For most people, college is the time to explore a newfound sense of independence and take those first steps into adulthood. But who said being an adult is always easy?
Whether you’re stressed about food, money or staying on top of your workload, these apps got you covered.
1. VENMO
Venmo is a very simple way to send and receive money between friends. You can quickly and easily pay back friends you owe money to, and request payments from friends to remind them to pay you back, all while keeping track of your transactions. Whether you’re eating out with friends, paying someone for a used textbook or buying resale concert tickets, Venmo makes it incredibly easy and removes those awkward talks over who owes what.
2. POSTMATES
With Postmates, you can place an order at any restaurant and have it delivered to wherever you are. Studying while hungry but no time to get food? Up late and the dining halls are closed? No problem. Postmates works 24/7, and real-time tracking lets you watch your delivery’s progress on a live map. Payment is easy and cashless. The delivery fee can be a bit pricey at times, but I guess that’s just the price you pay for convenience.
3. AMAZON MOBILE
Amazon is the go-to place for everything from books to furniture. The mobile app makes it easy to find anything you need, track deliveries, and keep track of textbook rental due dates. They also offer an Amazon Prime Student subscription, which you can try free of charge for 6 months. When you’re a college student, Amazon is your best friend. Whenever I see the mail truck sitting outside my dorm with its hatch open, pretty much 95% of the boxes inside are always Amazon boxes.
4. GROUPME
GroupMe is a great app for group messaging, especially if you’re involved in multiple campus clubs or organizations. Instead of getting a flood of notifications whenever conversation picks up, GroupMe lets you mute specific chats or even the entire app. You can also leave or end group chats as you please. It’s a handy way to keep all your threads under control and in one place.
5. EVERNOTE
Evernote helps you take notes and organize study materials and then syncs them between all your devices. You can take notes in a variety of formats, including text, sketches, photos, audio, video, PDFs, and web clippings. By using the camera, you can easily scan, digitize and organize your paper documents, handwritten notes, and drawings. Evernote also has a number of great features that lets you do things like bookmark keywords, create to-do lists, and use the app as a digital notepad.
6. COFFITIVITY
Coffitivity is a perfect app for those who need to study with background noise. It recreates the ambient sounds of a cafe, and you can choose from several audio tracks to create your ideal work environment and noise level. You can even open your favorite music apps while Coffitivity continues to play.
7. FIND MY FRIENDS
This app is already pre-downloaded onto iPhones, but you can find an Android equivalent here. It’s a great way to share your location with specific friends, while also keeping track of where they are, too. You can choose from standard, hybrid or satellite maps, turn on notifications for when a friend leaves or arrives at a certain place, and get directions to their exact address. Though some people are weary of location sharing, Find My Friends lets you keep track of your squad during a night out, feel safe when walking around campus alone, or simply know which friends are at the library if you don’t feel like studying by yourself.
8. WUNDERLIST
There’s a lot to keep track of in college. Wunderlist lets you create to-do lists, set reminders, organize sub-lists, make notes on different tasks, and collaborate with friends. In addition to being way more organized and useful than the standard Reminders or Notes apps on iPhone, it’s also much more visually appealing.
9. MINT
A big part of college is managing your own money. Mint makes budgeting seem less daunting by tracking all transactions that you make and organizing them into a neat little monthly spending report. You can set limits for yourself, set up bill reminders and analyze your own spending habits. Mint shows you what you’re buying and where you can save.
10. YOUR COLLEGE’S APP
Don’t overlook your college’s app, because it might be your greatest resource! Most colleges have developed apps where you can keep track of the essentials, like classes, grades, maps, finances, and registration.