Tilt
Web experience for students preparing for college admissions
UX Design
User Research
Shipped
Overview
Tilt serves high school students who need help in tackling both college application processes and financial aid by providing an organized database specific to teach student's post secondary education plan. Our team of four UX designers completed immense research and developed concepts and prototypes to influence our client on their business opportunity and product improvements.
Role & Duration
Background
Tilt began as a promising startup with a mission: to guide under-resourced students through the maze of college and financial aid applications. Their initial tool, built on Airtable, aimed to break down the application process into manageable tasks. However, the early promise of Tilt faced a reality check. The tool wasn’t hitting the mark, and Tilt struggled to understand why.
Initial challenge
Tilt's original goal was to conduct usability testing and develop a mobile platform. However, we discovered early on that Tilt lacked the necessary testing and data to understand why their product wasn’t resonating with students. Furthermore, the product didn’t effectively address the needs of under-resourced students. With only 4 weeks and a remote client, we set the following goals
Validate Tilt’s mission of supporting under-resourced students
Enhance the existing Airtable toolkit and reassess its information architecture
Gathering insights from research
UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE
To better understand the market, we delved into the college application and financial aid systems. We hypothesized that students were struggling with researching school requirements and needed clearer steps in the application process. We examined competitors like College Dash and Common App, revealing that they provided comprehensive application support, making Tilt’s initial offering seem redundant.
Tilt's direct competitors were performing better and providing more diverse features than Tilt.
HEARING FROM STUDENTS
Determined to uncover deeper insights, we interviewed 8 students—4 high school seniors and 4 college freshmen/sophomores. Their stories painted a vivid picture of the real challenges they faced:
Students were already using spreadsheets to manage their applications.
Students needed more hep with their financial aid applications than with their college applications.
The essay component was seen as the most critical part of the college application.
Redefining Tilt's mission
PIVOTING FOCUS
With a clearer understanding, we recognized Tilt needed to adjust its focus. Instead of targeting only under-resourced students, Tilt should aim to support all high school students nearing their senior year. We also realized that a mobile app wasn’t the answer as students preferred using laptops for these tasks.
IDENTIFYING THE OPPORTUNITY
Despite the strong competition, we discovered gaps where Tilt could stand out. Competitors provided robust college application support but fell short in financial aid guidance and comprehensive task management. This was Tilt’s chance to innovate. We proposed the following problem statement:
REESTABLISHING BUSINESS AND PROJECT DIRECTION
The client and our team agreed to move forward with the following avenues:
Wireframing and testing the solution
IDEATING FOR POTENTIAL CONCEPT
We brainstormed 4 concepts for Tilt’s new landing page, each designed to address identified gaps.
CONVERGING INTO ONE SOLUTION
We tested these concepts with students to determine the most effective design. The following converged solution include feedback that highlighted a preference for:
A detailed breakdown of both college and financial aid tasks
An intuitive, simplified structure for managing information
Create pre-made Google Doc links for essay prompts
Final converged design for Tilt's landing page
Final converged design for Tilt's MVP, Airtable, with restructed information architecture
Iterating on the design
VALIDATING THE SOLUTION
Unfortunately, due to time conflict with the Thanksgiving holiday, we were only able to test with 4 users. However, we made sure that those users had an experience with college and/or financial aid application processes very recently. Feedback led to these three main refinements for our final prototype:
The "My Colleges" tab was removed due to its unclear purpose
"Financial Aid FAQ" section was added to the landing page to address common inquiries
We established a consistent naming convention for tabs to improve navigation
FINALIZING INTO AN OUTCOME
Based on the feedback above, we refined our final MVP:
Tilt's final landing page prototype:
Tilt's final MVP in Airtable:
Results and next steps
IMPACT ON STUDENTS
The redesigned Tilt platform has become a powerful tool for students, simplifying the complex process of college and financial aid applications. With a clearer, more organized approach, students now face the application process with greater confidence and less stress.
ELEVATING TILT AS A BUSINESS
In just 4 weeks, we helped Tilt redefine its place in the market. By addressing gaps left by competitors and enhancing their offerings without increasing costs, Tilt is now better positioned to compete and grow. They have a solid foundation to continue refining and developing their product.
PROVIDING TILT WITH FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS
Looking ahead, we advised Tilt on several key areas for further development:
Engage Counselors — develop strategies to integrate Tilt's services into school counseling programs
Build a Full Website — transition from Airtable to a dedicated interactive website for a richer user experience
Explore Automation — implement automation to engage and assist landing page visitors
Reflecting back
Working on this project was a personal journey, reflecting on my own experiences with college and financial aid applications—an often frustrating process that would have greatly benefited from a tool like Tilt. This reflection fueled my determination to make a difference.
Throughout the project, I found opportunities to grow, especially in developing critical thinking skills despite numerous constraints. Constantly collaborating with the client led to highly productive discussions and new insights. Without relying on conventional frameworks like the Double Diamond Theory or Lean UX process, I was pushed to adapt and think creatively. Though sometimes stressful, these experiences taught me valuable lessons that will guide me in my UX design career.
From the founder of Tilt
"I really appreciate all your guys' work and I hope that you enjoyed working with me just as much as I really enjoyed working with you all. It's been easy in terms of the way you presented the information of being able to navigate it and then ask questions."
Sinthuja N.
Founder of Tilt
