# Overview

Cohort-OS is a web application for running cohort programs end-to-end. It collects applications through a public form, coordinates peer review with rubric-based scoring, records accept/waitlist/decline decisions, and tracks onboarding tasks.

## The Four Phases

Every cohort moves through four lifecycle phases, reflected by its status:

1. **Apply** -- The cohort accepts applications through a public form. Applicants fill out questions from a shared question pool, and submissions appear in the **Applications** tab. The cohort status during this phase is `draft` or `active` with application acceptance turned on.

2. **Review** -- Reviewers score applications against a rubric using a guided scoring interface. Admins assign reviewers to specific applications, configure review stages (first round, second round), and monitor progress. The cohort status is `review`.

3. **Decide** -- Admins lock completed reviews, view consensus scores and percentiles, and record decisions (accept, waitlist, or decline) with rationale codes and committee notes. The cohort status is `decide`.

4. **Onboard** -- Accepted applicants move into onboarding, where admins track checklist items and completion. The cohort status is `onboard`.

After onboarding wraps up, a cohort can be moved to `active` (program is running) or `closed` (program is complete). Cohorts can also be archived at any point.

## Roles

Your role determines what you see and what you can do.

- **Cohort admin** (includes org admins) -- Full access to cohort management: applications, reviewer assignments, review stages, decisions, email tasks, onboarding, and team settings. Cohort admins see the **Cohorts** dropdown and the **Manage** dropdown in the top navigation bar.

- **Reviewer** -- Access to assigned applications for scoring and interviews. Reviewers see **My Reviews** in the top navigation bar, which links to a dashboard of their current assignments across all cohorts.

Both roles can access **Settings** to manage their profile and password.

## Key Terms

- **Stage** -- A review round within a cohort (e.g., first round, second round). Each stage has its own reviewer assignments, scoring, and settings.
- **Rubric** -- A set of scoring criteria provided by Flywheel, the external assessment engine. Reviewers score each criterion on a defined scale.
- **Consensus** -- The aggregated view of all reviewer scores for an application in a given stage, including averages and percentiles.
- **Ghostie** -- Your avatar in Cohort-OS. You pick an expression and a color, and it renders as a small ghost illustration next to your name throughout the app.
- **Flywheel** -- The external assessment engine that provides rubrics, scoring logic, surveys, and reporting.