacy obligations we owe you under applicable law.

8. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

The Platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the maximum extent permitted by law, WikiCounsellor disclaims all warranties, whether express, implied, or statutory, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, WikiCounsellor, its officers, editors, contributors, and partners shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, educational opportunity, scholarship award, admission, visa, or goodwill, arising out of or in connection with your use of the Platform, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. To the extent any liability cannot be excluded by law, our aggregate liability to you for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms shall not exceed one hundred United States dollars (USD 100).

9. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless WikiCounsellor, its directors, editors, contributors, and partners from and against any claim, demand, loss, liability, damage, cost, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or relating to (a) your use of the Platform; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any law or the rights of any third party; or (d) any content you submit to the Platform.

10. Suspension and Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Platform at any time, with or without notice, including (without limitation) for conduct we reasonably believe violates these Terms, exposes us or other users to liability, or harms the integrity of the Platform. Sections that by their nature should survive termination — including disclaimers, limitations of liability, indemnification, and governing-law provisions — shall survive.

11. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which WikiCounsellor Media maintains its registered editorial office, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Platform shall first be addressed by good-faith negotiation; if unresolved within thirty (30) days, the dispute shall be submitted to binding arbitration before a single arbitrator, conducted in the English language. Nothing in this clause prevents either party from seeking injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction for the protection of intellectual property rights.

12. Changes to these Terms

We may revise these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our editorial operations, the legal environment, or the services we offer. The current version is always posted at this URL with the effective date shown above. Material changes will be highlighted with a notice on the homepage or through email where you have subscribed. Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date of revised Terms constitutes acceptance of those revisions.

13. Contacting Editorial & Legal

If you have a question about these Terms, a correction request, or a takedown notice, please reach our editorial and legal team via the Contact page. For governance and verification standards, see our Editorial Policy.