UW students launch app to simplify academic planning, course selection

On a study abroad trip in Vienna, far from crowded lecture halls and overwhelming course registration deadlines, two University of Wisconsin-Madison students found themselves talking about something familiar: the uncertainty of figuring out what to do next.

Which classes to take. Which major fits. Which path is actually working for them. For Malachi Cheeks and Aiden Marlier, those questions didn’t feel simple. And more importantly, they didn’t feel well supported.

So the pair started building something they wished already existed: Illum, a startup app designed to help students navigate academic and career decisions by consolidating advising tools, course data and personalized guidance into one platform. 

As course registration approaches, the app aims to give students a stronger starting point before they ever walk into an advising meeting.

The idea came from a pattern both students recognized — one that started long before college.

“In high school, I felt like advisors were trying their best,” Marlier told The Daily Cardinal. “But there were so many students and so many different paths — trades, college, going straight into industry — and it didn’t feel like that could be captured in one system.”

At UW-Madison, that feeling persisted.

With thousands of students navigating degree requirements, prerequisites and career uncertainty, advising can be helpful, but is often limited by time, access and preparation.

“You have to know what questions to ask to get the most out of those meetings,” Marlier said. “And if you don’t come in knowing that, it’s hard to get what you need.”

Cheeks saw the same gaps.

“There’s Madgrades, there’s Reddit, there’s advisors, there’s professors — all these different sources,” he said. “But they’re all in separate places. We kept asking, how do you bring that into one place where students can actually use it?”

That question followed them back from Vienna.

By May, they had started building.

What Illum offers is not a replacement for advisors, but instead a layer before and between those conversations as a way to prepare, explore and refine decisions over time, they said.

After signing up, users answer a short series of questions about their interests, academic background and goals. The platform then generates suggested majors, course tracks and potential career paths, along with explanations tailored to the user’s responses.

“It’s not telling you, ‘This is exactly what you have to do,’” Marlier said. “It’s more about helping you understand your options and giving you a starting point.”

From there, the app expands outward.

Students can map out a four-year plan, track degree progress and explore courses with detailed information, including grade distributions, prerequisites and peer feedback. 

A built-in “advisor assistant” allows users to ask quick questions, like comparing classes or understanding requirements, without scheduling a full appointment.

For Cheeks, that feature is personal.

“I remember having to book a 30-minute meeting just to ask one question,” he said. “This helps you go into those meetings with more clarity, so you can actually use that time better.”

The platform evolves with the student, updating recommendations as interests and performance change.

“We think of it as something that grows with you,” Marlier said. “Your goals change, your strengths change. This should change too.”

Since launching a beta version in the fall, Illum has attracted about 80 users, most of them UW-Madison students. Cheeks and Marlier said more than half are actively using the platform.

Now, the focus is on growth and pressure-testing the product.

“We want to see what happens when more people get on it,” Cheeks said. “What breaks, what works, what people actually use.”

For now, the app is rooted in UW-Madison and its students, pulling from campus-specific data and systems. But both founders see that as just the beginning.

“If this works here, we want to expand to other Big Ten schools,” Cheeks said. “The question is, is this just a UW problem, or is it something bigger?”

At its core, the app is about access to information, clarity and opportunity, according to Cheeks and Marlier.

Students who come into college with guidance — from family, older peers or prior experience — often have an advantage navigating decisions that shape their futures. Illum, the founders hope, can help close that gap.

“If we can help someone feel more confident in their decisions, that’s success,” Marlier said.

Back in Vienna, the conversation started with a simple question: What would we build if we could build anything?

Now, months later, that answer is live — and sitting in the hands of students trying to figure out college, just like they once were.

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