College Community
“Building a remote community.”
Model & Strategy.
Descriptor.
The College Community is an app made by college students for college students to better socialize, collaborate and study better during and after remote learning.
Problem.
Anxiety is the third largest mental health problem in the world. According to the New York Times, 60% of college students have experienced “overwhelming anxiety” during their college years. Starting college is a very big transition to make and the stress of a high workload, increased responsibilities, financial and social life issues can increase anxiety among college students. And now that college is remote, anxiety in college students has risen considerably. According to the Pew Research Center, one-third of Americans have displayed signs of anxiety, depression, or both since the pandemic has begun. The long-term psychological effects of collective traumas, like pandemics, can last almost a decade. As colleges have been closed and remote learning is approaching its 1 year anniversary, many college students yearn for their lost college experience. Many have lost their support systems, are losing the opportunity to connect with their communities and collaborate with their classmates.
Solution.
The College Community is an app made by college students for college students to more easily navigate remote learning and beyond by providing them with the tools to collaborate, socialize and study better in a remote setting, as well as making it easier for them to reach out and access mental health resources. Though we have focused our problem to these problems during remote learning, our solutions are also useful for after remote learning. Anxiety and depression affect a large number of college students, and asking for help is a large barrier for students. We have created an app for students to make friends, join study groups in their classes, take part in virtual/in-person club events, and find resources useful to them with a few clicks of a button. It bypasses the hurdle of having to actually reach out and initiate a conversation which is what stops a lot of students from reaching out and getting the help they desire and need.
At A Glance
Concept Type: Mobile App
Team: Snehita Sana, Nina Zanarelli, Sarayu Namineni
School: Carnegie Mellon University
Watch Their Pitch!
Meet College Community.
Snehita Sana• CEO
Passionate about Statistics, Math, and Business Administration.
Nina Zanarelli • CFO
Uses colour and design as a tool for creativity and storytelling.
Sarayu Namineni • CTO
Determined to use computer science as a tool for social change.
1.
We have made an app for college students to better study, collaborate, and socialize during remote learning. Though we have focused our problem on these problems during remote learning, our solutions are also useful for after remote learning. Anxiety and depression affect a large number of college students, and asking for help is a large barrier for students.
2.
We have created an app for students to make friends, join study groups in their classes, take part in virtual/in-person club events, and find resources useful to them with a few clicks of a button.
3.
Finally, it bypasses the hurdle of having to actually reach out and initiate a conversation which is what stops a lot of students from reaching out and making new friends as well as getting the help they desire and need.
Unique Value Proposition
“We understand the need of college administration to take into account the expertise of mental health professionals, however, this often means that students’ opinions and concerns are pushed aside. And when it’s the students’ mental health at stake, we believe it’s more important to make the concerns and ideas of students our top priority. In this way, we are much different from most mental health apps; we put students first. We did extensive user research through the entire process of our app, from ideation to production to user testing to the design of Version 2 of our app.”
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