If your iPhone is your lifeline, then use it to start the school year out on the right foot.
It’s easy to set goals at the start of the semester when you’re still relaxed from the summer, but it becomes harder to follow through as classes start and the responsibilities pile up. Everyone could use a little assistance sticking to their plans, so clear out some space on your phone and you’ll have help at your fingertips.
These apps will help you navigate the school year with ease:
To stick to a budget: Mint
If you’re always turning down pricey social plans with friends because you’ve run out of money, Mint will help you budget for those weekend brunches. Mint connects to all of your different accounts, including your bank, credit cards and bills, to let you know how much you owe each month. It helps track your money, so you know exactly where you’ve been spending it. The app will let you know if you’ve been shelling out too much money at Sweetgreen or Whole Foods. It also assists you in budgeting your money, by letting you know in the app how much you have left after bills. This allows you to save for both the necessary costs, like rent, as well as the non-essentials like new clothes or ice cream in Georgetown.
Free.
To take a breather: Headspace
At times, college can make you feel like you’re losing your mind. You have assignments, student organization commitments and drama with your friends, all mixed with spending time so far away from your family. It can be overwhelming for students of all ages, but especially for freshmen. Headspace helps you take a few minutes each day to yourself for meditation exercises. The exercises only take up to three minutes, so you never have an excuse to skip one. It offers 10 different types of meditation and each session builds upon the previous session. This allows you to slowly improve at meditation. Headspace sends you a daily reminder, so you’ll never forget to give your brain a break every once in awhile.
10 free sessions. $12.95 per month.
To ace your classes: Evernote
It’s hard to keep your notes organized when they can come in the various forms, from pictures on your phone to typed notes on your computer and highlighted handouts from your professors. But Evernote makes it easy to put everything in one place. This means you can study anywhere in the District without dragging around all of your notebooks. Evernote’s features are endless. You can scan handwritten notes and import them into the app, create separate notebooks for all of your classes or record lectures right from the app and put them directly in your notes. Photos can then be searched for specific words or phrases in them. The features are endless. You never have to worry about losing notes again. This way, you’ll never miss a beat in class.
Basic version, Free. Evernote plus, with features like unlimited storage and unlimited devices, $34.99 per year.
To stay organized: Studious – Homework Planner
A professor announces that a paper is due tomorrow and you have a moment of sheer panic – you completely forgot about it. Studious – Homework Planner will make sure this never happens again. All you have to do is input all of your exams and paper due dates at the beginning of the year into the calendar on the app. Then, you’re able to sort assignments by class, which will keep them all in one convenient and portable place. Studious will also send you reminders leading up to the paper or test, so you’ll have time to prepare and ace every assignment.
$1.99
