🐺 Co-Op Tracker Pro: Earn XP and Job Offers Simulatenously 🎮

Co-Op Tracker Pro turns the boring, sometimes rough Northeastern co-op search into a competitive, transparent, and gamified experience. I designed this to support, motivate, and empower students through one of the most overwhelming parts of college: thinking about your future.

Co-Op Tracker is now live! Link: https://co-op-tracker-orcin.vercel.app

🚀 Vision

Co-Op Tracker Pro isn’t just to be a spreadsheet but to be a platform for all. Created for students who are grinding through 100+ applications, refreshing NUworks at midnight, and writing cover letters over and over again, this site makes that process fun, social, and transparent, and most importantly a game.

🔥 Core Goals

• Earn XP for applications: Earn XP for applying, writing cover letters, and moving forward in the process
• Gamified progress: Level up, unlock achievements, and track your growth across co-op cycles
• Student transparency: Offer a real-time feed of co-op offers with roles, pay, and insight for wage visibility
• Community support: Comment, upvote, and celebrate your peers’ wins

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🧱 Tech Stack

Layer	Technology	Purpose
Frontend	React + Tailwind CSS	UI/UX for dashboard, forms, social feed
Backend	Flask + SQLAlchemy	REST API, XP logic, achievement engine
Database	SQLite (dev) / PostgreSQL (prod)	Persist users, apps, offers, achievements
Auth	Google OAuth + JWT	Northeastern email login & user sessions
Charts	Chart.js + react-chartjs-2	Data visualization and analytics
Hosting	Vercel (frontend), Render (backend)	Full deployment

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Features

✅ Completed Features

🔐 Authentication System

• Google OAuth integration with Northeastern email validation
• JWT token-based session management
• Secure user authentication and authorization
• Automatic token refresh and session handling

📊 Dashboard & Analytics

• XP Progress System: Visual progress bar with level tracking
• Application Status Pie Chart: Interactive chart showing status breakdown
• Statistics Cards: Total applications, interviews, offers, achievements
• Recent Applications: Quick view of latest applications
• Responsive Design: Works on desktop, tablet, and mobile

📝 Application Management

• Comprehensive Application Form: Company, role, status, salary, notes
• Application Table: Sortable, filterable list of all applications
• Status Tracking: Applied, Interviewing, Offer, Rejected, Ghosted, Withdrawn
• Edit & Update: Modify application details and status
• Search & Filter: Find applications by company, status, or date

🏆 Achievement System

• Dynamic Achievement Engine: Unlock achievements based on user actions
• Achievement Cards: Visual display of earned and unearned achievements
• Progress Tracking: See progress towards unlocking achievements
• XP Rewards: Earn XP for completing achievements

🥇 Leaderboard:

• Dual Competition: XP leaderboard and achievements leaderboard with top 25 rankings
• Real-time Updates: Live leaderboard with automatic refresh and last updated timestamps
• Visual Recognition: Trophy icons and special colors for top 3 positions (🥇 Gold, 🥈 Silver, 🥉 Bronze)
• Personal Highlighting: Current user's position highlighted with blue border and "You" badge
• Profile Integration: Shows user profile pictures, names, levels, and achievement counts
• Competitive Analytics: Displays XP totals, levels, and achievement counts for each competitor

📥 Bulk Import System**

• Multi-Format Support: Import applications from CSV, Excel (.xlsx/.xls), and JSON files
• Smart Data Processing: Automatic status mapping and flexible date parsing for common formats
• Duplicate Detection: Prevents importing duplicate applications based on company, position, and date
• Flexible Date Formats: Supports multiple date formats (YYYY-MM-DD, MM/DD/YYYY, MM-DD-YYYY, etc.)
• XP Integration: Automatically awards XP for imported applications based on status
• Template System: Downloadable CSV template with sample data for easy formatting
• Batch Processing: Import hundreds of applications at once with progress tracking
• Data Validation: Required fields validation with helpful error messages for missing data

🎮 Gamification

• XP System: Earn XP for applications, interviews, and offers
• Leveling System: Level up every 100 XP with visual progress
• Achievement Unlocking: Complete milestones to unlock achievements
• Progress Visualization: See your growth over time

🎨 User Experience

• Modern UI/UX: Clean, intuitive interface with Tailwind CSS
• Custom Favicon: Branded browser tab icon
• Loading States: Smooth loading animations
• Error Handling: User-friendly error messages
• Notifications: Toast notifications for user feedback

🧪 In Progress

• Offer Feed: Public posts for accepted co-ops (role, pay, story)
• Enhanced XP System: Bonus XP for resume uploads, cover letters

🔮 Planned Features

• Community Features: Comments and upvotes on offers
• Cycle Tracker: View stats per cycle (Spring/Summer/Fall)
• Badge Collection: Visual achievement badges
• Pay Transparency: Detailed salary insights and comparisons

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🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+) - The frontend uses React 18.2.0 and modern React features
• Python (v3.11+)
• PostgreSQL
• Google OAuth credentials - Required for authentication with Northeastern email validation

Backend Setup

cd backend
pip install -r requirements.txt
python app.py

Frontend Setup

cd frontend
npm install
npm start

Environment Variables

Create .env files in both backend/ and frontend/ directories:

Backend (.env):

FLASK_ENV=development
SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key
JWT_SECRET_KEY=your-jwt-secret
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your-google-client-id

Frontend (.env):

REACT_APP_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your-google-client-id
REACT_APP_API_URL=http://localhost:5001

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📊 Current Progress

✅ MVP Complete (100%)

• User authentication with Google OAuth
• Application tracking and management
• XP and leveling system
• Achievement system
• Dashboard with analytics
• Responsive UI/UX
• Database integration
• API endpoints
• Leaderboard system
• Production deployment

🔄 Next Phase (In Progress)

• Offer Feed implementation
• Enhanced social features

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🧠 Who This Is For

• 🧑‍🎓 Northeastern students applying for co-ops
• 🧑‍💻 Students who want structure and momentum in their application process
• 💸 Students who want pay transparency and offer insight before they commit
• 🎮 Students who enjoy gamification and tracking progress

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🤝 Contributing

If you would like to contribute or fork this repository, please reach out beforehand.

Current Focus Areas:

• Offer Feed development
  • System Design aspect to scale a safe message board for users
• Leaderboard implementation
• Production deployment
• Performance optimization

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Thanks, Harrison Dolgoff 🚀