best apps for college students
25 Best Apps for College Students
With numerous assignments, projects, and exams, college life can sometimes get stressful. However, if you have an Apple/Android tablet or phone, several apps are available to help you out. In this article, we will take a look at 25 of the best apps used by college students, which can help you deal with academic life most effectively.
Quick Tip!
Before choosing and downloading an app, make sure to go through the customer reviews, and ask your friends about their list of favorite apps. Doing this will give you the necessary details on whether the app is worth downloading, or if there are any problems/bugs at the time.
For most people, college is the most enjoyable period of their lives. However, there are times when, despite a person's best efforts, being a student becomes stressful. Another fact is that, most students nowadays possess an iPad or smartphone. Numerous mobile applications by Apple and Android provide solutions, not only for entertainment, but for studies as well.
Whether you are worried about managing money, heavy workloads, or keeping in touch with your loved ones, we present a list of the best apps together, to manage all of it. So, go ahead and check out 25 apps which every college student should download and use.
Pages
Platform: iOS | Price: Free
This is Apple's word processor for iPhones and iPads. It has numerous templates for reports, flyers, letters, etc. It also allows you to build charts, and insert images and footnotes with different colors and textures. Its simple design and easy-to-use interface makes creating papers, newsletters, etc., a very simple task. This app works with iCloud, so you can update the documents across all your Apple devices, making them accessible anywhere.
Penultimate
Platform: iOS | Price: Free
If you like writing down notes more than typing them, Penultimate is the app for you. It allows you to take down and organize even the most messily written handwritten notes with ease. In this app, one uses a stylus/finger responsive interface, which makes writing notes and drawing sketches quite easy. When paired with Evernote, Penultimate is a really great note-taking tool to access your data in devices aside from your iPad.
The Photo Cookbook
Platform: iOS, Windows | Price: USD 3.99
If you get sick of eating the same old cafeteria food, The Photo Cookbook app is a perfect place to get you started on healthy home cooking. All the recipes provided in this app are very easy to prepare, even for beginners, all thanks to the high-resolution images with step-by-step instructions.
Google Drive
Platform: iOS, Android, Windows | Price: Free
Nowadays, a lot of study material being used by students is on Google Docs; which is too much to be carried around in most external storage memories. Also, since you might need to access the photos, videos, and documents from different locations, Google Drive would be an ideal choice for viewing the data from your mobile device. Besides, it allows you to create documents and spreadsheets, in case you don't have MS Office or Apple iWork. Google Drive is completely free for the first 15 GB, which is more than enough to store a semester's research and other papers.
Chegg
Platform: iOS, Android | Price: Free
Students always need new textbooks after each semester to continue studying. However, before you spend all your money on these books, and burn a big hole in your pocket, try Chegg. This app helps you in reading, purchasing, or finding rentals of the books that you need at low prices. All one needs to do is search for the availability of the book, and if Chegg has it, put in an order. If you don't need a book anymore, you can use Chegg to rent it out again. It is easy to use, and proves very useful to students as well.
RealCalc Scientific Calculator
Platform: Android | Price: Free
If math is one of your subjects in college, and you need a calculator to solve equations, the RealCalc Scientific Calculator is one of the best Android apps available for the purpose. This app is very quick and accurate. Once downloaded, you won't need a separate calculator anymore.
Twitter
Platform: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows | Price: Free
One of the most used apps to keep in touch with current events, Twitter provides you with news, information on political events, academic research, and much more. The app keeps you at the forefront of what's happening around the world at all times, something which could be extremely beneficial if used in the right way.
TED
Platform: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows | Price: Free
TED is a non-profit organization, which holds educational talks on what they call 'ideas worth spreading'. Use their app to get inspired with high-quality videos of talks from numerous famous and interesting people, directly on your phone or tablet. The TED app gives you unlimited access to ideas from business experts, music artists, prominent educators, etc. No matter what field you are pursuing, this app is sure to open up your mind through their cutting edge and thought provoking lectures.
SelfControl
Platform: iOS, Android | Price: Free
College students often find themselves distracted from studies, due to constant posts on Facebook, Twitter, or other entertainment websites, especially when one does not like the subject in progress. To avoid this problem, you can use the SelfControl app to block those websites for a fixed period of time. Now, one cannot access the sites even if the settings are changed or the app is uninstalled, until the time period is over. When the lecture finishes, you will be able to return to you favorite websites once more.
MyFitnessPal
Platform: iOS, Android, Windows | Price: Free
With all the work that goes into getting good grades, students seldom find the time to cook healthy food for themselves. One often ends up eating unhealthy, high-calorie, junk, or cafeteria food. With the use of MyFitnessPal, however, one can exactly track what is entering the body. The app has a calorie counter for more than 1.5 million food items, instructions for 350 exercises, and a bar code scanner to help you find out nutritional information about packaged food. If your friends have the app, you can add them to encourage each other towards good health.
Dragon Dictation
Platform: iOS, Android | Price: Free
This app is good for students who do not want to invest in a separate keyboard, and don't like writing either. Dragon takes dictation directly, as you speak into the iPad, which means that it can take a lecturer's speech and turn it into a note, if you are sitting close enough. Its speech recognition software is very efficient, which makes it very easy for you to create a lengthy paper or email within a short period of time. The Android app is called Dragon Mobile Assistant.
Skype
Platform: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows | Price: Free
Skype is one of the most popular standalone communication software platforms in the world. All you need is a good Internet connection, and you can communicate with anyone in the world for free, as long as they have a Skype account too. The app allows you to send instant messages, besides supporting speech-based calls and video calls. You can also make calls to mobiles and landlines by buying credit for only 2 cents/minute, which is far cheaper than any deal that mobile phone companies offer. This is a great cure if you are feeling a little homesick.
