How to show that we are not “cheating” but helping

Sometimes people misunderstand what our startup does and assume we are unethical. We feel that we are ethical and our Clients(professors, employers, and students) love us and thank us for our efforts every day. Yet some people(not our client groups, but perhaps future investors) jump to the conclusion that we are helping people "cheat". I think it may be in the way we word our services.

We are helping amazing, and often genius level students from around the world get into western universities and secure funding. We do this because so many times we have seen the erected barriers hold back many bring minds- "If you can cure cancer, but can't write an essay, you might never get your chance."

Our services include:

1.A super-massive university search 2.CV writing software 3.Reference letter writing software which helps non-native English speaking professors, and employers write clear, precise letters for students. 4. Software that explores the personality of non-native English speaking students, and uses the data to prepare rough essays and personal statements that show western universities the quality and potential of our student-clients.

Service 3 sometimes brings on the stoning, but service 4 almost always does. Will we always face this problem or is there something we can do to prevent this misconception?

A case study: We had a client, Sam. Sam was, without question, a genius. As an undergrad, he was accepted as a research assistant by a top professor where he developed an impressive array of self-driving algorithms. He then applied for graduate school in the USA and failed. He had no idea how to write an essay and he was so modest that he ignored all of his stellar work. On top of this, his highly-awarded professor had a weak hold on English and had been unable to write a clear reference letter. We took charge, we helped Sam, and he was offered several full scholarships from top American Universities.

Couple thoughts:

* On #4, this is absolutely academic misconduct if you're "preparing" an essay that is subsequently submitted as the student's own work. They didn't WRITE IT.

* In general, this ignores a substantial part of why universities offer scholarships: to bring scholars to the university who will collaborate and contribute. Part of the intent of an essay is to demonstrate the applicant's ability to communicate clearly and effectively, as that's generally a key part of collaboration in most fields.

Short story shorter: helping people revise documents they've written is fine, but writing the whole thing isn't.

Thanks for your input, it is helping me shape a clear set of mission/values for us.

*Our software(not me) assists our clients it expressing themselves. It asks dynamic questions(based on client's country of origin, personality, education, work, passions, life goals) in order to help applicants organize their thoughts in their distinct voice and overcome the intense biases that they are facing(Most cultures just don't do personal essays, and modesty kills most applications). The output is unique but follows a basic outline. Students later add information or make edits as needed so that they can produce their own work. We sometimes proofread their post edits.

In essence, they are writing it. My software just assists them in the same way that an excavator helps one dig or an autotuner helps one sing.

The cultural limitations greatly hurt students, modesty is a HUGE issue that we have to deal with, perhaps the biggest issue of all. I think universities are looking for these kinds of students, however, the current essay system fails to uncover most.