These are the Apps You Need if You’re Studying at University

Above: young people. Young people on phones. Possibly looking at apps. Credit: John Morgan via Flickr.

For many young people, university is the first time in their lives when they’re left to their own devices. No parents to wake them up, no parents to feed them, no parents to wash their clothes. Before they know it, they’re eating uncooked noodles out of the packet in a pair of inside-out boxers after waking up at 4pm.

If this sounds like you, read on. It’s 2017, so one of the best ways to avoid succumbing to total bummish-ness if you’ve just started uni is to capitalise on the technology at your disposal. That’s right, if there are apps to find you a husband and apps to order you a cab, you can bet there are apps to help you navigate higher education.

We’ve had a look round for some of the best, which we will tell you about. Right now.

1. Trello

Trello is an easy to use organisational tool that will help to put some order to your studies. You can colour code categories, set deadlines and make notes on different subjects. Trello allows you to create ‘cards’ which can be customised, eg. you can create a card for each essay you’ve got to do, then within each card you can make notes, attach documents, or upload YouTube vids. It’s very helpful for keeping stuff in one place. You can even add other people to the cards, if God-forbid you’re made to do a group project.

Check it out.

2. Zabihah

Going to university often means being far from home. And if you’re far from home, you might be studying in a town where halal food options are slim to say the least. Zabihah can help. The app will tell you about all the halal food in your local area. It’s not only a great way to eat well, but a great way to go out for dinner with your new pals.

Here’s the website.

3. Google Books

Check out that book action.

If you’re studying at university – especially if you’re studying a humanity – you’re going to have to read a tonne of books. So it might be wise to download the Google Books app, because there are a tonne of books on it. Like academic books or super old out-of-print books – very useful for subjects like history.

It’s available for Android and Apple.

4. Qu’ran

There are going to be moments at university when it all gets a bit too much. Remember, your world will not end if you have to ask your tutor to push back the deadline on that one essay that’s made your life a misery. If you need a bit of perspective every now and then, download a Qu’ran app. We like this one.

5. Google Scholar

This isn’t an app, but it is a tip that will save you minutes of valuable time. No matter what course you study at university, you’re going to have to produce written work that includes a bibliography. For some weird reason, academia insists that you cite the books you reference in your work according to arcane stylistic rules, with names like ‘MLA’, ‘Chicago’ and ‘Harvard’.

Rather than bothering to learn what they actually mean, head on over to Google Scholar. Simply type the name of the book in the search bar, then hit the quotation mark (“) symbol below the result. Hey presto – a perfect citation for every style:

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