College Life
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Student Success
Check out these great apps that are free to use!
In the past, students had to get through school with old school methods. What comes to mind instantly is the old fashioned number two pencil and the handy dandy notebook. A set of rulers, binders, and multiple calendars filled students' backpacks and bags. Students in the early 2000’s had no idea the power and gravity that apps would bring to their lives. With the introduction of the app store from Apple in the year 2008, the app marketplace burst onto the scene. According to AppleInsider only 500 apps were available on the app store. Fast forward to the year 2022 and according to Statista we have roughly over 2 million apps available!
Out of the 2 million apps that are available for everybody to use, I have selected the best five free apps every college student needs to use in the year 2022! These apps should make your college life easier.
Coastline's Mobile Applications Certificate Program
My Fitness Pal
Keep track of your health with My Fitness Pal, this app keeps track of your caloric intake, calories burned, and quality of sleep. College life can get stressful with assignments and exams - your physical activity might suffer slightly. My Fitness Pal will help to keep you by having users easily scan barcodes of food they have consumed. Upon scanning the barcode users will instantly be able to see all the information on the food they are consuming. It sounds frightening, but have no fear by getting more insight into the food you are eating, users will hopefully develop better eating habits. The app also has the ability to tell you how many calories you have burned from all kinds of exercises. You easily enter into the app the exercise that you performed and the results come right back to you! Want to know how many calories you have burned from walking? Yes, My Fitness Pal can tell you that. My Fitness Pal can be connected with fitness apps such as: Fitbit, Garmin, and many others. By keeping track of your physical health your mental health will be better suited.
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Mint Intuit
Mint Intuit was created in 2006 with the purpose of allowing you to track spending and to give yourself more insight into your financial picture. College students should be aware of how much they are spending for school, books, and school materials. Mint gives users the ability to set savings goals, track credit card usage, check loan balances, and create budgets. All from one singular app - and yes all of this is available for free. Personal financial literacy is a subject that all students should take seriously. Students who can learn how to budget, understand their credit score, and accomplish saving goals - will be better off upon entering the working world. Thankfully, the Mint Intuit app gives students the necessary tools for strong financial literacy.
Recorder
Just like the name sounds, the Recorder app allows users to record voices for free. As a student you might have to attend three hour long lectures. Taking notes with paper and pen might not be for you. Get the permission needed from the professor to record the lecture and let the recorder go to work. Once you have the recordings that you need the app will allow you to create a transcript. The transcription file can be shared via dropbox and email. Students can have the best of both worlds with this app with the ability to record voices and play it back as much as you like. You might like just listening to the lecturer to learn more about your course, or you want to read about the course via your transcription.
Quizlet
I vividly remember the days of writing on flashcards and having a giant stack of the cards all over my desk. With the invention of the Quizlet app, students no longer need to create hard copy flashcards! Quizlet allows users to create flashcards, study guides, and practice quizzes. All of these features can be customized for your class and the subject that you are studying. Quizlet even gives students the ability to share flashcards with fellow classmates and user study guides. The Quizlet app also has several different options for flash cards such as: Speller Mode and Scatter Mode. In the Speller Mode users can have the term read outloud and then they must enter the word onto the flashcard to enhance one's knowledge of the word. In the Scatter Mode, Users drag terms on top of their associated definitions to remove them from the grid, and try to clear the grid in the fastest time possible. Quizlet should be an app all students should have as it will enhance your studying.
Enhance Study Techniques at the Student Success Resource Center
Pomodoro
The Pomodoro study technique now has its own app for students to build some serious concentration skills. The Pomodoro technique was developed in the 1980’s by author and consultant, Francesco Cirillo. It gets its name from the tomato shaped kitchen timer. The Pomodoro app is a very unique app, that is based on a method of studying for a solid 25 minutes and then taking a short break for 5 minutes. Upon completing a cycle of this four times, users are encouraged to take a 30 minute break before getting back to studying. During the 25 minute studying time it's important to note that the student should not have any distractions. The Pomodoro app is supposed to boost productivity and focus for students working on a variety of tasks that require high levels of concentration. The app keeps track of the time and the cycles that the student has completed. I think this a great app to help you get through lengthy assignments that seem daunting but can be broken down into smaller chunks.
The Bonus App: Uber
These are the top five free apps that college students must have for 2022. But I have to throw in a bonus app - to help round out the list and to shake things up. In case you don't have a car, bike, or can't take the bus, You can always grab a ride via Uber. Of course the app is free but please note that you will have to pay for the rides. I have used Uber numerous times and have always had a good experience. 2022 might just be getting started and you might need a refresher on apps that will help you get through the school year. These apps will give you the necessary tools to achieve the academic results you are looking for. This list of apps gives users an exciting way to engage with their coursework. Apps are designed to make your life, and if applicable your schooling easier as well!
