Why Adastra exists.

Applying to university internationally can change the trajectory of someone’s life. Yet the process of finding and accessing those opportunities remains unnecessarily fragmented, confusing, and unequal.

Built from experience

Mark Szekacs

I experienced international admissions from both sides of the Atlantic, first studying Applied Economics at Corvinus University of Budapest, then moving to California for a master’s in Statistics at UC Berkeley.

Along the way, I kept coming back to a simple question: why is one of the most consequential decisions students make still managed through search tabs, spreadsheets, scattered advice, and disconnected systems?

Adastra is an attempt to build the system I wished existed.

STUDENT FIRST
Technology should help students make better decisions, not make decisions for them.

CONTEXT MATTERS
Admissions advice without understanding the student is rarely useful.

GLOBAL BY DEFAULT
Talent is distributed globally. Access to information and opportunity should be too.

THE WHOLE JOURNEY
Research, strategy, applications, and decisions are interconnected parts of one process.