diff --git a/app.js b/app.js
index 0c7ab23611..49ca9c4976 100644
--- a/app.js
+++ b/app.js
@@ -163,21 +163,18 @@ app.get('/account/unlink/:provider', userController.getOauthUnlink);
 
 /**
  * API examples routes.
+ * accepts a post request. the challenge id req.body.challengeNumber
+ * and updates user.challengesHash & user.challengesCompleted
+ *
  */
 app.post('/completed_challenge', function(req, res) {
-    req.user.challengesHash[parseInt(req.body.cn)] = Math.round(+new Date() / 1000);
-    req.user.challengesCompleted = function() {
-        var completed = [];
-        var h = req.user.challengesHash;
-        for (i = 0; i < h.length; i++) {
-            console.log(h[i] > 0)
-            if (h[i] > 0) {
-                console.log(h[i]);
-                completed.push(i);
-            }
-        return completed;
-        }
+    req.user.challengesHash[parseInt(req.body.challengeNumber)] = Math.round(+new Date() / 1000);
+    var ch = req.user.challengesHash;
+    var p = 0;
+    for (k in ch) {
+        if (ch[k] > 0) { p += 1}
     }
+    req.user.points = p;
     req.user.save();
 });
 
diff --git a/controllers/challenges.js b/controllers/challenges.js
index 9d0b30291d..e7f951f0cc 100644
--- a/controllers/challenges.js
+++ b/controllers/challenges.js
@@ -19,8 +19,7 @@ exports.returnChallenge = function(req, res, next) {
             video: c.video,
             time: c.time,
             steps: c.steps,
-            cc: req.user.challengesCompleted,
-            ch: req.user.challengesHash
+            cc: req.user.challengesHash
         });
     });
 };
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/models/User.js b/models/User.js
index d9598ffe77..eaa6ed8672 100644
--- a/models/User.js
+++ b/models/User.js
@@ -14,208 +14,59 @@ var userSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
   instagram: String,
   linkedin: String,
   tokens: Array,
+  points: { type: Number, default: 0 },
   challengesCompleted: { type: Array, default: [] },
   challengesHash: {
-    0: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    1: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    2: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    3: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    4: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    5: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    6: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    7: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    8: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    9: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    10: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    11: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    12: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    13: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    14: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    15: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    16: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    17: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    18: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    19: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    20: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    21: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    22: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    23: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    24: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    25: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    26: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    27: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    28: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    29: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    30: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    31: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    32: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    33: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    34: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    35: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    36: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    37: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    38: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    39: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    40: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    41: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    42: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    43: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    44: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    45: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    46: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    47: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    48: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    },
-    49: {
-      type: Number,
-      default: 0,
-    }
+    0:  { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    1:  { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    2:  { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    3:  { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    4:  { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    5:  { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    6:  { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    7:  { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    8:  { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    9:  { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    10: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    11: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    12: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    13: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    14: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    15: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    16: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    17: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    18: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    19: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    20: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    21: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    22: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    23: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    24: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    25: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    26: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    27: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    28: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    29: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    30: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    31: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    32: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    33: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    34: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    35: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    36: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    37: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    38: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    39: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    40: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    41: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    42: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    43: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    44: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    45: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    46: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    47: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    48: { type: Number, default: 0 },
+    49: { type: Number, default: 0 }
   },
   profile: {
     name: { type: String, default: '' },
diff --git a/public/js/main.js b/public/js/main.js
index a4aed45a49..c4d98b043d 100644
--- a/public/js/main.js
+++ b/public/js/main.js
@@ -20,14 +20,11 @@ $(document).ready(function() {
         $('#complete-dialog').modal('show');
         l = location.pathname.split('/');
         cn = l[l.length - 1]
+        console.log(cn);
         $.ajax({
             type: 'POST',
-            data: {cn: cn},
-            url: '/completed_challenge/',
-            success: function(data) {
