These days everyone has their favorite apps. Whether you’re a blogger, a student, entrepreneur, you have your essential apps you use religiously. I have been in college for a few months now, and while of course things will change and I don’t expect this list to remain true for forever, these are the five apps I have found to be essential to college life! Trust me when I say that without them, my life would have been much more difficult.
So what are these magical, life-simplifying apps? In no particular order:
- School Email App
- Ebates
- Amazon
- GroupMe
- Weather
School Email – Outlook
My school uses Microsoft Outlook and OneDrive for email and everything else. Some schools use Gmail, some have their own email servers, but regardless of what your school uses, I 100% recommend downloading the app. I didn’t want to add my school email to my personal email on my phone, and I am so glad I didn’t! Just yesterday a friend was helping me print something, and he sent the document via his personal email, and not the school’s. When he went to print it there wasn’t anything available in his account to print! Resending an email isn’t too bad, but that is time that could’ve been saved by having the two accounts separated. It also ensures that I get reminders for everything and don’t miss something important because it was stashed between an ad from Target and today’s Ebates deals. Speaking of Ebates…
Ebates
This is the first time I’ve talked about Ebates on here, but I’m obsessed and you can place all of the blame on Julia, from Julia Does. She’ll gladly take it. Ebates gives you cashback when you visit whatever site you’re buying from through the Ebates website or app. If you’re using a laptop or desktop computer, Ebates even has a plug in you can turn on to receive alerts when you visit a site that’s eligible for cashback! I’ve received anywhere from 1-13% cashback on my purchases – and as a college student I’ll do anything to save a bit of cash. If you sign up by using the link here and make a purchase through Ebates, it’ll give us both a bonus. This will enable me to keep Patience and Pajamas running in tip top shape, and you’ll earn free money. What’s there to lose?
Amazon
Amazon has been there for me the past two months the way no one else has… and by that I mean when I needed a textbook and the bookstore was closed I was able to get it on Prime and do the reading before my next class. Ran out of supplements? No need to call home, just add my address and repurchase the same ones I always do on Amazon. It’s fast, it’s amazing, and when I get around to actually having free time I’ll be using Prime to catch up on Doctor Who.
GroupMe
GroupMe is a messaging app. Anyone can use it, and it makes communicating with large groups so much easier! Some classes have GroupMe’s, and people use them to connect with their peers and ask questions. My computer science class has one, and it’s been a lifesaver on multiple occasions. You don’t need to have everyone’s number, and it tells you who is in the group! Communication is instantly a million times easier. When my lab partner had to contact me about our project last week, he did it through GroupMe. Had we not had it, he would have had no means by which to get in touch!
The Weather Channel
I am going to school in a climate I grew up in, and I have to say, I never noticed how much it rains! AKA it rains a lot and that Land’s End rain jacket I picked up on major sale from Sears back in August has been getting a ton of use. If you’re in the market for a rain jacket for college or university, I totally recommend going a size up or getting a men’s jacket, even if you’re a pretty small woman like myself. When it was pouring one day, I put the jacket over both myself and my backpack and everything stayed perfectly dry! However, I wouldn’t have known that I needed the rain jacket if I hadn’t checked my weather app. I use it religiously, and while I’ve tried out quite a few I found the official Weather Channel app to be the most accurate in my area. An alternative that I did enjoy using for a while was My Sunshine, but after a change in the interface I never quite adjusted, and decided to switch back to the Weather Channel.
There you have it! Five apps that I’m using to make all aspects of life at university a little easier. What are your essential apps? Do you use any of these? I’d love to hear from you!
