How Advisely works

A guide for teachers, counselors and parents.

Advisely is an AI course planning assistant built for The Village School. It helps students explore course options, understand prerequisites, compare IB and AP paths, and think through their four-year academic plan, all grounded in the school's actual curriculum guide.

It is designed to supplement, not replace, conversations with counselors. Advisely encourages students to verify recommendations with their counselor before making final decisions.

Grounded in the curriculum guide

The official 2025-2026 HS Curriculum Guide is processed into searchable sections. When a student asks a question, Advisely retrieves the most relevant sections and answers from them, which is why every reply can point at the pages it used.

Remembers each student

Advisely builds a lightweight memory of each student over time: their grade, path (IBDP, IB Courses, AP), interests, completed courses and stated goals. This keeps conversations personal without requiring the student to re-explain themselves every session. Students can view and clear their stored memory at any time.

Conversational guidance

Instead of static menus, students interact through natural conversation. They can ask broad questions (“What should I take junior year?”) or specific ones (“Is IB Chem HL or IB Chem SL harder?”) and get structured recommendations.

Accuracy safeguards

The AI is instructed to reference only actual Village School offerings, never to fabricate course codes, and to ask clarifying questions rather than guess. When the curriculum guide doesn't fully answer a question, it tells the student to follow up with a counselor.

Privacy

Each student account is private. Conversations, memories and documents are not shared between students. No student data is sold, shared, or used for any purpose outside of improving that student's own experience. See the privacy policy for the details.

For teachers and counselors

  • Confidentiality:Advisely is not a replacement for counseling conversations that require confidentiality, judgment, or understanding a student's personal context. Please continue to direct students to you for major decisions.
  • Feedback: students see periodic in-app surveys. If you notice Advisely giving inaccurate or unhelpful advice, please share examples with the team.

Who built this

Advisely is built and maintained by students in the Machine Intelligence Club at The Village School, led by its president, Joshua Li, in affiliation with the UH Bauer Human-Centered AI Institute.