EZScholar

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  Our initial design for the webapp

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  Logo

Inspiration

The inspiration for our tool, EZScholar, was the shared frustration we all had as part of the college application process. There are so many different things to learn all at once, and it can be quite chaotic and overwhelming for students who are still teenagers. Some of us had tools that helped navigate this journey, but we realize that others did not have access to the same resources. And even with those resources, the whole process was still quite overwhelming and not easy to use, so we decided to solve the problem ourselves and create an easy-to-use web tool that can help clear the confusion regarding college applications and finances. We aim to serve underprivileged low-income students so that they can move past the fear and confusion of higher education and pursue their dreams.

What it does

The tool allows students to create profiles and enter data that pertains to them as potential college students. Colleges can also create profiles on our website and enter information regarding their institution such as population demographics, acceptance rates, and most importantly, student work opportunities and college-specific scholarships. Most students don't hear about these 'private' scholarships and deter many potential students from applying because of the financial burden. This tool aims to make this knowledge more accessible.

How we built it

We built it using Next.js and React with TypeScript and TailwindCSS for the front end. We create React Components for the website and wanted to make it as simple, pleasant, and easy to use as possible. We also used Firebase for almost all of our backend such as user authentication, databases, and hosting. We also used Python for querying and filtering.

Challenges we ran into

We had many features to implement and didn't get around to all of it because of limited time and the fact that we all had to learn these new technologies on the spot. We realized that connecting the databases would be challenging because we all were used to different techniques of handling data, so the Python portion was difficult to integrate. Coordinating collaboration and choosing a workspace where everyone was familiar with was a bit difficult as well. We tried repl.it, but that came with it's own challenges in trying to set up environments and installing 3rd part packages. Fortunately, we were able to use Tailwind and Firebase, which proved to be effectively workspaces.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud that the website is live and accessible to the public! We are also glad to have utilized all these new technologies and use them practically for a good cause.

What we learned

We learned to break down features more and understand exactly what needs to get done. We learned some teamwork and task delegation, so next time we will be able to coordinate better. None of us knew each other beforehand, so we had to pick up on each other's skills rather quickly. We also learned many new tools and techniques when it comes to building web apps and data-centric tools.

What's next for EZScholar

We might try to implement the remaining features and expand this by creating a portal for students to manage all their college applications. This dashboard can track progress on completing the applications so that the student is as confused and more secure in the entire application process. Also, we plan to implement a forum where students can ask questions about financial aid at specific colleges. This will provide valuable insights and information to students who are looking for personalized advice on their financial aid journey.

We also plan to integrate financial aid calculators from various school websites into our filtering system. This will allow students to input their financial information and receive tailored scholarship recommendations based on their individual financial need.

Built With

• firebase
• google
• javascript
• next
• python
• react
• tailwindcss
• typescript