A Pittsburgh Allderdice graduate believes he’s built a digital platform that will ease the burden of the college application process.

Thomas Aldous said his “AppApp” is a one-stop-shop for college prep, organizing and preparing students before they send applications to college. It provides students with tools to meet deadlines, organize college applications, connect with counselors, write essays and search colleges.

Potential users will reasonably think Aldous mastered the college application process: He’s headed to Harvard.

“This is the only app I can find that really pulls it all together,” said Aldous, 18. “A lot of apps target one part of the college application. Other apps help you seek and find colleges that might best fit you, others discuss costs, but no app puts it all in one place.”

Aldous, of Squirrel Hill, started developing the app his sophomore year as a way to help himself and his friends get organized for college applications.

“College applications, nowadays, are intense, stressful and competitive,” he said. “Early on in high school, you can see people are stressed about it.”

Core tools of AppApp — SAT prep, essay writing and organizing applications — are free for users. The app can be downloaded or available on its website, goappapp.com. Parents can also log into the app to view their child’s progress on college prep.

“You can prepare your whole application, right here,” he said. “It has all this data — your test scores, due dates, awards. It’s all in one place, organized.”

Aldous charges for features that he has to pay for to maintain. That includes a chatbot for essay idea generation, or SAT question prep.

“I wanted to make sure AI was ethically integrated,” Aldous said.

Aldous’ path to Harvard may or may not be proof of AppApp’s utility. “I applied on a whim,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to get in. It’s hard to turn that down.” He intends to study physics and economics at the Ivy League school.

Aldous has been developing projects throughout his teenage years. As a 14-year-old and student at Colfax K-8, Aldous built a robotic hand and sensing glove. The 3-D printed robot hand mimicked a human hand in real time.

“You could operate a robot with dexterity, but from far away,” Aldous said.

That project won Aldous a $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize, a national award for science and engineering for middle school students.

“I’ve been building and encoding things for a while,” Aldous said. “It’s a lot more robotics and hardware projects, but I try to solve problems I see.”

During his high school years, Aldous developed a computer-vision system for detecting microplastics, an automated roadside litter collection tool, and a drone that would rapidly deliver Narcan. All projects were completed in his free time.

“I’ve always loved building things,” Aldous said. “What I like about AppApp is I actually have resources to reach out to people. To build something with your own hands, it’s fulfilling, and it’s more rewarding when you can apply it to your own life.”

At Allderdice, Aldous was a class valedictorian, class president, ran the Science Fair Club, and participated in cross country and track and field.

He is the oldest son of David and Allyson Aldous. His younger siblings are Felicity, 16, Henry, 14 and Clementine, 8.

Felicity has started to use AppApp for her own college prep, Thomas said.

He expects to see demand for the tool rise as the season for college applications begins. The Common App, a central platform used by many colleges and universities for students to apply, opens Aug. 1.

“I hope that AppApp will help many families ease the burden of college applications and ultimately level the playing field,” he said.