Spotify
Platform: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows | Price: Free
College life should never be only about work and no play. If you have some spare time between lectures, just getting your headphones out, finding a quite corner, and relaxing to some music is a great stress buster. Spotify allows you to listen to the entire music library on your device, and when connected to a PC, it also syncs your playlists and allows you to download and listen to music offline. The basic free pack gives you 10 hours of music every month. If you want unlimited access, you will have to subscribe for the premium plan, which costs USD 9.99/per month.
Dropbox
Platform: iOS, Android, Windows | Price: Free
This is definitely one of the most popular and useful apps for a student in college. Thanks to Dropbox, you need not be afraid of losing or forgetting notes and coursework. You can use this app to upload a number of files, such as videos, photos, and documents in the cloud, and access them with an Internet connection, even if your phone is out of reach. Once your data is stored in Dropbox, you can easily share it with anyone you want, without any fear of losing the files.
The best part is that, if all your devices have this app, Dropbox will keep all you data backed up and synced with all your devices and the cloud. So, the next time you forget to print out a project, and are already in class, you only need to log into the Dropbox website, download the project, and get it printed. The basic package is free, and it gives you 2GB of storage space. However, if you need more storage, various paid packages are also available.
iTunes U
Platform: iOS | Price: Free
One of the best apps for iPhones and iPads, iTunes U gives you access to more than 600,000 educational courses from leading universities like MIT, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, etc., for free! So once you download this app, you can learn about subjects of your choice through podcasts, lectures, e-books, etc., from the best in the world. Useful if you want to gain high-quality information on your course subjects from an outside resource.
Mint
Platform: iOS, Android, Windows | Price: Free
Saving money is always a big problem when you are in college. Even those who spend frugally eventually see their money disappearing without a clue about the expenses. You can use Mint to track your spending, set financial goals, and control your budget by cutting out on unnecessary purchases. You can keep track of and organize information on your bank accounts, investments, loans, and much more. Who knows, maybe the app will help you clear out your student debts even before you graduate.
Evernote
Platform: iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry | Price: Free
Arguably the best note-taking app, Evernote is extremely popular amongst students for research work. One can easily create notebooks by collecting information from various sources into one place. It can even store and categorize handwritten notes, such as to-do lists and lecture information, keeping the data at your fingertips. Since the information is backed up in the cloud, it is easily available at any place. Its simple design and compatibility with most devices makes it a pleasure to use. While the free version is sufficient for most tasks, you can opt for the premium version at USD 45/year. It will add a lot to the experience and versatility of your work. The combination of Google Drive and Evernote is potent enough to cover all note-taking and collaboration needs.
WolframAlpha
Platform: iOS, Android, Windows | Price: USD 2.99
Primarily meant for students who have to study math and calculus as part of their course, WolframAlpha can be used to set equations, calculations, plot graphs, and get data from a multitude of sources. It also gives you information about calculations, so that you can learn how it is done step by step. The app also works as a search engine, and encyclopedic database for financial information, such as currency and stocks. It is truly a godsend for the students of this field.
Studious
Platform: iOS, Android | Price: USD 0.99
This app is great if you have problems remembering deadlines, exam dates, lecture times, etc. All one needs to do is type in the information, such as the class, time, location, professor, etc., beforehand. Studious will organize this data and remind you about it with enough time to spare. It will even silence your phone/tab during lecture times, which you have entered. It is a great tool to keep you on track, and increase your productivity.
Dictionary.com
Platform: iOS, Android | Price: Free
English is a very vast language, and no matter how proficient you are, there are always more words to learn. Dictionary.com is ideal for learning about the new and tricky words that you may come across while reading books on various topics. With over 2 million words, definitions, synonyms, and antonyms are no longer a problem. As a bonus, it also gives you idioms, phrases, and audio pronunciations.
LinkedIn
Platform: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows | Price: Free
Career wise, this is probably one of the most important app to have on your phone or tab. LinkedIn is a great tool to create a network with professionals who are working in companies, that you might be interested in after graduation. Also, the HR from many companies scout LinkedIn for potential job candidates, and they also look at the LinkedIn profiles of people who send in their resumes. If you don't have this app on your phone, stop reading here, and sign up right now.
Pocket
Platform: iOS, Android | Price: Free
This app is a great help when researching for a project. The program is very simple: it just allows you to save articles, videos, and other online content for later reading. This saves you time from searching around when you are in a hurry. If you want to save an article, just click the 'Pocket' button, and the article will get stored in the cloud. You can access the article now whenever you want, from any device you want, reducing distractions, and keeping yourself away from procrastination.
StudyBlue
Platform: iOS, Android | Price: Free
This is one of the best Apple and Android apps to help in preparing for exams. The app has a vast library of notes, quizzes, and flashcards, and it also allows you to create your own quizzes and cards through text, images, and audio, depending on what you might learn at class. Regular and efficient use of StudyBlue will surely go a long way in tracking your progress, helping you focus on tough material, and increasing your grades.
EasyBib
Platform: iOS, Android | Price: Free
Possibly one of the most difficult and time-consuming part of essay writing is to create a list of citations for the bibliography. You also have to know either MLA or APA styles of formatting. If citations are a problem for you, EasyBib is the right option for you. All you have to do is enter the book's title, and you will get an accurate citation in return. Now, you just have to copy this citation into your bibliography. Simple!
iStudiez Pro
Platform: iOS | Price: USD 2.99
Possibly one of the best Apple apps for college students, iStudiez Pro is a smart and easy-to-use organizer for managing class timetables, exams, workloads, grades, etc. The app displays color coded information, which makes it easier to go through. It also allows you to keep track of assignment submission due dates, course-wise with the help of an attachment feature, making it a must-have for all students.