Muenster, Germany - March 30, 2013: A close up of an Apple iPhone 5 screen showing the App Store and various social media apps, including Google plus, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn and foursquare.
Fresher’s week is sadly over and you’re now wondering what your life is going to be like for the next three years. Moving away from home means you’re finally free. With this newfound freedom, however, comes great responsibility. The responsibility to manage your own time and deadlines. You are responsible for your own life – starting from paying rent and food shopping, to keeping on top of your studies as well as having a fairly healthy social life. Juggling all of this isn’t easy, and you’ll need some help organising your act, which is why I’ve put together a list of the top 10 free apps that you will find most useful during university life:
Wunderlist
Organising yourself at university can be a tedious and tiresome task, particularly if everything you need is in different places. This is where Wunderlist becomes the greatest organisational asset you will find. Using Wunderlist you can set yourself tasks and reminders so you always know where you should be and at what time. On top of this you can write lists, whether it be a to-do list or for your weekly shopping. The great advantage of Wunderlist is you can also share these lists with your friends, making university life easier by the second.
Download Wunderlist on iOS
Download Wunderlist on Android
OnTrees Personal Finance
Worried about overspending? You’ll find that university is the perfect time where money in your bank account finds a way to disappear. The OnTrees Personal Finance app provides all the tools you need to manage your money whilst at university. It allows you to view all your bank accounts in a convenient and useful way, enabling you to make sense of your spending. From spotting trends in your spending habits through useful graphs and diagrams in colourful categories to helpfully pointing out where you could’ve saved money. Easy and automated, OnTrees really is the all-round service for taking back full control of your day to day finances.
Download OnTrees Personal Finance on iOS
Download Mint.com on Android
Chored
Whether you are living in halls or shared accommodation there will always be some challenges if you are living with others, like managing bills and chores together. While it’s exciting to share this incredible period in your life with people who will – hopefully – become your best friends, it’s not always easy. People might forget it’s their turn to do the washing up or pay for their share of the gas bill, while others might just be plain lazy. Chored helps you set up monthly shared bills in the app to distribute the costs fairly, and it will even help you assign and track household chores. What better way to deal with all the niggling issues that might come up between you and your friends?
Download Chored on iOS
Download Chored on Android
TripAdvisor
We wouldn’t dream of planning a night out without consulting TripAdvisor’s user-generated reviews of pubs, clubs, student bars and restaurants. However, this app goes the extra mile, letting you book an entire trip – from restaurant bookings to flights and attractions – all in one very convenient space. TripAdvisor offers advice from millions of travelers ensuring you’re not missing out on the must-go places around your university.
Download TripAdvisor on iOS
Download TripAdvisor on Android
Available across iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia, Whatsapp is the free alternative to SMS. Whether you’re on a phone tariff where you have to pay for messages or you live abroad not during term time; Whatsapp is the perfect solution to save costs on your mobile phone bill. What’s more is that Whatsapp allows you to do group message; whether if you’re planning that fateful night out, or you want to send a message to your whole family back home.
Download Whatsapp on iOS
Download Whatsapp on Android
Mixology
Fancy showing off your new cocktail recipes to a bunch of your friends? Planning a girls night in making cocktails and watching ’27 dresses’? Then Mixology is the perfect app for you. Cocktail prices can be a bitter ask for the wallets of many students, so with nearly 8,000 recipes compromising of 1,000 ingredients, why not play bartender at home? Remember to always drink responsibly.
Download Mixology on iOS
Download Mixology on Android
Allrecipes
It’s difficult to try and think of new and quick recipes every evening so whether you’re cooking just for yourself or having some friends over, use the Allrecipes app to help you out. You can find the best tips, reviews, ingredients and directions all on one page. Referencing an app on the iPad or your phone is far less hassle than having to keep looking at a computer screen so make sure you download this inspiring app before you have to leave your mum’s home-cooked meals behind.
Download AllRecipes on iOS
Download AllRecipes on Android
Maps.me
A mapping app that is completely offline, MAPS.ME will save you money on data and roaming charges, and as a student that’s important, right? It’s available worldwide and all the major cities are represented. More importantly it’s fast, so you’ll be able to zoom in and zoom out with ease and never again you will encounter those pesky blank grey squares again.
Download Maps.me on iOS
Download Maps.me on Android
RefMe – Referencing made easy
After spending hours on that tedious essay, you find you didn’t save all your references in a word doc and now you have to go back and find all of them. ReferenceME is the easiest way out of this nightmare. When you’re browsing the internet from the library while reading the books and journals you need, ReferenceME will be the perfect app for you to save and bookmark all your references. These can then be organised and structured into the right format saving you from losing some of those essential marks set aside for referencing.
Download RefMe on iOS
Download RefMe on Android
Google Calendar
Get organised now with Google Calendar! One of the most challenging parts of university (besides the revision and exams) is managing your ever-changing timetable. Download and export your timetable to Google Calendar and you will have your university timetable where it matters most – at your fingertips. You can even add personal goals such as “must read two journals by this day”, or colour-code your lessons according to subject.
Download Google Calendar on iOS
Download Google Calendar on Android
