What To Do If You’re A Student Displaced Or Disrupted By The Coronavirus Pandemic

Financial aid, remote learning, career readiness, and more.

By Jackie Menjivar

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and colleges across the country are drastically changing the way they operate, and several are shutting their campuses down altogether. The reality is, schools have to make some really tough decisions right now. We are in an unprecedented time in modern history, and we’re sure that these choices weren’t taken lightly.

That doesn’t mean that it isn’t hard on students.

School closures can displace students, disrupt their learning, and severely impact their outlook on the future. While these measures are intended first and foremost to keep students healthy and safe, it leaves a lot of students (especially first-generation, low-income, and international students) in a difficult situation, to say the least.

It’s a weird, uncertain time for everyone -- students especially. We don’t have all the answers for you because, well, nobody really does. But here’s a place for you to start.

Moving and Storage

If your college campus is shutting down, and you’re scrambling to get packed and moved out of your dorm earlier than expected, these offers may be helpful.

U-Haul is offering 30 days of free storage for college students displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Enterprise is making it easier for students to rent cars to travel home by lowering the required age and waiving young renters fees.

Housing

Even if dorms close, you may not be able leave the area because of work or internship commitments -- or maybe you don’t have another place to go to at all. In this case, there are a few resources that can help you find a new living situation.

JustShelter can locate community resources to help you with housing assistance, tenant rights, and legal aid.
Aunt Bertha will help you find free or reduced cost housing, plus so many other services in your area like medical care, food, job training, and transit.

Food

With dining halls closing and meal plans becoming unusable, accessing food can get a little tricky. Here are some tools to help you out with groceries and meals.

FoodPantries.org can help you find food pantries, soup kitchens, subsidized groceries, and more.
WhyHunger has both an online locator and a hotline at 1-800-548-64791.
Feeding America also has a network of food banks, and you can find your local one here.

If you’re a high school student (or know a high school student) who relied on their school for meals, chances are that your school has a system in place to make sure students get fed during closures.

Financial Help

There are a lot of things that you may need financial help with during this time, from emergency housing to groceries and toiletries to technology for remote learning.

Your school is the very first place you should go for financial help. Most schools have some kind of emergency fund or student success office, and they’ll be the most likely (and probably the fastest) source of help.

If your school doesn’t have an emergency fund then you might consider exploring these other options.

Student Relief Fund will work with you to identify resources and solutions to help. While they can’t offer direct financial aid through this website, they can help you find it.
One Fair Wage may be able to help if you’re a restaurant worker, delivery driver or other tipped worker or service worker and losing income as a result of the pandemic.
Student Loans may be adding to your financial stress, in which case, there are some steps you can take to help minimize their impact.

Mental Health

Amid everything that’s happening right now, it’s really easy to put yourself on autopilot and float through the new challenges that each day brings.

Allow yourself the time and space to grieve. Your life may be rapidly changing right now, and it’s okay to feel sad, angry, or disappointed about things that aren’t all about the current health crisis -- like not seeing your friends or missing important milestones.

Remember that your mental health is just as important as your physical health, and here are some resources to help you take care of it.

The Crisis Text Line is here for you 24/7, whether you’re feeling anxious about the current situation or anything else. Text SUPPORT to 741741.
This Coronavirus Anxiety Toolkit has tons of resources for taking care of your mental health amid the pandemic.
The Relational Center is hosting a series of free online video chat support groups for coronavirus-related fears and anxiety.
Talkspace has created a therapist-led Facebook support group to manage coronavirus anxiety, and they also have a guide on how college students can prioritize mental health during this unprecedented time.

Planning for College

High school seniors face the unique challenge of planning for college in the middle of a pandemic, balancing both social distancing and campus closures. These might make the process a little less daunting.

YouVisit will let you search and take virtual college tours (in case your campus visit isn’t possible anymore due to closures).
NACAC has compiled a resource with changes in college admission events, deposit dates, and more as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
ACCEPT has a list of colleges that have changed their deposit deadlines to June 1 rather than the traditional May 1.
College Admissions Forums can be helpful for finding out more info about prospective schools while maintaining social distancing. Learn more about different forums here.

Exercise

Maybe your sports season got cut short, or maybe you lost access to your school’s fitness center. There are still plenty of ways to keep your heart pumping while maintaining social distancing.

YMCA 360 has a collection of free, on-demand exercise videos ranging form bootcamp to barre to tai chi.
SBNation put together this list of free online workout classes -- with some that you can even catch via livestream.
Trauma Sensitive Yoga is livestreaming hour-long yoga classes that you can tune in for as long as you’d like.

Remote Learning

Yes, students are trying to keep it light by joking about their recent enrollment in Zoom University, and we’re all learning as we go. Here are some resources to make your newly online classes a little easier.

Spectrum is offering free wi-fi for 60 days to households with a K-12 or college student.
VitalSource is giving free access to their catalog of e-textbooks and other course materials for students at impacted 2- and 4-year non-profit colleges.
Adobe is providing temporary at-home access to Creative Cloud products for students whose schools currently have only lab access.
Plus, a few general tips for people taking online classes.

Career Readiness

One look at the headlines predicting post-coronavirus economic turmoil, and you might be stressing hard about your future. We can’t predict what the job market has in store, but these resources can help you take control of the things you can.

This guide explains how soon-to-be college graduates can job hunt during the coronavirus pandemic.
MentorMatch is matching college students with tech professionals for 30-minute virtual coffee chats to give career advice, resume feedback, mock interviews, or anything else.
Harvard Business School has some online interviewing tips that might prove helpful if you’re job-hunting in the near future.

Volunteer

Advocacy and activism is a big part of plenty of folks’ high school and college experiences. The good news is, you can continue to show up for the causes you care about even from home -- here’s how.

DoSomething.org has youth-led campaigns to make a difference on the causes you care about, from mental health to climate change and beyond. Check out our latest collection of actions you can take at home.
LiveYourDream.org connects you to a global network of “sheroes” and actions to empower and advocate for women and girls.
These 9 places also offer unique online volunteering opportunities that make a real impact.

Just for Fun

Let’s face it. We’re living in an often strange, sometimes scary, and often unpredictable time. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t find joy where we can. These are some ideas for keeping busy in an era of social distancing.

Stay connected with your friends while practicing social distancing with these apps for streaming, reading, and binging together.
Watch some performances from the comfort of your home. Browse these line-ups from NPR, Stay Home Fest, and Broadway World.
Fight off boredom with these 100 things to do while stuck inside.
Laugh along with these TikToks of young people making the best out of a not-so-great situation.