Occasionally, the college lifestyle can be a bit overwhelming. Fortunately, most of us are addicted to our smartphones. Since they’re with us wherever we go, we might as well make the most of their capabilities. With hundreds of thousands of apps out there, here are a few that I have found made my life a lot easier in many different ways; academics, relaxing, eating, and socializing.
Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat
Use these to keep in touch with your friends here and back home.– they are also great to constantly use in class when you’re bored to tears. Use Calendar to keep track of homework assignments and meetings that you might otherwise forget.
Price: Free.
Tapingo
Goodbye, Benson lines. Roll out of bed ten minutes before class and have coffee waiting for you by the time you get to Benson. Order lunch five minutes before class gets out, bypass everybody, and be eating before your classmates even know what they want. This also works for Sunstream in the Library!
Price: Free.
Pandora, 8 Tracks, and Spotify
Play around with them and see what works. For me, having no commercials on Pandora One justify the $36 annual fee, but you can still use the basic version for free. 8 Tracks consists of user-made mixes of music, which are great for studying or working out.
Price: Free to download, Pandora and Spotify offer premium packages as well.
Flashcardlet
Make studying a breeze. Design your own cards, share them with classmates, and make studying for finals a whole lot easier since it’s all saved on your phone. Quiz yourself in as many creative ways as you can with normal flash cards, but with no hassle of reordering or losing them. Easily commit vocabulary, equations, dates, and whatever else to memory.
Price: Free with ads.
Wolfram Alpha Suite
Taking an introductory course in a subject you’ve never learned before? There’s probably a Wolfram Alpha App that can make your life easier. Calculus, Physics, Chemistry– there are literally dozens of applications. It’s just a small price to pay for a good grade in a subject you don’t understand.
Price: Most fall in between $.99 and $4.99.
Tripit
If you’re trying to synchronize a spring break trip with your twenty best friends, this is the app for you. Coordinate flights, hotels, and import confirmation emails. Then send them to your friends to make sure everybody’s on the same page.
Price: Free.
OptTown
An app created by a Santa Clara alum, OptTown aggregates local events, specials, and news for your favorite businesses and shares the info with your friends. Keep track of awards and other things, streamlining your shopping and eating out.
Price: Free.
Mixology
Cocktails or Mocktails. Sometimes we need some inspiration for new beverages in our lives. Even if you’re underage, tuck this one away so the next time you’re in Europe you’ll be able to quickly come up with some ideas.
Price: Free.
Why work harder when you can work smarter? We all lead busy lives and sometimes balancing everything can become a little stressful. Use these apps to your advantage. If you have any to share feel free to let us know in the comments!