First-year college students are told they need to buy a lot of things before college starts: Dwelling furnishingschool books laptops and other devices, and much more. While these things may make the transition to college life a little easier, there are some digital items that usually shouldn’t be on your standard packing list for college.
This story is part of Gift Guide, our year-round collection of the best gift ideas.
Based on my own college experience, and supported by some unofficial crowdsourcing on Slack, these are the apps that will help you prepare and succeed during the 2023 school year. In true college fashion, they’re all free to download and will help students save time and money.
Taylor Martin/CNET
google calendar
or other digital calendar or planner
Having a reliable calendar or planner is an absolute must for all college students. There’s always a lot going on, especially in the first few weeks of the term, and you’ll need a way to organize your class schedules, due dates, club meetings, and other events. After years of using a paper planner, I finally switched to Google Calendar last year and haven’t looked back since. google calendar It’s my favorite program because it’s easy to access from multiple devices, can be color-coordinated, and it’s easy to use and update.
James Martin/CNET
budget applications
To manage money
If this is your first time living away from home or managing your own finances, you will need a budgeting app to plan your financial decisions. Even after paying tuition and buying textbooks, there are other expenses you’ll want to plan for. Some banks offer customizable budgeting services but other apps, like Mint, work for everyone. CNET has compiled a list of The best budget apps of 2023 to help you get started.
Sarah Teo/CNET
Single day student discount application
to provide students
If there’s one thing all college students can appreciate, it’s a discount. Unidays brings together different deals, promo codes and savings across hundreds of brands online and in store. The savings are available to anyone with a student email address.
Sarah Teo/CNET
Venmo
To send and receive payments
Having a Venmo account is absolutely essential for splitting bills and costs with friends. Especially if you live off campus, you’ll need a secure, cash-free way to send payments to the people you live with. Set up and secure an account in advance so that there is no problem later.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Pomodoro Focus productivity timer
For better study habits
Moving from the burden of a high school course to the requirements of college can be challenging. Having a digital timer for productivity can help students improve study habits. the Pomodoro Fox Timer for iOS follows the Pomodoro method for time management, with 25-minute timers for focused work, followed by a 5-minute break. After four sets, you get a longer break to reset your mental focus. This specific app tracks your study time and offers a variety of white noise recordings to help keep you focused.
Sarah Teo/CNET
GroupMe
class communication
GroupMe is an alternative messaging platform that many college classes use to create group conversations. Often at the start of a class, one student will create a chat for the entire class and email a link that will automatically add pre-existing GroupMe users to the chat. It’s a great way to keep up with your classmates without having to give out your personal phone number. It also has a useful mute function for class group conversations that can get heavy notifications.
James Martin/CNET
Transportation apps: Uber / Lyft
To get around the city
Finding your way around a new campus and city can be daunting. It’s a good idea to set up a Uber or Lift before class starts, so it’s ready to use whenever you need it.
Keep in mind that many colleges have digital maps of their campuses that you can get either through a web-based college app or a traditional app. These tend to be more accurate and have better landmarks and direction than Apple or Google Maps. Some cities also have apps specifically for city or university bus lines – TransLoc are popular.
Caitlin El Chedrawi/CNET
1 second every day
to capture everyday life
It’s a cliché, but unfortunately true: college passes quickly. 1 Second Everyday urges you to take a one-second video every day, and then at the end of each year, it creates a movie of all of your days. It’s an easy and fun way to capture the college experience, even days that seem too ordinary to be recorded. I’ve been doing this for about six months now, and it’s a great way to develop an appreciation for all of life’s good and small moments.
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق