StudentPath

The current DegreeWorks tell students what they’ve done, but not what they should do next. Our app modernizes and improves that experience.

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Inspiration

We were inspired by the challenges students face when using current academic planning tools like DegreeWorks. While these systems show degree progress, they don’t actually help students decide what to take next. As students ourselves, we’ve experienced confusion around course sequencing, prerequisites, and staying on track to graduate. We wanted to build a tool that not only displays progress but also actively helps students make smarter academic decisions.

What it does

StudentPath is an AI-powered academic planning tool that helps students track their degree progress and plan future semesters more effectively.

It provides:

  • A clean dashboard showing credits, GPA, and expected graduation
  • A visual breakdown of completed vs remaining requirements
  • AI-generated recommendations for what classes to take next
  • Smart alerts for missing prerequisites or risky course paths

Instead of guessing what to take, students can confidently plan their path to graduation.

How we built it

We designed the user interface, focusing on simplicity and clarity, then implemented it using a modern frontend stack.

  • Frontend: Typescript
  • Styling: Tailwind CSS
  • UI Components: shadcn/ui
  • AI: Codex and Google Gemini

We used a hardcoded dataset for degree requirements and built logic to calculate progress and identify remaining courses. The AI feature generates optimized semester plans based on that data.

Challenges we ran into

  • Simplifying complex degree requirements into a clear and usable system
  • Designing a UI that feels intuitive while still showing meaningful data
  • Managing scope within a short hackathon timeframe
  • Structuring prerequisite logic without overcomplicating the backend
  • Making AI recommendations feel useful rather than generic

The biggest challenge we faced, though, was proper communication and working in parallel.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Creating a clean, modern UI that feels like a real product
  • Successfully implementing an AI-powered semester planning feature
  • Turning a confusing process into something simple and user-friendly
  • Building a polished, demo-ready application in a limited time

What we learned

  • How to rapidly prototype and iterate using Figma
  • The importance of user experience in solving real problems
  • How to leverage AI to accelerate development and enhance features
  • How to collaborate effectively under time constraints

What's next for StudentPath

  • Support for multiple majors and universities
  • Integration with real course catalogs and student data
  • More advanced AI recommendations based on historical data
  • Long-term academic planning (multi-semester roadmaps)
  • Personalized insights based on student performance

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