Use your phone wisely and there are loads of apps out there to help you stay on track with revision and timetabling studies, health, mindfulness, and money-saving. Here are some of the best apps to to help manage life at uni.
Studying
MyStudyLife (IOS, Android, free) helps you make detailed timetables, will repeat schedules on weekly (or other) rotations, break down tasks and to-do lists andworks offline too – so if a library or lecture hall is in a signal blackspot, you can still access your schedule.
Wunderlist (iOS, Android, Windows, free) helps you make endless useful to-do list to help you remember project deadlines, assignments, lectures and more. You can share the individual lists with other Wunderlist-users, so it’s useful for making shopping lists to share between housemates, or to break down shared project work.
Offtime (Android, free) is a digital detoxer that comes in handy when a big deadline is approaching. It blocks your calls, texts, and notifications, restricts access to any apps and even limit your phone usage, so you can make sure you can focus. You can make exceptions for the people important to you, or send out custom auto-replies that let others know when you’re back on the grid.
SoundNote (iOS, £3.96) helps you to take notes in lectures. It tracks what you type (or draw), and will record audio at the same time,. While playing back your recording, tap on a word, and SoundNote will jump to that point in the audio.
Revision and essays
GoConqr (iOS, Android, free) turns your notes into mind maps, flash cards, quizzes and slides.
EasyBib (iOS, Android, free) generates citations very easily. You can scan a book’s barcode for easy referencing – especially useful for dissertation-writing – and select the style of citation required by your tutors.
Sharing a house or flat
Chorma (iOS, free) helps split up household chores with flatmates.
Sortly (iOS, Android, free for first 100 items) helps you make a personal inventory. You can snap and record any valuables as well as their serial numbers, which is helpful if anything is stolen or breaks.
Splitwise (iOS, Android, free) keep tabs on shared household costs, so you can easily pay bills, or even just shared meals and birthday presents without arguments.
White Noise (iOS, Android, free) is one for the noisy flat-shares. It has 40 different sounds, from rushing water and waves to spa music, specifically designed to block out interruptions and help you to fall asleep. You don’t need to be online to listen.
Life skills
Alarmy (iOS, Android, free) has a range of ways to make sure you’re awake. You can choose to solve a (fairly simple) puzzle or maths question to turn off the alarm – so your brain will be too awake to press snooze. Or you can set Alarmy so you have to get out of bed and take a picture of a registered place, like a sink on the other side of the room, to switch off the alarm.
Citymapper (iOS, Android, web, free) combines maps with live travel information for buses, Tubes, train, ferry, tram and cycling dock stations in most major cities.
Unroll.me (iOS, Android, web, free) – brings up a list of every mailing list you’re subscribed to, so you can quickly remove any you don’t want. It combines the newsletters you do want into one digest email, rather than lots of interruptions pinging on your phone everyday. Ideal for sorting through all those freshers’ week mailing lists you signed up to.
Budgeting
Stampuno (iOS, Android, free) digitises loyalty cards. It works with hundreds of loyalty programmes, including big ones like Clubcard and Nectar, and stores your card details so you don’t need to keep them in your wallet.
Spending tracker (iOS, Android, free) is a budgeting app that tracks your spending, turns your finances into graphs that highlight where your cash goes each month, reminds you to pay bills, and waves a red flag when you’re overspending.
Goodbudget (iOS, Android, web, free) transfers cash into different “envelopes” for various purposes. You can check the envelope balances, sync with bank accounts and other devices, and track expenses. Useful for budgeting with a partner or housemates.
Student Beans (iOs, Android, web) gives you details and access to student discounts to secure money off. Includes an ID to flash in shops to secure a student discount, plus some deals exclusive to the app and website.