7 App Ideas for College Students

College is an experience unlike any other. Yes, pulling all-nighters and sharing a 12-by-19 square foot dorm room with a messy roommate probably won’t make the highlight reel, but it’s an exciting time nonetheless. 

You’re in an environment where you’re constantly encouraged to try new things. One of the many important lessons you learn is how to work smarter, not harder. The best way to do that? Dabble in the world of app building. 

We live in a time where you don’t need to be a computer science major to build an app. Literally, anyone can build an app using an app building platform (and it’s a pretty cool flex if you ask me). So what types of apps can college students build? We’ve rounded up seven app ideas for you that should spark a little inspiration! ✨

1. Group Projects

We love them, we hate them. Here’s the thing about group projects: they will be with you for the rest of your life. You don’t graduate and suddenly get a reprieve from them. So it’s best to make the most of them (no matter how frustrating some of your teammates can be).

If you want to impress your fellow teammates or professor, suggest your group design a mobile app for your final presentation. Everyone will have a PowerPoint, that’s a given. Ensure your team gets voted best in class by organizing your presentation in one mobile app. Add speaker bios for each of your group members, embed recorded interview videos from YouTube, feature images of graphs, and display your hypothesis and conclusions in expandable cards. The possibilities are truly endless with this option.

2. Digital Business Cards

Everyone has their eyes set on gaining more experience while in college. Whether you’re applying to an internship or your first full-time job, your resume needs to stand out to employers. The best way to impress recruiters is through a digital business card. 

You should still have a traditional resume, ready to be printed out for career fairs, but having a digital business card will make you top of mind. Feature your work experience, show off your portfolio, or include recommendations from past employers or professors. You can thank me later when you land the position. 

3. Recreational Sports

Spend less time looking up your team’s schedule and more time playing the sport you love! You don’t need to be a professional app builder to design a resource your teammates will use all season long. We even have a Sports Team app template for you to easily customize! Add your team’s schedule, roster, practice locations, maps to the games, and so much more. 

4. Campus Organizations  Creating an app for your on-campus organization is a life-saver. Instead of sending out multiple emails a week with important information, club members can save the app you built to their home screens, welcome new members with an FAQ section, create forms for members to submit ideas, and outline the organization’s schedule in a centralized place. Miscommunication? We don’t know her anymore.

5. Greek Life Say goodbye to long email chains and hello to inbox zero. Designing a mobile app for your sorority or fraternity is a GAME-CHANGER.   Feature this year’s recruitment outfits with sliding images, create a form for members to submit their philanthropy hours, highlight your schedule of events, and include an interactive image that shows exactly where you'll be meeting for chapter. You’ll wonder why you didn’t make an app sooner. 

6. Resident Halls

If you’re a resident assistant, it’s your job to oversee the building that you and hundreds of other students call home. While bulletin boards are fun, they only give you so much room to play with when trying to convey important information. Building an app ensures students have a resource on their phones throughout the year. 

Create profiles for each of the other RAs so students can get to know you better, include an interactive map that details where places like the mailroom and study rooms are, and feature upcoming events specific to your resident hall! 

7. Teaching Assistant Resources

If you’re a TA, you know first-hand just how hard capturing students’ attention can be. To make it easier on yourself (and the students), build a mobile app for the class you’re overseeing! Embed a Calendly link for students to easily book times to meet with you, upload videos of previous study sessions, highlight resources students may find helpful, and include a brief bio about yourself! That's the beauty of using a free app maker for students!

Building an app will be the easiest thing you do all day (and that includes choosing a dessert from the dining hall 🍦). Try building your first app with Lumavate today! Did I mention it’s free to sign-up and there’s no credit card required?