Whether you’ve just started college or are in your last year, these are my favorite online resources that have helped make college a little bit easier, and I recommend every college student take advantage of this semester!
Use Z Library Instead of Buying Your Textbooks
Z Library is one of the largest online collections of books and articles that I’ve found all of my textbooks and readings on. It’s completely free and has personally saved me hundreds of dollars on books. You can download your texts as a PDF and read them on your computer or tablet (which is what I like to do). If you like your textbooks to be physical copies, then I suggest looking at other places like Facebook Marketplace/Student Groups, Amazon, or asking friends rather than buying them from the bookstore!
Power Planner
As someone who likes to stay organized and keep my classes, schedule, and assignments in one place, Power Planner is my favorite app. For each class, you can add it to your schedule, add details about the class, create tasks and events, and track grades. The bottom is categorized into Calendar, Agenda, Schedule, and Classes which makes it easy to navigate. All classes can be color-coded and for each task, you can set it to be due before class, the start of class, during class, the end of class, the end of the day, or add a custom due time. You also have the option to pay a one-time fee of $1.99 to be able to repeat tasks, add more than five grades per class, use multiple semesters, and more which I did and definitely recommend. You can also use this for work tasks which I just started this past week. This can also be accessed online, so you can see your planner from any device. There are so many other features of this app that make it the best one I’ve used!
Notion
Since many of my classes are about digital programs, I have switched from physical to digital note-taking. Notion is my favorite note-taking app that I would compare to OneNote, but I think it looks cleaner and you can do so much more! The best way I like to describe Notion to people is that it’s pages within pages. I have six main pages for personal, school, PINK CU Boulder, work, HCCU, and other things. I’m even using it to write this article! Then, within these pages, I’ve created pages that make the most sense for me. You can also create calendars, embed images and PDFs, write code, and so much more! Notion is very flexible and you can use it however makes the most sense for you. Pages can also be shared with others and there are desktop and mobile apps available along with the online version.
GoodNotes
There are still a few classes that I like to take written notes on, and my favorite note-taking app for my iPad is GoodNotes. I love that you can customize each notebook with a cover, page type, and create a table of contents. You can type, draw, insert images, and of course, write! Pen/highlighter/marker types, thickness, and color are fully customizable and that’s why I love it! If I have an upcoming test, I will compile the notes I need into a PDF then print it out to study.
YouTube
This is something you probably use recreationally, but there are so many incredible educators on here that I love going to when I need something re-explained quickly or in a different way. I’m a somewhat slow reader, so I also love using YouTube to search audio recordings for some of my longer readings to help me keep pace and stay focused while reading longer texts.
Google Drive
If you aren’t using Google Drive to back up your work, then after reading this, you should not only try these apps but also do this! You can also use a flash drive, but with Google Drive, you can access it from any device. If you forget your computer or it breaks, then you don’t have to worry about losing your work or falling behind!
Final Tips
A few random tips I have are that you can color-code your Canvas classes and change the name to something that makes sense to you! Sometimes my instructors keep the full name of the class, which can look very cluttered. I color-code my classes to match the colors I’ve set in Power Planner. If your advisor isn’t responding to you (which sometimes happens with me), use a degree audit in Buff Portal to see how far along in your degree you are. I recommend doing this at least once a semester!
Even if you don’t think you’ll need these or wouldn’t define yourself as an organized person, I recommend giving each a try to see if they help because you never know how they may help you!