Newcomers

An app for new US immigrants to learn about the US college and education process.

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Inspiration

My parents are both from India and had to finish their college education in the US. They are always telling me about how hard it was to learn about how to register and success in their colleges. I had the idea to make an app that simplified the process through customized tips and information.

What it does

Newcomer asks survey/account set up questions to determine what resources and tip would be helpful. One of it's main features is that it uses an api to determine nearby colleges that fit the user's profile. It also provide links and resources to application process and others helpful items and contains a glossary of words and phrases pertaining to US education.

How I built it

I used Ionic Appflow, a react native platform for web and app development and deployment.

Challenges we ran into

Using databases with Ionic is very challenging to integrate. Because I'm dealing with very sensitive information, it was hard to find a secure database the connected well with Ionic. Eventually, I settled with using Google Firebase.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I'm really proud that I was able to get a lot of the features I wanted to include done in time. I was really hard finding an api that listed colleges and information about them, but I would one by the US Department of Education that was really helpful.

What we learned

I learned a lot about react native. I had no prior experience with it, and I wanted to try it out to "Reach New Heights." I really like how it is structured and I will definitely use it later for new apps that I build.

What's next for Newcomers

  • Provide links directly to college admission application process.
  • Links API for Financial Aid qualification check
  • Elementary School, Middle School and High school details based on address provided.
  • Educational resources to helpful course materials.
  • Connect with similar status students and volunteers to provide guidance.
  • Career guidance vs Advance education decision making, and job openings.

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