DearFuture

Inspiration: University students are expected to make some of the most consequential decisions of their lives with minimal real-world experience to guide them. Each year, millions of graduating students must choose between paths like employment, graduate study, taking a gap year or going into the startup world, often without a clear understanding of the long-term implications of those choices. They’re forced to make permanent decisions based on what they’re feeling at the moment or generic advice from the peers around them and essentially end up with incomplete information about what their future could actually look like

What it does:

User puts in their input: what their decision is (job, master’s, gap year, etc.), personally context: major, finances, priorities (money, family, fun) AI runs potential timelines 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years Each timeline: career (role trajectory, skill growth, optionality), finances (income range, debt change, savings, etc.), lifestyle (stress, routines, social life), Geographic preferences

How we built it:

We built DearFuture using a modular full-stack architecture. The frontend is built with React, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS, providing an interactive interface where users can input information and explore timelines. The backend is powered by Python (Flask), which handles API requests, decision logic, and data processing.

Challenges we ran into: One major challenge was bridging the gap between a polished Figma design and a functional frontend without breaking backend logic

Accomplishments that we're proud of: We’re proud of successfully building a working end-to-end system that connects user input to meaningful, interpretable future timelines. Our application goes beyond static recommendations by enabling side-by-side comparisons of multiple paths.

What we learned: Through this project, we learned how to translate abstract life decisions into structured, data-driven simulations. We gained hands-on experience integrating frontend design systems with backend logic.

What's next for DearFuture: We want to explore partnerships with universities and career advising offices. Ultimately, our goal is to make DearFuture a trusted decision-support tool that helps students confidently navigate life after graduation.

Built With

• claudeapi
• figma
• flask
• react
• typescript