Elevate

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AI Tutor
Mental Health
There was a slight error in the video since I put in 700000—this is the correct result with 70,000

Inspiration

Our inspiration for this project came from our experiences at a low-income high school. We see how hard it is for students to handle college costs and financial aid. We wanted to create a tool to help students and their families understand these costs better. Additionally, we wanted to provide support for mental health and educational guidance through AI tutors.

What We Learned

We learned how important accurate data collection is. We researched tuition and financial aid from top universities. We also learned to design interactive user interfaces with SvelteKit, which helped us build a dynamic web app. Furthermore, we explored integrating AI tutors to assist students in both academic and mental health areas.

How We Built the Project

Information Gathering:
We collected data on the top 5 universities in the USA, including tuition, fees, and average financial aid based on family income.

Frontend Development:
We used SvelteKit to create input fields for users to enter their income and see the estimated costs with financial aid. We also included features for accessing AI tutors and mental health resources.

Function Implementation:
We developed functions to process the input data and estimate financial aid based on income brackets, calculating the net costs for each college. We integrated a hypothetical OpenAI API to implement an AI tutor that provides educational guidance and support. Additionally, we created a dedicated space on the website for students to find mental health resources.

Testing and Refinement:
We tested the app with different incomes to ensure it worked correctly and was user-friendly. Feedback from users helped us improve the interface and the AI features.

Challenges We Faced

Data Accuracy:
Ensuring our data was up-to-date and accurate was challenging. We cross-checked several sources.

Complex Calculations:
Estimating financial aid required handling different income groups and their policies.

User Experience:
It took many tries to create an interface that was both informative and easy to use. Integrating AI features seamlessly also required extensive testing.

Conclusion

This project aimed to help students understand college costs better. We learned a lot about data handling, front-end development, and user-centered design. Our experiences in a low-income school motivated us to help our peers navigate financial challenges, seek mental health support, and access AI tutors for educational guidance using a hypothetical OpenAI API. As our first hackathon, it was very fun!