-                console.log('success');
-                console.log(JSON.stringify(data));
-            }
+            data: {challengeNumber: cn},
+            url: '/completed_challenge/'
         });
     });
 
diff --git a/views/account/profile.jade b/views/account/profile.jade
index 45c77cd68d..4eaf6f71a9 100644
--- a/views/account/profile.jade
+++ b/views/account/profile.jade
@@ -35,8 +35,7 @@ block content
 
           h1 Completed Challenges
           ul
-              //each val, index in user.challengesHash
-                  //li= index + ': ' + val
+
           h3 Danger Zone
           button.btn.btn-danger.confirm-deletion
             span.ion-trash-b
diff --git a/views/partials/challenges.jade b/views/partials/challenges.jade
index c253483f00..127bf2e0c3 100644
--- a/views/partials/challenges.jade
+++ b/views/partials/challenges.jade
@@ -4,133 +4,133 @@
         ol(start='0')
             h4 Web Design
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/0", class="#{ cc.indexOf(0) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") A One-minute Introduction to Free Code Camp
+                a(href="/challenges/0", class="#{ cc[0] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") A One-minute Introduction to Free Code Camp
                 | &nbsp; (1 min)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/1", class="#{ cc.indexOf(1) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Enter the Free Code Camp Chat Room
+                a(href="/challenges/1", class="#{ cc[1] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Enter the Free Code Camp Chat Room
                 | &nbsp; (10 mins)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/2", class="#{ cc.indexOf(2) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Create a Website and Deploy it to the Internet
+                a(href="/challenges/2", class="#{ cc[2] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Create a Website and Deploy it to the Internet
                 | &nbsp; (5 mins)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/3", class="#{ cc.indexOf(3) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Install Github's Atom Text Editor
+                a(href="/challenges/3", class="#{ cc[3] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Install Github's Atom Text Editor
                 | &nbsp; (5 mins)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/4", class="#{ cc.indexOf(4) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Modify and Redeploy Your Website
+                a(href="/challenges/4", class="#{ cc[4] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Modify and Redeploy Your Website
                 | &nbsp; (5 mins)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/5", class="#{ cc.indexOf(5) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Add Dynamic Content to your Website
+                a(href="/challenges/5", class="#{ cc[5] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Add Dynamic Content to your Website
                 | &nbsp; (10 mins)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/6", class="#{ cc.indexOf(6) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Codecademy's HTML & CSS track
+                a(href="/challenges/6", class="#{ cc[6] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Codecademy's HTML & CSS track
                 | &nbsp; (7 hrs)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/7", class="#{ cc.indexOf(7) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Experiment with HTML and CSS in CodePen
+                a(href="/challenges/7", class="#{ cc[7] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Experiment with HTML and CSS in CodePen
                 | &nbsp; (10 mins)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/8", class="#{ cc.indexOf(8) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Codecademy's jQuery track
+                a(href="/challenges/8", class="#{ cc[8] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Codecademy's jQuery track
                 | &nbsp; (3 hrs)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/9", class="#{ cc.indexOf(9) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Code School's Try jQuery
+                a(href="/challenges/9", class="#{ cc[9] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Code School's Try jQuery
                 | &nbsp; (4 hrs)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/10", class="#{ cc.indexOf(10) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Code School's Discover DevTools
+                a(href="/challenges/10", class="#{ cc[10] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Code School's Discover DevTools
                 | &nbsp; (2 hrs)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/11", class="#{ cc.indexOf(11) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") jQuery Exercises
+                a(href="/challenges/11", class="#{ cc[11] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") jQuery Exercises
                 | &nbsp; (1 hr)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/12", class="#{ cc.indexOf(12) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Customize Bootstrap with Bootswatch
+                a(href="/challenges/12", class="#{ cc[12] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Customize Bootstrap with Bootswatch
                 | &nbsp; (10 mins)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/13", class="#{ cc.indexOf(13) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Inject Life with CSS Transformations
+                a(href="/challenges/13", class="#{ cc[13] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Inject Life with CSS Transformations
                 | &nbsp; (15 mins)
             h4 Computer Science and JavaScript
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/14", class="#{ cc.indexOf(14) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Codecademy's JavaScript track
+                a(href="/challenges/14", class="#{ cc[14] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Codecademy's JavaScript track
                 | &nbsp; (10 hrs)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/15", class="#{ cc.indexOf(15) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Stanford's Introduction to Computer Science
+                a(href="/challenges/15", class="#{ cc[15] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Stanford's Introduction to Computer Science
                 | &nbsp; (24 hrs)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/16", class="#{ cc.indexOf(16) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Get Help The Hacker Way with RSAP
+                a(href="/challenges/16", class="#{ cc[16] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Get Help The Hacker Way with RSAP
                 | &nbsp; (30 mins)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/17", class="#{ cc.indexOf(17) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Learn Regular Expressions
+                a(href="/challenges/17", class="#{ cc[17] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Learn Regular Expressions
                 | &nbsp; (1 hr)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/18", class="#{ cc.indexOf(18) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Start Your First Pair Programming Session
+                a(href="/challenges/18", class="#{ cc[18] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Start Your First Pair Programming Session
                 | &nbsp; (30 mins | Pair)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/19", class="#{ cc.indexOf(19) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Easy Algorithm Scripting Challenges on Coderbyte
+                a(href="/challenges/19", class="#{ cc[19] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Easy Algorithm Scripting Challenges on Coderbyte
                 | &nbsp; (15 hrs | Pair)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/20", class="#{ cc.indexOf(20) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Stanford's Relational Databases Mini-course
+                a(href="/challenges/20", class="#{ cc[20] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Stanford's Relational Databases Mini-course
                 | &nbsp; (1 hr)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/21", class="#{ cc.indexOf(21) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Stanford's SQL Mini-course
