CollegeConnect - College Recommendation System

A full-stack web application that helps students find colleges matching their academic credentials.

Features

• User authentication (Register/Login)
• College recommendation based on:
  • MCET Rank
  • Intermediate Marks
  • Desired Course (CSE, ECE, MECH)
• Responsive and modern UI
• Real-time college matching algorithm

Technology Stack

• Backend: Node.js + Express.js
• Database: MongoDB with Mongoose
• Frontend: Vanilla HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript
• Authentication: bcryptjs for password hashing

Installation

1. Clone the repository or navigate to the project directory

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Set up environment variables:

   • Copy .env.example to .env
   • Update MONGODB_URI with your MongoDB connection string
   • For local MongoDB: mongodb://localhost:27017/collegeconnect
   • For MongoDB Atlas: mongodb+srv://username:password@cluster.mongodb.net/collegeconnect

4. Start the server:

npm start

For development with auto-reload:

npm run dev

5. Open your browser and navigate to:

http://localhost:3000

Database Initialization

The application automatically initializes the database with 12 sample colleges on first run. The sample data includes colleges for CSE, ECE, and MECH courses with various cutoff criteria.

API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/register - Register a new user
• POST /api/login - Login user

Recommendations

• POST /api/recommendations - Get college recommendations
  • Body: { mcet_rank: Number, intermediate_marks: Number, desired_course: String }

Utilities

• GET /api/colleges - Get all colleges (for testing)

Usage

1. Register/Login: Create an account or login with existing credentials
2. Enter Details: Fill in your MCET rank, intermediate marks percentage, and select desired course
3. Get Recommendations: Click "Find Colleges" to see matching colleges
4. View Results: Browse through recommended colleges with detailed information

Recommendation Logic

Colleges are matched when:

• Course matches the desired course
• User's MCET rank is better than or equal to the college's cutoff (lower rank = better)
• User's intermediate marks are higher than or equal to the college's cutoff

Results are sorted by MCET rank cutoff (best matches first).

Project Structure

CollegeConnect/
├── app.js                 # Main server file
├── models/
│   ├── User.js           # User schema
│   └── College.js        # College schema
├── public/
│   ├── index.html        # Frontend HTML
│   ├── script.js         # Frontend JavaScript
│   └── style.css         # Styling
├── package.json          # Dependencies
└── README.md            # This file

License

ISC