With spring break just around the corner and final exams and projects following soon after, here are eight apps students can access from their smartphones to live within their budgets and stay organized. (REUTERS)
Amazon Student
For students who want to skip the campus bookstore and collecting only a fraction of their textbook’s sellback value, this app for Android and iPhone users allows them to buy and sell books at the end of the semester with free shipping. Instead of getting cash back, students will receive an Amazon gift card that they can use to buy next semester’s books or school supplies.
Price: Free
Study Buddy
iPhone users who are easily sidetracked can get a dose of reality with this app that records the amount and durations of each distraction students encounter during a study session and then creates a “graph of study efficiency” to track their level of focus. Students can get personalized feedback on their efficiency to manage time better and get the most out of their library sessions.
Price: $0.99
iTunes U
For students who want to download lectures, course notes and presentations from elite schools from around the world, iTunes U provides a plethora of educational material. This app for iPhone and iPad can sync with a user’s iCloud account, sharing all downloaded material (textbooks, documents, PDFs) with the user’s iOS devices.
Price: Free
Trip Splitter
For Android users taking a road trip for spring break or heading home for the weekend with a carload of people, this app helps to quell arguments about who paid for what by organizing and splitting expenses. Keep track of gas costs, manage several trips at once and choose between an even or uneven split of an expense.
Price: Free
Readability
To avoid eye strain while staying on top of current events, the Readability app for iPhone removes all extraneous images and text from a webpage and gives users a simple, clean reading view. Users will need to sign up for a free Readability account but can enjoy automatically-synched articles on their computer at home after downloading.
Price: Free
AVG AntiVirus
Want to protect against malware and theft with one app? The AVG AntiVirus app for Android allows users to avoid viruses and locate their phone if lost or stolen, shows an onscreen message to increase the chances it’ll be returned, and can prevent prying eyes from accessing personal data by locking or wiping it clean remotely. Users can also get the most of their battery life and monitor data plan usage and storage performance.
Price: Free
Sleep MotionX
Getting enough sleep is essential to success in college and now iPhone users can track and measure their sleep patterns with advanced sleep cycle monitoring to improve quality of rest. Not only does the built-in alarm clock wake students up at the optimal time in their sleep cycle, the app includes “get active” alerts for when they’ve been sedentary for too long.
Price: $0.99
Catch
This app for Android allows students to take notes in text and photo format, organize content on their phone and online account, and share their notes easily with classmates via Twitter and Facebook. Stay organized with reminders and shared checklists to keep on top of collaborative to-do lists and protect it all with a four digit PIN.
Price: Free