Summer is coming to an end, and college students throughout the country are gearing up for the fall semester. Now, more than ever, there are countless digital distractions which make the college experience that much more difficult.
For instance, there are currently hundreds of thousands of apps and games that distract students and are a waste of time like Angry Birds, Candy Crush and Tetris. However, there are also a myriad of apps that improve memory, time management, comprehension and even financial knowledge.
Instead of playing Words with Friends and texting friends for hours on end, there are more effective ways for college students to utilize their cell phones to better enhance the online college experience. Here are five apps that will help college students organize, budget and plan for semesters to come.
1) iStudiez Pro
Awarded the “Best College Student App” in 2011, iStudiez Pro is a highly sophisticated planner for college students. With complicated class schedules, multiple homework assignments and social events, college students are put to the ultimate time-management test.
This app helps make this test a little easier by keeping track and notifying users of class and social schedules, homework assignments, group projects and more. Students who utilize this app will be more organized and efficient.
2) Mint Personal Finance
From purchasing expensive course books to deciding if you really need that vente iced coffee, most college students have to worry about money.
Mint Personal Finance gives students a little peace of mind by organizing monthly expenses and tracking where their money actually goes. This app also allows users to input goals such as “paying off credit card” and “buying a new car.” Mint will then analyzes students’ finances and maps out what needs to be done to accomplish these goals. Download the app and see why CNN Money rated Mint as one of the “Best Budget Apps” in 2012.
3) Study Buddy
As mentioned earlier, there are countless distractions that college students will encounter while writing a paper or studying for an exam.
Study Buddy is a personal study tracker that records distraction time while studying. This app then summarizes data and populates a graph that students can easily decipher. Study Buddy also provides feedback regarding study efficiency and how to improve.
4) Evernote
Taking notes has been around since the first teacher taught the first student. Of course the ways in which students actually take the notes has progressed quite dramatically.
In the digital age we are in, Evernote allows users to take in-depth notes and saves them in a cloud-based storage system that can be accessed on any device, anywhere. This app helps users stay organized and improve productivity.
5) Alarm Clock Xtreme
For college students who pull all-nighters and hit the snooze button on the alarm the next morning,Alarm Clock Xtreme is the alarm clock for them.
This alarm will shutoff once you pick it up and walk around a bit or solve a few math problems. These activities stimulate the brain or physical body and helps students make it to the 8 a.m. class on time.
There you have it – five ways students can transform their potentially distracting cell phones into a tool that will help them succeed. These apps can’t promise an A in every class, but they certainly promote a more effective and efficient college experience. These apps can be found at the Google Play and iTunes stores.
Jessica OaksAuthor Bio: Jessica Oaks is a freelance journalist who loves covering technology news and the ways that technology can make life easier. Follow her on Twitter @TechyJessy.
