Is there an app for everything these days? It certainly feels like it. Whether you’re catching the latest trends on TikTok or can’t quite beat that Candy Crush addiction, apps play a huge role in everyday life.
Apps aren’t just for having fun. They can help make daily life easier and save you time. We’ve picked our best student apps so you can take advantage of all the technology available to you and get more from your days at university.
Best Note Taking App for Students
The best note taking app for students will likely depend on the tech you use. Some apps can be used across technology ecosystems. Windows and Mac users won’t have access to all the same apps, but there will be some crossover.
We’re big fans of Microsoft OneNote. It comes as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription – and you might be able to get a free subscription as a student. Think of OneNote as a notebook on your phone, mobile and PC. It’s cloud-based, so you can go from device to device and your notes will be synced.
It works through a hierarchy of notebooks, sections and pages. You could have a notebook for each year of study, a section for each module and pages for individual lectures or seminars.
A great alternative to OneNote is Notion. it works in a similar way but can be more customisable. There is a free version, but for full features you would need to look at their monthly subscriptions.
Productivity Apps for Students
Good productivity apps for students can really help with your studies. It’s easy to get distracted when you should be doing the essay that’s due at the end of the week.
If you find yourself constantly checking your phone instead of working, Forest could be the app for you. The way it works is you plant a virtual tree. Your tree will grow while you’re working (that’s only if you leave the app running). Closing the app part way through will cause the tree to die. It’s a win-win, stay productive and have fun at the same time!
If you need something a little more extreme, you could try Cold Turkey. Start a timer, and distracting websites will be blocked entirely. You can’t access these websites until the timer stops. There are no ways around it. You can even block the entire internet for a time if you need.
Student Planner Apps
Planning your days, weeks and terms will give you a better idea of if you are keeping up you’re your workloads. If you know when your deadlines are, you can plan around them so you don’t need to do everything at once.
You could set calendar reminders on your phone, but it isn’t always easy to see everything in one go. Instead, we would recommend a tool like Todoist. Todoist is a versatile task management and to-do list application designed to help individuals and groups efficiently organise their tasks and projects. It offers features like task prioritisation, due dates, labels, and filters for easy categorisation.
Apps for Referencing
Ah, the joys of referencing. You’ll more than likely have to reference others’ work in your university assignments. It comes more naturally to some, but you’ll be pleased to hear there’s an app that can help with it.
RefME stands for Referencing, Made Easy. What more could you need?! RefME simplifies the process of creating, editing, and organising references online with just a click. It streamlines reference generation by aligning your preferred referencing style with comprehensive bibliographic data and metadata.
Apps for Student Accommodation
If you’re staying in one of the many properties managed by CRM Students, there’s one app you need to check out. The CRM Students Residents app is the simplest way to manage your CRM Students Resident account from your fingertips. You’ve got everything you need all in one place, so you can make rent payments, submit maintenance requests, view all your documents in one place, contact the site team and more!
University life is exciting but it comes with challenges! Thankfully there are many studying apps out there that will help you to stay organised and focused on the tasks at hand.