Top seven apps for university students: Boost your productivity and success
You probably have your phone, tablet or laptop with you at most times, so why not take advantage of the many apps available?
You will find apps that will help you with your studies, keep to your student budget or even make the most of your student lifestyle.
Check out these seven apps this semester.
Study and organisation
Google Drive
If you’re prone to leaving USBs around the place or if you’re your own top email contact, Google Drive is for you. Google Drive lets you store your files online so you can access them at any time and on any device it’s installed on. It also allows you to choose who you share files with, which is perfect for group assignments. The first 15GB of storage is free and you can upgrade your storage for a small fee.
Availability
iPhone/iPad/Android — free.
Notability
Notability allows you to type or handwrite notes, sketch illustrations and annotate documents. The app is linked to Google Drive and Dropbox, so you can easily import and export files. It also allows you to record audio — so you don’t have to worry about missing out on key information while you’re taking notes in lectures! The best part is that your notes are linked to the audio recording, which helps you determine the context of the notes you’ve taken or jump to a specific part of the lecture by clicking on a section of your notes.
Availability
iPhone/iPad — free.
SelfControl
If you find social media or certain websites hard to ignore, it’s likely that you end up wasting valuable study time scrolling through your various newsfeeds, responding to messages, reading articles… even doing a few far-from-scientific quizzes. To avoid distractions like this, SelfControl allows you to block websites of your choice for a set amount of time. This means that you can concentrate fully on your studies and avoid sporadically checking social networks or your email. Best of all… once you put these blocks in place, it’s impossible to access these sites until the time limit you’ve previously specified runs out — even if you get desperate and try to restart your computer or delete the application.
Availability
Mac — free. You can also use StayFocusd if you use Chrome as your browser.
SimpleMind (mind mapping)
Mind maps are a great study tool if you’re a visual learner. They allow you to brainstorm ideas for essays and projects, create a broad overview of a subject when studying for exams and help you make connections between different ideas that you may not have thought of before.
Availability
iPhone/iPad/Android/Google — free. You can also create mind maps from your desktop using Examtime’s Mind Mapping tool.
Student life
Lost on Campus
If looking for classrooms is starting to feel like a treasure hunt, the Lost on Campus app is here to help. This app provides detailed maps of institution campuses around Australia, including everything from lecture theatres and classrooms to toilets, coffee shops and vending machines. You can even see other users’ comments on each location so you can quickly scout out who serves the best coffee or where the quietest IT lab is hidden!
Availability
iPhone/iPad/Android/Google — free.
The Happiest Hour
This app allows you to search for ‘happy hour’ deals at nearby pubs, bars and restaurants, guaranteeing a cheap night out if you’re on a budget. You can use the map to look for nearby venues and browse through beer, wine, cocktail and food deals.
Availability
iPhone/iPad/Android/Google — free.
UniGrade
If you’re having a pre-exam freak out, this app provides a quick snapshot of how you’re going in that semester and tells you exactly what marks you need to pass each subject. You can keep track of all your assessments and see your current grades based on the assessments you’ve already completed. If you still have remaining assessments, you can calculate exactly what you need to achieve your goals.
Availability
iPhone/iPad/Google — free.
