How High School Students Can Make the Most of Quarantine

Note: Living through a pandemic is not easy. We understand that many students are struggling with physical and mental health. For those students, just getting by is enough. Colleges will understand. First and foremost, take care of yourself.

However, if you are a student whose main frustrations right now are boredom and a surplus of time, this article is for you.

High school students applying to colleges over the next few years might not have a full transcript of grades to submit. They might not have as many SAT or ACT scores. They won’t have consistent participation in extracurriculars. What they will have—like everyone living in these unusual times—is stories. Stories of what they did during the COVID-19 pandemic. And colleges will evaluate students on these stories.

Some students will have stories of how they used their time to learn to code and build a useful app. Some will have stories of organizing a drive to make masks for essential workers. Others will have stories of playing video games or re-watching The Office for the third time. When it comes time for colleges to evaluate these students, who do you think is getting in?

At Premier College Prep, we’re focused on helping students get into their dream colleges. But this isn’t just about college admissions. This is about using this unprecedented amount of free time to do something productive for the world or to better yourself.

High school students, think carefully about how you are going to spend this time: Are you going to be a consumer or a producer? A user or a contributor?

If you’re unsure of what to do, of how to start, here’s just a small selection of ideas to get you started:

Interested in engineering? Build something!

Interested in computers? Learn to code or learn a new coding language. Build an app, ideally one that will help people thrive in the time of quarantine.

Interested in art? Create some!

Interested in serving your community? Make masks, deliver groceries to vulnerable members of your community, organize community fundraisers, or create a way for your community to support local business..

Interested in leadership? Organize community events, like neighborhood parades for children’s birthday parties or front-yard social distancing yoga.

Interested in English? Tackle a difficult book, like War and Peace or Ulysses. Even better, gather a community online to tackle it with you and hold a videoconference book club. Even better, write a novel!

Interested in business or have an entrepreneurial spirit? Think about what’s in demand at the moment or what will be as soon as quarantine ends. Start a business or a charity to address people’s needs.

Interested in finance? Build a play money portfolio on a site like MarketWatch or Investopedia and follow the market news every day to get firsthand experience trading in a volatile market.

Interested in sports and numbers? Build an algorithm to help you win your fantasy football league.

There is something productive that every high school student can be doing with their time right now. So get off the couch, turn off the tv, and put down your phone. It’s time to create a better world, or at least a better you!