Top 10 Apps for College

I always see lists like these floating around the Internet, but the apps always end up being useless ones that I download and then delete the next time I need storage. These are the apps that I use constantly, if not daily to get through college (and almost all are free).

1. Evernote

When I see people still taking notes on the standards Notes app on their iPad or Word on their laptop, I feel the same way when you see someone still talking on a flip phone. Evernote is the best app-taking note because it instantly syncs to your device. There’s been a few times when I forgot to charge my iPad and it died in class but I could switch to my phone right then and there to continue taking notes. It also creates folders and allows you to divide up your notes amongst your classes and with the ample amount of storage you receive with a free account you can keep your notes from semester to semester. With these saved notes, you can easily share a note or entire notebook with someone even if they don’t have Evernote just by sending them an email through the app.

2. Google Drive

I miss the days when all of the Google Drive documents could be accessed through the Drive app, but nowadays to edit anything you have to use the individual app for whatever you are working on. Still, this app is great for looking up documents on your drive. If you ever are working on a group project, Google Drive is the easiest way to collaborate.

3. Quizlet

Quizlet is my favorite website for making flashcards. You can create class folders to organize your cards that can be shared with and edited by your friends. You can also enter your university and specific class so that people can find and use your cards or you can look up other people’s notes from your university. I loved Quizlet so much that for one year I upgraded to the paid version so that I could add pictures to my astronomy notes.

4. Grades

If your professor weights your assignments and exams differently, then this app will save you a headache when trying to keep track of your grades. You can have different classes and just enter in the percentages from your syllabus. It even lets you set a grade target and will tell you what grades you need to reach and maintain your goal.

5. Pocket Schedule

To be honest, I usually only use this app at the beginning of the year. It needs some major updating to be formatted for iPhones 5 & 6 and iOS 7 & 8, but I haven’t found another app that I like as much as it. You can save your class name, class section number, classroom number, and professor’s name to easily have on hand. It shows you your daily schedule and even how long is left in your class.

6. Prezi

I think Prezi is a much more interesting presentation than PowerPoint and have even had professors require that we use it in a presentation. With this app you can edit your presentations, but I like to use it when presenting to keep track of what slides are coming up next.

7. Remind

Remind is perfect for easily communicating with your student organization. It’s a free service that will send out text and in-app reminders that the President sends out. For example, my organization has a Members group and an Officers group that the president can send out about meetings to the members or confidential information to the officers without having tons of people respond to the message such as in a group text.

8. Blackboard mobile

This app only applies to universities that use Blackboard, but because mine does I use it daily. I hate that I had to pay to be able to access all of my information, but now that I have I can access my grades, assignments, and syllabi whenever I want and a lot quicker than going to my mobile browser.

9. WEPA print

Again, this app only applies to those universities that use wēpa printers. With this app I can upload and print documents straight from my phone and then can use the app to find my access code once I get to the printer.

10. Kindle/ iBooks

Last on my list, but I would prefer to use an eBook any day. Because not many textbooks are made into eBooks (or if so, cost as much as a new book), I’ve only used these for my literature classes. Still, I love being able to highlight, make notes, and search in my book easily. Just like Evernote, I also like that I can easily switch between devices while still completing the same task. My only frustration is the lack of consistency between these page numbers and the page numbers of the hardcopy books. If my professor says, “Turn to page 135,” it takes me a minute to find exactly where they are.

#favoritesfriday #apps #school