12 Must-have Apps For College Students

How can technology help you survive through education, not mess up your expenses, never miss a deadline and still have fun? Here is the ultimate guide for all students. You just need to have these 12 apps on board in order make your college life easier.

We understand that college life also means perpetual broke-ness. So yes, most of these apps use the free/freemium model.


1. Pocket: As you often end up doing ‘research’ for a certain topic (here we strictly mean a Google search), you might get several links suitable for your purpose. But the possibility is, you won’t be able to read them at one go. Just add them to Pocket and read them at your own pace, on your mobile device. If not anything, they can stay there for further reference. At least, you don’t have to dive into your browser history to extract a particular article you had come across long ago. Further, tag them according to course, semester, year or whatever your preference is, and stay organised with your content.
Available on: Android | iOS | Mac OS X



2. myHomework: Save your class schedule, and set reminders and deadlines for your assignments. At the end of the year, you also have a comprehensive list of all the assignments you have done for each course.
Available on: Android | iOS | Windows Phone and Windows 8 | Kindle



3. Study Blue: Memory issues? Use the most popular tactic out there – flash cards! Create flashcards and share them with friends. We won’t say that the community is big for existing Indian content, but the neat interface, packed with Evernote integrations, is pretty easy to use.
Available on: Android | iOS



4. Any.Do: An app to track your to-do lists is a must when it comes to college. There are academics, societies, internships and personal errands to take care of. One day or the other, something might just slip your mind. Make folders; add tasks and strike off completed ones. The app’s daily reminder to ‘Plan your day’ might just motivate you into doing so.
Available on: Android | iOS



5. DocScanner: Have an urgent assignment to be sent to a friend? Scan using DocScanner, create an instant PDF and sent it along. The app also comes to the rescue when a few pages from a library book that you can’t issue are at stake. This one, however, is not a free app. If you are looking for a free alternative, try CamScanner for Android.
Available on: Android | iOS



6. Dropbox: Here is what I learnt – hard disks can be unpredictable. They often crash. So always keep a backup copy and one that is preferably on the Cloud. You don’t want to lose that term paper a day before the submission, right? Also, adding points on the go works. Sitting in a boring lecture? Instead of spending your time on Twitter, just complete that assignment. Google lovers can use Drive for the same tasks.
Available on: Android | iOS | Blackberry | Linux | Mac OS X | Windows



7. Google Maps and Navigation: College life also means travelling. Well, a lot of it. Especially if you are in a new city, you don’t want to get lost while reaching the venue of an event or perhaps that party place. Hence, always keep the Google Maps handy. It will help you make sure that the auto-rickshaw driver is not taking you via the longer route. If you are trying to figure out the way when you are on a bus or the metro, Google Maps works as well. Are you a Windows Phone user? Bing or Here works as well.
Available on: Android | iOS



8. Evernote: So we all make notes during that lecture. The best thing about Evernote is its cross-platform availability and despite the fact that it is hugely popular, this one never grows old in the list. Along with those notes, use images and voice notes as well. Here is why a voice note is important – staying awake during that important lecture after an all-nighter might not be humanly possible. It’s okay. Sleep and pretend to concentrate and listen to the real thing later on. Or at times, you might not want to write things. Use technology to save the day!
Available on: Android | iOS | Windows Phone | Blackberry | Windows Desktop | Windows 8 | Mac OS X



9. Kindle: Print is old school and expensive. The world is saving paper by going digital. As much as you may show your love for print, try getting all your books in one tiny device and you shall never think of going back. Does that book weigh 5 kg? Yes, but it now exists in that 150 gm device. All those books from international publishers, which are usually priced exorbitantly, will certainly cost less on the Kindle Store.
Available on: Android | iOS | Windows Phone | Blackberry | Windows Desktop | Windows 8 | Mac OS X



10. Sleepbot: Amidst assignments, extracurricular and future woes, sleep can be an ignored variable. Use Sleepbot to set alarms (yes, you might just make it to that early morning lecture) and at the same time, track your sleep. You then get to pamper yourself by using all the sleep debt that you gather over the week.
Available on: Android | iOS



11. Toshl: College means expenses and often, independent expenses. Ranging from notes to parties to travel, there could be ‘n’ number of things that would make you shell out some money. How to make sure that you don’t cross the line? Use Toshl Finance to manage your money. The app lets you use tags to organise your expenses. So it is easy to differentiate those new shoes from the rack of books you just bought. Set a budget and stick to it. It gets synced to the Cloud, so stay on top of everything across different devices.
Available on: Android | iOS | Windows Phone



12. Dictionary.com: Some things never change. A dictionary is always on the list for students. Only, with the advance of technology, we have moved on from the big fat Cambridge to more portable alternatives. No more Google searches to know the meaning of a word. You can use this popular offline dictionary and thesaurus whenever you are in a crisis for words.
Available on: Android | iOS | Windows Phone