Just think when your mum and dad where at school or maybe even your older siblings and cousins, they had to rely on pen, paper and diaries for organisation and word of mouth for recommendations! We’ve come a long way and now in the digital age, your phone is potentially now the best bit of kit you will own.
The life of a student can be hectic! This article explores the best apps out there, to keep you organised and make university/college life a breeze leaving you more time to study…or party.
These are essential apps for any student – especially if you are living away from home and budgeting for yourself for the first time
iXpenseIt (Paid) – Enter your budget and expenses and this app will show where you stand in graph form – really visual and easy to see if you have went over budget. The app can work out your average expense per day and keeps track of your top expense per month.
My Student Budget Planner (Free ) – Steer clear of debt with this app. Helps you manage your student finances, the app has been specifically chosen as it helps to track your spending and sends alerts as soon as you have went over budget!
Groupon (Free) – One of the best money saving tools to have at the tip of your fingertips. Great daily offers from restaurants and beauty to nights out and weekends away.
Amazon Student (Free)- Lets you scan the barcode of textbooks needed, finds a good price and adds them to the cart. When you are done with the textbook, scan them in, freepost them back and receive Amazon gift vouchers to spend on the next set. Sorted!
Ebay (Free) – Have a clear out and sell all your unwanted treasures here for extra pocket money for textbooks or beer!
Navigate your way through Uni life with ease and never get stressed about missing a deadline again.
Wunderlist (Free) – Juggling studying, work and socialising can make life a little hectic so you need to prioritise. This great to-do list application helps you get your life in order and is available on most devices. Unlike the popular Astrid application Wunderlist can also be sync’d with your desktop machines and a web based browser. So wherever you are with an internet connection you’ll know where to be and what to do.
MyPocketProf (Free) – Share, copy, synchronize and organise your notes. Set-up alerts to let you know when friends or fellow classmates share notes with you.
iProcrastinate (Paid) – Perfect for the student who procrastinates! Manage due dates for projects and assignments. Allows you to colour code each event you have added making it easy to read and use.
iStudiez Pro (Free) – Never miss a class It was great for keeping all my classes organized and I found it was actually really quite customizable and usable. I was able to add certain study sessions and add unscheduled classes so it didn’t need to stick to strict schedule.
Need a little help with revision – download these apps to help ease the pain of studying.
Wapedia (Free) – Allows access to all articles on wikipedia – great place to start when researching for an assignment. One thing to note, it’s an ad-supported freeware, so be aware.
Dictionary.com (Free) – Does exactly what it says on the tin! A dictionary app which gives you access to over 275 definitions and 80,000 synonyms. Definitely beats carrying round very heavy dictionaries and thesauruses.
Stanza (Free) – Another app to not only helps with your studies but will save you money at the same time. Stanza has a collection of over 100,000 books and periodicals which can be downloaded and read on your phone.
iFlipr Flashcards (Paid) – Considered one of the best ways to learn – go digital with iFlipr Flashcards. With this app you can create flashcards for any subject to read wherever you are. You can also share the flashcards online so if you haven’t time to create your own – there is a high probability that someone else has.
Instapaper (Paid) – Have you found the perfect article online for your studies, but don’t have the time to read – this app allows you to save a copy for later.
Running late for class and forgotten your pad and pen? Don’t worry there are apps out there that can help you take notes without!
Evernote (Free) – Like Wunderlist this app syncs to your desktop and is available for most mobile devices. Not only can you take text notes on the move or at home you can also snip webpages, including links and pics, and use your mobiles camera to snap photos and inspiring images. A bonus feature is that you can share notes with fellow classmates or professors.
Voxie (Paid) – Whether you want to take notes on the go or catch up on sleep in your lectures Voixe is a comprehensive recording app. Offering various quality settings and the ability to categorise your saved notes it also has some nifty collaborationfeatures. Your recorded notes can also be distributed to multiple recipients, ideal for group projects, through the group share functionality. Whats even better is the transcribe feature that lets you share to email, sms and twitter.
Even if you’re snowed under with revision – these apps make sure you never miss a thing and once the tests are finished – get your social life back on track
Facebook (Free) - Needs no introduction. Facebook from your computer to the palm of your hands. Just don’t poke your friend when you’re in a lecture!
Around Me (Free) – New to town? This app finds all your local amenities including bars, banks, hospitals, taxi companies, restaurants, take-aways, supermarkets and more. Basically everything you need to know about your new home.
Free Wi-Fi Finder – No credit on your phone? Not to worry this app allows you to find the nearest free Wi-Fi internet access point.
Skype (Free) – Need to speak to your lecturer but can’t get into university. Join Skype and with this app you can have a chat or send and receive instant messages and get your query answered in seconds.
Foursquare (Free) – Like the Around Me app Foursquare lets you know what’s located in your area. It has the added benefit of seeing what friends and other Foursquare users recommend or are currently visiting. Another great feature is merchants offer discounts and special deals once you have “checked in” at their location, great for the student budget.
TweetDeck (Free) – There are many twitter apps out there but this one is stands out as the best both for your handheld device and your desktop. No wonder Twitter bought the software for over $40 million!
LinkedIn (Free) – It is never too early to start building up a professional network – people you meet now – could be the key to your success in the future! This app allows you to capture the person’s details as soon as soon as you have met them – so get linking in!
Scientific Calculator – Can’t afford an all singing, all dancing calculator for your course, download this app and convert your phone to a scientific calculator. Features include on screen history and multi-line display.
Anatomylab (Paid) – For medical/human biology students, Anatomylab lets you dissect and explore a virtual human body.
Periodic Table of the Element (Free) – A must for any Chemistry student, an app showing the periodic table with information on each element.
As a student you must keep your mind and body healthy so here’s a selection of apps to helpyou do just that!
Recipes 4 us – Student edition (Paid)- A collection of 60 cheap, cheerful and healthy meal recipes to keep your stomach and your wallet full throughout the semester.
IMapMyRUN (Free)- A free way to keep fit – go for a run, jog or even a walk. This app allows you to track your route and distance travelled and calculates how many calories you have burnt. You can also challenge your friends as routes can be posted to Facebook and Twitter.
100 Push-ups (Paid) – Ever wished you could do 100 consecutive push-ups – well now you can with the help of this handy little app you’ll be able to do it in just six weeks. Each work out last only 20 minutes and should be done 3 times a week.
First Aid by the British Red Cross (Free)- Be prepared for any emergency with this ‘Free, simple and life-saving’ app. Provides you with the tools to be prepared for any situation with videos, interactive quizzes and step-by-step advice.
Brush DJ (Free) – This app randomly selects a piece of music from your device and plays for two minutes – the amount of time you should brush your teeth for. Other features include a display showing where to brush and reminders for when to floss, use mouthwash and importantly when to change your brush.
Angry Birds Space (Paid) – The latest edition in the fun but highly addictive game to play when you have some downtime. Take your stresses out on the birds. If anybody asks, it’s Physics revision.
Tea Round (Free) – Are there always arguments in your dorm over who’s turn it is to make the tea? Then this app is for you. Type in all the names and shake – the app will pick at random who has to make the tea.
Netflix (Free) – Once in a while you need to relax and this app allows you to download films and relax
Draw Something (Free) – the phenomenon that is Draw Something. Pretty much an electronic version cross between Pictionary and hangman. Share your drawings with friends for them to guess what you have drawn.
About Peak Scientific
Peak Scientific are a worldwide supplier of laboratory equipment to universities and research laboratories. They manufacture gas generators for use in Liquid Chromatography / Gas Spectrometry analysis.