A Chrome extension that brings RateMyProfessor directly into CUNY's course scheduler. Built and shipped in 2024.
Case Study - 2024
Schedule Builder RMP
YEAR
2024
DURATION
15 days
TOOLS
JavaScript,Chrome API
TYPE
Personal Project
USER PAIN
Constant tab-switching during an already stressful registration process, interrupted further by ads and slow load times on RateMyProfessor.
PROFESSIONAL PAIN
CUNY's scheduler has no native quality signal for professors, leaving students making important decisions with incomplete information.
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
Before building anything I talked to students on campus to validate whether this was actually a widespread problem. The answer was clear: nearly everyone uses RateMyProfessor during registration, and the back-and-forth was one of the most commonly cited frustrations. The ad popups on RateMyProfessor came up repeatedly as a specific pain point that broke concentration mid-scheduling.
That research confirmed the solution should be invisible and in-context. The ratings needed to appear exactly where students were already looking.
DESIGN DECISIONS
The core challenge was injecting information into an existing interface without making it feel cluttered or out of place. I kept the visual treatment minimal so the ratings felt native to the scheduler rather than bolted on. The extension pulls professor names from the scheduler, matches them against RateMyProfessor data, and displays the rating inline next to each course section.
Keeping the design native to the already built Schedule Builder since students don't need a full breakdown just a quick visual signal.
OUTCOME
Reached 300+ installs in the first week through organic word of mouth alone, with no marketing or promotion. Students shared it themselves because it solved a real problem they actually had. Currently sitting at 1.2k average weekly users. A project that started to solve a personal problem and for friends at Baruch also reached other CUNY schools as well as they share the same platform making thousands of students life just a bit easier.
THE PROBLEM
Every semester, students building their schedule have to constantly switch between tabs to look up professors, and RateMyProfessor's ad-heavy interface makes that process even more frustrating. Registration is already stressful, and this friction was making it worse.
Schedule Builder RMP's thesis: If the data already exists, why should students ever have to leave the page to find it?
A Chrome extension that brings RateMyProfessor directly into CUNY's course scheduler. Built and shipped in 2024.
Case Study - 2024
Schedule Builder RMP
YEAR
2024
DURATION
15 days
TOOLS
JavaScript,Chrome API
TYPE
Personal Project
USER PAIN
Constant tab-switching during an already stressful registration process, interrupted further by ads and slow load times on RateMyProfessor.
PROFESSIONAL PAIN
CUNY's scheduler has no native quality signal for professors, leaving students making important decisions with incomplete information.
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
Before building anything I talked to students on campus to validate whether this was actually a widespread problem. The answer was clear: nearly everyone uses RateMyProfessor during registration, and the back-and-forth was one of the most commonly cited frustrations. The ad popups on RateMyProfessor came up repeatedly as a specific pain point that broke concentration mid-scheduling.
That research confirmed the solution should be invisible and in-context. The ratings needed to appear exactly where students were already looking.
DESIGN DECISIONS
The core challenge was injecting information into an existing interface without making it feel cluttered or out of place. I kept the visual treatment minimal so the ratings felt native to the scheduler rather than bolted on. The extension pulls professor names from the scheduler, matches them against RateMyProfessor data, and displays the rating inline next to each course section.
Keeping the design native to the already built Schedule Builder since students don't need a full breakdown just a quick visual signal.
OUTCOME
Reached 300+ installs in the first week through organic word of mouth alone, with no marketing or promotion. Students shared it themselves because it solved a real problem they actually had. Currently sitting at 1.2k average weekly users. A project that started to solve a personal problem and for friends at Baruch also reached other CUNY schools as well as they share the same platform making thousands of students life just a bit easier.
THE PROBLEM
Every semester, students building their schedule have to constantly switch between tabs to look up professors, and RateMyProfessor's ad-heavy interface makes that process even more frustrating. Registration is already stressful, and this friction was making it worse.
Schedule Builder RMP's thesis: If the data already exists, why should students ever have to leave the page to find it?