SkipCost

Inspiration

Many students hesitate about going to class, thinking skipping once won’t matter. We wanted to show that every missed class costs real money. SkipCost makes that loss visible, so students feel the impact of their choices and stay motivated to attend.

What it does

SkipCost calculates how much each class costs based on tuition and schedule. Using geofencing, it tracks whether you actually went to class. If you attend, that money is invested in your future. If you skip, it shows exactly how much you lost.

How we built it

We built SkipCost in Xcode using Swift and CoreLocation for geofencing. We used OCR to read uploaded class schedules and Ollama to convert that data into structured information. The interface was designed in Figma for a clean, simple user experience.

Challenges we ran into

We struggled with reading different schedule formats, improving location accuracy, and syncing class times with notifications. Getting the app to calculate and display money lost correctly was also challenging.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We built a fully working prototype that connects tuition, attendance, and motivation in a clear way. The OCR and geofence system work together smoothly, and the UI communicates the “money lost” idea well.

What we learned

We learned how to connect OCR, LLMs, and geolocation into one seamless flow.

What's next for SkipCost

Next, we want to add account creation and database support so users can save their attendance data, view long-term trends, and sync progress across devices. We also plan to connect with campus APIs for verified attendance, refine cost calculations by major and credit hours, and expand the app to Android with new social features that help friends compare how much money they’ve invested or lost.

Built With

• core-location
• figma
• geofencing
• ios
• llm
• ocr
• ollama
• swift
• xcode