GraduateTrack

Project Objective

A graduate school application tracker that helps applicants browse programs, track application status and deadlines, and manage contacts (professors, alumni, admissions staff) tied to each application.

• Author: Shota Togawa, Daiwei Zhang
• Class Link: https://johnguerra.co/classes/webDevelopment_online_summer_2026/
• Live demo: https://zdwww.github.io/graduate-track/
• Design Doc

Features

• Sign up and log in with an email/password account; JWT-based authentication protects all data
• Browse a paginated catalog of schools and programs, filterable by school name
• View a program's detail page with degree, field, external links, and deadlines
• Add a program to your applications with one click ("+ Add") from the catalog
• Track each application's status (Draft, Applied, Offered, Rejected), notes, and interview dates
• Edit an application's status, notes, and interview dates from a dedicated edit form
• Delete applications you no longer want to track
• Add, edit, and delete contacts (name, school, role, email, notes) linked to a specific application

Application statuses: Draft, Applied, Offered, Rejected

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React 19 (Hooks, React Router), Vite
Backend	Node.js, Express 5
Database	MongoDB (native driver)
Auth	Passport (local + JWT strategies), bcrypt
Hosting	GitHub Pages (frontend) · Render (backend)

Project Structure

.
├── backend/
│   ├── index.js              # Express app entry point
│   ├── db.js                 # MongoDB connection
│   ├── config/
│   │   └── passport.js       # Local + JWT auth strategies
│   ├── middleware/
│   │   └── auth.js           # requireAuth (JWT) middleware
│   ├── routers/
│   │   ├── auth.js
│   │   ├── applications.js
│   │   ├── contacts.js
│   │   └── schools.js
│   ├── controllers/
│   │   ├── auth.js
│   │   ├── applications.js
│   │   ├── contacts.js
│   │   └── schools.js
│   ├── models/
│   │   ├── Users.js
│   │   ├── Applications.js
│   │   ├── Contacts.js
│   │   └── Schools.js
│   └── constants/
│       └── applications.js   # APPLICATION_STATUS enum
├── docs/                      # Production frontend (served via GitHub Pages)
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── pages/             # LoginPage, SignupPage, SchoolsPage, SchoolPage,
│   │   │                      # ApplicationsPage, ApplicationEditPage
│   │   ├── components/        # Navigation, Contacts, ContactForm, Loading, ErrorMessage
│   │   ├── helpers/
│   │   │   ├── apis/          # fetch wrappers per resource
│   │   │   ├── constants/     # API base URL, routes, status enum
│   │   │   ├── context/       # AuthContext/AuthProvider
│   │   │   └── hooks/         # useAuth, useSchools, useApplications, useContacts...
│   │   └── App.jsx
│   └── vite.config.js
└── package.json

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• MongoDB running locally on mongodb://localhost:27017

Installation

git clone https://github.com/zdwww/graduate-track.git
cd graduate-track
npm install          # root tooling (eslint, prettier, husky)
cd backend && npm install && cd ..
cd docs && npm install && cd ..

Running locally

# Terminal 1 — backend (http://localhost:3000)
cd backend
npm start

# Terminal 2 — frontend (http://localhost:5174)
cd docs
npm run dev

The frontend auto-detects localhost and points API requests to http://localhost:3000/api.

Environment variables

Set these in backend/.env (see backend/.env.sample):

Variable	Default	Description
MONGODB_URI	mongodb://localhost:27017	MongoDB connection string
DB_NAME	graduate_tracker	Database name
JWT_SECRET	—	Secret used to sign auth JWTs (required)

Usage

Once the app is running locally (or on the live demo):

1. Sign up / log in — create an account on the Signup page or log in on the Login page. A JWT is stored client-side and attached to all subsequent API requests.
2. Browse schools — the home page lists programs from the school catalog. Filter by school name and page through results.
3. View a program — click a row to see its detail page: degree, field, external links, and deadlines.
4. Add an application — click + Add on a program row to start tracking it; the button becomes disabled once the program has been added.
5. Manage applications — the Applications page lists everything you're tracking. Click a row to expand it and see the application date, notes, interview dates, and contacts.
6. Edit an application — click Edit to change its status, notes, and interview dates, then Save.
7. Delete an application — click Delete and confirm; this removes the application (its contacts remain queryable by applicationId but are no longer reachable from the UI).
8. Manage contacts — from an expanded application row, add a contact (name, school, role, email, notes) and edit or delete existing contacts inline.

API Reference

Base URL (production): https://graduate-track-api.onrender.com/api

All endpoints except /auth/register and /auth/login require an Authorization: Bearer <token> header.

Auth

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/auth/register	Create an account (name, email, password)
POST	/auth/login	Log in with email and password, returns a JWT
GET	/auth/me	Get the current authenticated user

Schools

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/schools	List programs in the school catalog
GET	/schools/:programId	Get a single program by ID

Applications

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/applications	List applications
POST	/applications	Create an application from a program
GET	/application/:applicationId	Get a single application
PATCH	/application/:applicationId	Update an application
DELETE	/application/:applicationId	Delete an application

Contacts

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/contacts?applicationId=	List the current user's contacts, optionally filtered by application
POST	/contacts	Add a contact to an application
GET	/contact/:contactId	Get a single contact
PATCH	/contact/:contactId	Update a contact (name, school, role, email, notes)
DELETE	/contact/:contactId	Delete a contact

POST /auth/register request body

{
  "name": "Elena Diaz",
  "email": "elena@example.com",
  "password": "at-least-8-characters"
}

Response

{
  "token": "...",
  "user": { "id": "...", "email": "elena@example.com", "name": "Elena Diaz" }
}

POST /applications request body

{
  "schoolName": "Northeastern University",
  "programId": "abc123",
  "programName": "MS Computer Science",
  "deadlines": [{ "term": "Fall", "date": "2026-12-01" }]
}

status defaults to Draft. notes, interviewDates, and applicationDate are set by the server.

POST /contacts request body

{
  "applicationId": "665f1...",
  "name": "Dr. Jane Smith",
  "school": "Northeastern University",
  "role": "Admissions Committee",
  "email": "jsmith@example.edu",
  "notes": "Met at the virtual open house."
}

applicationId and name are required; school, role, email, and notes are optional.

License

MIT