What's in this template
Five candidate slots with multi-select on, so people tick every time that works rather than picking one favourite. That's what surfaces genuine overlap.
Why the group chat never settles it
Timetables don't overlap neatly
Student schedules are fragmented in a way that makes 'when are you free?' unanswerable in chat. A structured list of candidate slots is answerable in ten seconds.
Multi-select finds the real overlap
Picking one slot scatters preferences and no time looks viable. Ticking everything that works makes the overlap obvious immediately.
Nobody has to read back through the thread
A poll holds one shared state. A chat thread requires everyone to reconstruct the current constraints from forty messages.
It works for people outside your group chat
Anyone with the link can respond, including someone on a different course or platform.
Set it up in three steps
Add candidate slots
Four to six across different days. Include at least one weekend option if the group is mixed.
Share the link
Group chat, course forum, or a QR code. Nobody needs an account.
Book the winner
The slot with widest availability is obvious. Set a deadline so it doesn't drift past the point of being useful.