UniBuddy

why are we building unibuddy?

Every year, thousands of California community college students fail to transfer not because they’re unqualified, but because the system designed to help them is confusing, outdated, and inequitable.

Online tools like ASSIST and the official UC website list requirements to help transfer students, but fail to consider students not fluent in academic English language or lack internet access. Clear, actionable answers are buried under several paragraphs of academic jargon. Critical features like finding which courses fulfill the 7-course breadth pattern can be easy to miss, and moreover, researching and navigating transfer resources online drains valuable time and mental health, adding unnecessary stress to the already confusing process.

Meanwhile, access to quality advising is unevenly distributed. Some students have counselors who guide them carefully and form close relationships while others are left to navigate online resources alone. For example, eligible students at CSM can qualify for support programs such as the Promise Scholars Program, and they are guaranteed monthly 1-on-1 counseling, priority registration, and are better informed about campus workshops. But, what about other students who do not qualify for support programs or have time conflicts to schedule and meet with counselors? Even when students take matters into their own hands, like building course plans on Google Sheets or Notion, the process is manual, error-prone, and stressful.

The result? Only 1 in 10 students transfer within two years, and 4 out of 5 never do within four.

unibuddy exists to close that gap, turning a maze into a personalized easy-to-follow roadmap for transfer success, giving every student the shot at higher education they deserve.

We believe students shouldn’t fail because of improper guidance and paperwork. Different students have different needs, accessibility, and schedules. unibuddy uses peer feedback and data-driven course matching to help students choose classes that fit their learning and personal needs. We’re building unibuddy to help students plan smarter, learn easier, and regain confidence in their transfer process.

How we built it

UniBuddy is a web application built with React, Tailwind CSS, and JavaScript on the frontend, with Supabase powering authentication and database functionality. We also explored integrating Java Spring Boot for backend services in future iterations.

Challenges we ran into

Despite time constraints, we successfully designed a clear, engaging, and user-friendly interface for planning community college to university transfers. Our branding, vision, and thoughtful approach to solving a real educational challenge distinguish UniBuddy as an innovative solution in the hackathon landscape.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We believe that our branding and inspiration to code unibuddy gives us the edge over other educational applications. While we may not have the code and technical demo to show it, we make up for it in what we want this to become.

What we learned

Time management and scope prioritization are critical under hackathon conditions. We also gained valuable insights into integrating multiple technologies under tight deadlines, and the importance of focusing on core functionality before adding additional features.

What's next for UniBuddy

Future iterations of UniBuddy will include:

• A robust backend system to securely store user data.
• Expanded coverage for additional colleges, including UCs and CSUs.
• Support for a broader range of majors and personalized course planning features.
• Integration of a professor rating system to guide course selection.

Built With

• css
• java
• javascript
• railway
• react
• spring
• supabase
• tailwind
• vercel