Being a student, you always have to juggle with sleep, studying, and social life. To make your days run smooth, check out the list of super useful apps to have on your phone. They’ll help you feel more in control of your life, save money on travelling, and keep things organized.
Circuit App
Dorms in the UK have laundry rooms with washing machines and dryers that can be paid either by a laundry card or an app. Circuit App is an absolute must to have on your phone if you want to do your laundry quickly.
All you need to do is register using your email address and top the account up with some money using your credit card. Then scan the QR code on the machine and that’s it! For one load you’ll spend about four pounds: 2.60 for a washing and 1.30 for the dryer.
The app also shows you how much time you have left until laundry is done.
Mobile Provider App
Being a student, I go over gigabites of data on my phone really quickly. And it’s always unexpected to have run out of data halfway through the month. That’s when this app comes in very handy.
I use a British mobile network company called Giffgaff. It is very popular among students mainly for two reasons. First, their SIM cards are typically provided as part of a welcome pack when you move into your dorm – which is very convenient because you don’t have to physically go to an office.
Second, you don’t need to sign any contracts to use their SIM. Simply activate it by creating an account and decide on the monthly plan (also known as a “goodybag”). You can cancel your SIM at any point – no strings attached.
Alternatively, other popular providers are O2, Vodaphone, Three, Virgin Mobile, and iD Mobile. They often have discounts and deals on monthly plans – you just need to do a bit of research.
Audio Book App
Having an audiobook app is such a lifehack to multitask and feel good about it! You can listen to books while exercising, tidying up, on the go or as a way to escape the world. This way you read without carving out extra time in your day.
Most apps have free trials for a couple of weeks. You can find apps as cheap as five pounds (six euros) a month. It is very easy to go through three and more books a month which brings the price of one audio book to 2 euros. So not only do you save money, but you also save trees – it’s a win-win!
Just make sure to note in the calendar the date of your subscription – you will receive email notifications about monthly withdrawals.
One note
This is an alternative to paper and folders. One note by Microsoft Office allows you to make notes on your tablet, laptop, and your phone and sync the app on all your devices.
You can create notebooks for each subject with further “dividers” for each topic.
My favourite feature of One note is sticky notes for my phone. I can write to-do lists and they will automatically appear on my laptop as well – very handy for quick scribble and helps keep everything in one place.
Trello
This free app is like a white board where you can see all your assignments, due dates, and to-do lists grouped depending on the topic.
For each topic/subject/event, you create a board, give it a name, and add cards where you describe what needs to get done.
You can colour code cards, add due dates and check lists that you tick as you go. If it’s a collaborative project, you can add your mates to see tasks on a particular board.
Another useful feature is that you can add pictures along with the description of a task which makes it more visual.
Printt
If you want to save money on printing out documents, download Printt. This app shows you printers located near you where you can print in colour and in black-and-white for free.
It is free because there is a narrow line of adds on the bottom of each page – just be aware of that.
Take a picture or download the document from your phone, choose “printt nearby”, enable Bluetooth and click “print”!
Easybib
You’ll need this app for all the assignments that require lists of citations. If you don’t want to write down citations manually, just scan the bar code on the back of a book and it will automatically appear in your account in the style of citation of your choice.
Trainline and National Express Apps
If you don’t own a car, two main means of transport between cities in the UK are trains and coaches.
Trainline and National Express apps let you buy tickets using your phone in three steps:
- Select date, time, and number of passengers
- Choose the most suitable/cheapest/fastest ticket
- Click “pay by card” and voila!
To save money on your commutes, you can buy a discount card for £12 a year for coaches and for £30/yr on trains. Both cards provide 1/3 off the price which you will quickly pay off on transfers to and from airports.
Photos: Shutterstock
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