ArcAid

Zero-Knowledge Financial Aid Application Tool

Won Best Education Hack, Best Use of Aleo, and Wolfram Award (top 8) at PenApps XXIV.

Every year, more than $200 billion in federal student aid is disbursed through slow, cumbersome, and non-private channels. ArcAid uses Aleo’s zk-SNARKs to make applying for financial aid to multiple schools secure, efficient, and private.

We believe the benefits are two-fold. First, more deserving students will be encouraged to apply for financial aid. Second, institutions will be more willing to process applications since administrative overhead is significantly reduced.

Given that zero-knowledge computations are transactional and are independent of one another, this model is highly scalable. Monetization of the product is possible through partnerships with educational institutions and existing college application platforms.

Built alongside three other students in 36 hours.

Tech stack: Next.js, Aleo, PlanetScale.