+                a(href="/challenges/21", class="#{ cc[21] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Stanford's SQL Mini-course
                 | &nbsp; (4 hrs | Pair)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/22", class="#{ cc.indexOf(22) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Stanford's JSON Mini-course
+                a(href="/challenges/22", class="#{ cc[22] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Stanford's JSON Mini-course
                 | &nbsp; (1 hrs | Pair)
             li
-                a(href="/challenges/23", class="#{ cc.indexOf(23) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Medium Algorithm Scripting Challenges on Coderbyte
+                a(href="/challenges/23", class="#{ cc[23] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Medium Algorithm Scripting Challenges on Coderbyte
                 | &nbsp; (15 hrs | Pair)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/24", class="#{ cc.indexOf(24) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Build an Interview Question Machine
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/24", class="#{ cc[24] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Build an Interview Question Machine
                 | &nbsp; (5 hrs | Pair)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/25", class="#{ cc.indexOf(25) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Build a Text-based Adventure
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/25", class="#{ cc[25] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Build a Text-based Adventure
                 | &nbsp; (5 hrs | Pair)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/26", class="#{ cc.indexOf(26) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Hard Algorithm Scripting Challenges on Coderbyte
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/26", class="#{ cc[26] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Hard Algorithm Scripting Challenges on Coderbyte
                 | &nbsp; (15 hrs | Pair)
             h4 Full Stack JavaScript Development
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/27", class="#{ cc.indexOf(27) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Code School's Try Git
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/27", class="#{ cc[27] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Code School's Try Git
                 | &nbsp; (30 mins)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/28", class="#{ cc.indexOf(28) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Install Node.js
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/28", class="#{ cc[28] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Install Node.js
                 | &nbsp; (1 hr)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/29", class="#{ cc.indexOf(29) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Clone a Github Repo
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/29", class="#{ cc[29] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Clone a Github Repo
                 | &nbsp; (15 mins)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/30", class="#{ cc.indexOf(30) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Deploy an app to Heroku
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/30", class="#{ cc[30] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Deploy an app to Heroku
                 | &nbsp; (15 mins)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/31", class="#{ cc.indexOf(31) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Code School's Real-time web with Node.JS
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/31", class="#{ cc[31] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Code School's Real-time web with Node.JS
                 | &nbsp; (5 hrs)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/32", class="#{ cc.indexOf(32) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Try MongoDB
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/32", class="#{ cc[32] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Try MongoDB
                 | &nbsp; (30 mins)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/33", class="#{ cc.indexOf(33) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Explore your Network with the LinkedIn API
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/33", class="#{ cc[33] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Explore your Network with the LinkedIn API
                 | &nbsp; (1 hr)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/34", class="#{ cc.indexOf(34) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Build your first API
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/34", class="#{ cc[34] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Build your first API
                 | &nbsp; (10 hrs | Pair)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/35", class="#{ cc.indexOf(35) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Aggregate Data with Chron Jobs and Screen Scraping
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/35", class="#{ cc[35] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Aggregate Data with Chron Jobs and Screen Scraping
                 | &nbsp; (10 hrs | Pair)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/36", class="#{ cc.indexOf(36) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Code School's Shaping up with Angular.JS
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/36", class="#{ cc[36] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Code School's Shaping up with Angular.JS
                 | &nbsp; (5 hrs)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/37", class="#{ cc.indexOf(37) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Reverse Engineer SnapChat
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/37", class="#{ cc[37] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Reverse Engineer SnapChat
                 | &nbsp; (50 hrs | Pair)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/38", class="#{ cc.indexOf(38) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Reverse Engineer Reddit
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/38", class="#{ cc[38] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Reverse Engineer Reddit
                 | &nbsp; (50 hrs | Pair)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/39", class="#{ cc.indexOf(39) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Reverse Engineer Pintrest
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/39", class="#{ cc[39] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Reverse Engineer Pintrest
                 | &nbsp; (50 hrs | Pair)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/40", class="#{ cc.indexOf(40) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Help a Nonprofit: Team Project
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/40", class="#{ cc[40] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Help a Nonprofit: Team Project
                 | &nbsp; (150 hrs | Pair)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/41", class="#{ cc.indexOf(41) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Help a Nonprofit: Solo Project
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/41", class="#{ cc[41] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Help a Nonprofit: Solo Project
                 | &nbsp; (150 hrs | Pair)
             li
-                a.disabled(href="/challenges/42", class="#{ cc.indexOf(42) > -1 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Crack the Coding Interview
+                a.disabled(href="/challenges/42", class="#{ cc[42] > 0 ? 'strikethrough' : '' }") Crack the Coding Interview
                 | &nbsp; (5 hrs)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/views/partials/navbar.jade b/views/partials/navbar.jade
index f27bf1d06f..b300af6021 100644
--- a/views/partials/navbar.jade
+++ b/views/partials/navbar.jade
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@
                 img(src='#{user.profile.picture}')
               else
                 img(src='#{user.gravatar(60)}')
-              | #{user.profile.name || user.email || user.id}&nbsp;[&nbsp;#{user.challengesCompleted.length}&nbsp;]&nbsp;
-            i.caret
+              | #{user.profile.name || user.email || user.id}&nbsp;[&nbsp;#{user.points}&nbsp;]
+              i.caret
             ul.dropdown-menu
               li
                 a(href='/')