1. Build Your Own Websites and Apps
With solid coding skills, you can build websites or apps that show off your strengths and interests. This might be a personal blog, an online portfolio for school projects, or even a small business website.
Using beginner-friendly languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you can get started without needing expensive software. There are free online tools, such as Glitch and Replit, that make it easy to write and test your code without needing to install anything.
What You Can Build: a personal portfolio to showcase your projects, a club organization website, a note app, a reminder app, and so on.
Unlock Your Programming Potential: Students in Our ACSL Competition Preparation Class Are More Likely to Secure Awards
2. Create Digital Games
If you love games, why not make your own? Start simple with Scratch, where you can drag and drop code blocks to create fun stories and games.
Once you’re ready for more, check out Unity to build games with real programming languages like C# and bring your ideas to life.
Game Ideas: a virtual pet game or a vocabulary quiz RPG.
3. Automate Everyday Tasks
Coding isn’t just for big projects—you can use it to solve small, everyday problems too. Automation involves writing scripts to automate tasks, saving time and reducing errors. Python is an excellent language for this because it is both easy to learn and powerful.
Example projects include a YouTube video downloader and a Python script to organize files, rename photos, or track homework deadlines.
4. Explore Data and Artificial Intelligence
Coding also opens doors to multiple areas of computer science, such as data science and AI—fields that are changing how we live and work. You can learn how to analyze data, build simple AI programs, or even create chatbots that answer questions.
With tools like Python’s Pandas library or beginner-friendly AI platforms, you can get a taste of these advanced topics at your own pace.
Project Ideas: create a chatbot that answers FAQs about anything, or create an AI art generator.
5. Join Coding Competitions and Hackathons
Want to challenge yourself and collaborate with other coding fellows?
Join hackathons or coding competitions! Groups like Major League Hacking (MLH), Hack Club, and CodeDay run events where you can build projects in a few hours or days. It’s a great way to learn, meet new friends, and have fun creating cool stuff.
Check out the 12 Top Computer Science Competitions for High School Students to learn more!
6. Build a Portfolio for College and Future Jobs
We encourage students to keep track of the STEM projects they build (websites, apps, games, or data projects) in an online portfolio. It’s a great way to show colleges or future employers what they can do and their passion for coding. Use GitHub to share your code and demonstrate your capabilities to others.
7. Prepare for the Future Job Market
Coding skills aren’t just for “tech jobs” anymore. Nearly every industry uses technology. Learning to code helps teens develop problem-solving skills and creativity that will serve them regardless of their career path. Coding is a skill that will only become more valuable in the years ahead.
Aralia Students Are 3x More Likely to Place Top Computer Science Competitions
So, how can you get started?
You don’t have to be a genius or spend hours coding every day. Start with free resources like Code.org, Tynker, or freeCodeCamp. For more in-depth learning, check out courses like Harvard’s CS50, or browse beginner classes on Coursera and Udemy.
6 Best Ways to Learn How to Code for High School Students
Try building small projects, like a quiz game or a to-do list app, to practice. Join coding clubs at school or participate in online communities like Discord and Reddit (r/learnprogramming) to receive support and connect with like-minded individuals who also code.
Coding is more than just writing lines of text. It’s about creating, experimenting, and solving problems. As a skill, it will help you in school, future careers, and everyday life. So, if you’re curious, try coding today. You never know where it might take you!
Ready to Start?
At Aralia, the ACSL Competition Prep program helps students build the skills and confidence needed to excel in the American Computer Science League. The course includes two weeks of foundational programming followed by focused sessions on all 12 ACSL topics, with off-topic problems before each contest to boost problem-solving skills. Taught by a former Computer Science teacher at The Dalton School and an award-winning ACSL coach, the program offers expert instruction and proven mentorship to help students strengthen their problem-solving abilities and prepare them for success.
ACSL Competition Prep
The program begins with two weeks of dedicated programming practice to provide participants with an opportunity to enhance their skills. Subsequently, each of the 12 ACSL topics is allocated a two-week period, allowing ample time for in-depth exploration and understanding. Prior to each contest, participants are presented with two programming problems that are intentionally unrelated to the current topics. These problems are designed to enhance the coder’s skills and foster comfort in tackling diverse challenges.
