Apps for a stress-free school year
College maybe the greatest time
of your life, or so they say, but it also
comes with a bunch of responsibilities,
especially if you live on your
own or with roommates. You have
to remember to pay your bills on
time and do grocery shopping, take
your own school notes, manage your
coursework and money and so on.
While it may look overwhelming, here is a list of seven free applications to make your school year a little more manageable and a little less stressful.
Dropbox (dropbox.com)
Dropbox is like a USB flash drive that lives on the Internet. It’s a folder on your computer that syncs with the Dropbox website and can be accessed from anywhere: school computers, personal computers and even from your mobile devices. All you have to do is drop a file in the folder, and voilà.
Evernote (evernote.com) You could save all your notes in separate text files, or you could use Evernote. It’s a note-taking application that syncs to the Internet. That way, you can access your notes from any device, and, if your computer crashes, you won’t lose anything. In addition to text, you can add PowerPoints, PDF, pictures, websites, audio files and more, which can all be shared with others. The best part? You can search across all your notes.
Google Docs (drive.google.com)
Google Docs is like Microsoft Office in your browser. You can create text documents, presentations, spreadsheets and more. Everything is synced on the Internet and can be shared with others for group projects – group members can even work on the same document at the same time. Applications are available for iPhone and Android. It’s better than spending over $100 on Microsoft Office.
Mint (mint.com/canada)
Mint is an automated budgeting service—probably the most important thing you’ll need to start doing as a student. Simply link your bank account to the service and start making budgets. The service will keep itself up-to-date with your purchases and automatically add them to the right categories. For example, say you choose to limit the amount of money you spend on clothing to $50 a month and you spend $100 at Forever 21, Mint will notify you that you’ve overspent in that category. You can access Mint on your computer and mobile devices.
Wunderlist (wunderlist.com)
Wunderlist is a full-featured list-making application that syncs on the Internet. You can share lists, assign to-dos, add comments, notes and files, get reminders for tasks and create recurring to-dos, and more. With Wunderlist, you’ll be able to keep a list of things to do at school and at home, assign tasks for group projects and assign chores to roommates. Applications are available for iPhone and Android.
Google Calendar (google.com/calendar)
Google Calendar is, well, a calendar application. Like Google Docs, Google Calendar syncs with your Google account and can be accessed from anywhere, anytime. You can also create events and share them with people. Google Calendar works with mobile devices as well.
Thunderbird (mozilla.org/thunderbird) Desktop email clients may seem like a thing of the past, but now that you have at least two email addresses – your personal address and your college address – Thunderbird is a great application to keep up with your emails. Available for both Windows and Macs, Thunderbird allows you to manage multiple email addresses right from your desktop, even if you’re not connected to the Internet. Like your mobile’s email application, you also get notifications when you get new emails. That way, you’ll never miss an important email again.
While it may look overwhelming, here is a list of seven free applications to make your school year a little more manageable and a little less stressful.
Dropbox (dropbox.com)
Dropbox is like a USB flash drive that lives on the Internet. It’s a folder on your computer that syncs with the Dropbox website and can be accessed from anywhere: school computers, personal computers and even from your mobile devices. All you have to do is drop a file in the folder, and voilà.
Evernote (evernote.com) You could save all your notes in separate text files, or you could use Evernote. It’s a note-taking application that syncs to the Internet. That way, you can access your notes from any device, and, if your computer crashes, you won’t lose anything. In addition to text, you can add PowerPoints, PDF, pictures, websites, audio files and more, which can all be shared with others. The best part? You can search across all your notes.
Google Docs (drive.google.com)
Google Docs is like Microsoft Office in your browser. You can create text documents, presentations, spreadsheets and more. Everything is synced on the Internet and can be shared with others for group projects – group members can even work on the same document at the same time. Applications are available for iPhone and Android. It’s better than spending over $100 on Microsoft Office.
Mint (mint.com/canada)
Mint is an automated budgeting service—probably the most important thing you’ll need to start doing as a student. Simply link your bank account to the service and start making budgets. The service will keep itself up-to-date with your purchases and automatically add them to the right categories. For example, say you choose to limit the amount of money you spend on clothing to $50 a month and you spend $100 at Forever 21, Mint will notify you that you’ve overspent in that category. You can access Mint on your computer and mobile devices.
Wunderlist (wunderlist.com)
Wunderlist is a full-featured list-making application that syncs on the Internet. You can share lists, assign to-dos, add comments, notes and files, get reminders for tasks and create recurring to-dos, and more. With Wunderlist, you’ll be able to keep a list of things to do at school and at home, assign tasks for group projects and assign chores to roommates. Applications are available for iPhone and Android.
Google Calendar (google.com/calendar)
Google Calendar is, well, a calendar application. Like Google Docs, Google Calendar syncs with your Google account and can be accessed from anywhere, anytime. You can also create events and share them with people. Google Calendar works with mobile devices as well.
Thunderbird (mozilla.org/thunderbird) Desktop email clients may seem like a thing of the past, but now that you have at least two email addresses – your personal address and your college address – Thunderbird is a great application to keep up with your emails. Available for both Windows and Macs, Thunderbird allows you to manage multiple email addresses right from your desktop, even if you’re not connected to the Internet. Like your mobile’s email application, you also get notifications when you get new emails. That way, you’ll never miss an important email again.
