Inspiration
College applications are a confusing time for many high schoolers. One of the hardest things about college applications is how different college application information is scattered across websites. The journey towards the college application starts when we enter high school and not when we are close to coming out of high school. That's why I decided to make CollegeApplicationStation. A one-stop shop for all things college-related.
What it does
CollegeApplicationStation is a centralized place to keep track of your college application and find volunteering opportunities, scholarship opportunities, and AI-powered help. Organizations can sign up to post volunteering requests or scholarship opportunities, and students can view those volunteering requests or scholarship opportunities. The volunteering requests are sorted based on their distance from you, so you only see the most relevant options. Additionally, students can keep track of their college application activities and awards as they go through high school. The AI analysis page uses your application to tailor advice based on your unique situation. There is also an AI essay analysis page where AI reviews your essay based on your college application.
How we built it
I built it using a MySQL database, a node backend, and a react frontend. I used the Google Maps API to get and validate the locations entered and sort the volunteering requests based on distance from the user. I used the ChatGPT API for the AI analysis page. Passwords are encrypted.
Challenges we ran into
One challenge I ran into was having problems with the home access center API to get user grades automatically. I ran into problems while trying to log in to get user transcripts. The time constraint itself was a big challenge as there were many features I wanted to add but didn't have time to.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
I'm proud of making the AI analysis page within the time constraints since that was a last-minute addition. I'm also proud of the home access center integration since I didn't have much time and ran into many bugs with that feature.
What we learned
I learned how to use the home access center API to get school-related information.
What's next for CollegeApplicationStation
I plan on adding more features for club-related activities. I'd like for this website to help users find clubs at their school and manage club activities. So I'd introduce features like announcements in the club and attendance within the website itself so students can track their hours accurately. I plan on allowing users to apply for volunteering opportunities and scholarships within the app itself and allow administrators to review these applications. I would like to allow this application to grow to include more colleges and states and for administrators of different organizations to make this a central place for different volunteering activities and scholarship opportunities.
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