The end of the school year can be overwhelming for students. With summer right around the corner, it’s easy to become distracted. The next time you pick up your phone to play whatever game you’re currently obsessed with, try downloading some of these helpful academic apps instead. It is a smartphone, after all.
Awesome Cal $2.99 (iOS)
A calendar that truly is awesome. Normally I don’t go through the trouble of digitally entering my schedule into my phone. I’ve always been more of a pen and giant paper calendar kind of girl. Then I stumbled upon this calendar that finally meets my standards of being visually pleasing and keeping me organized. It balances everything I need, including a weather forecast on the calendar. It syncs with the iOS one if you already have your stuff in there.
Touch Calendar $2.45
An equally pleasing Android calendar app that syncs with your Google account.
Grades 2 FREE (iOS)
This is my personal favorite academic app. I find nothing more irritating than not knowing what my current standing grade is. How else am I suppose to know the exact amount of effort I need to put forth for the remainder of the semester? Grades 2 allows you to enter the grading criteria of your classes (i.e. weights, percentages, etc.) and then tallies up your current percentage, as well as what you need to score on future assignments to get your goal grade. If the ads get annoying, you can remove them by paying $1 for the app instead of getting it for free.
GradeWizard (Lite) FREE has the same concept as Grades 2, but available for Android users. I didn’t notice any differences in uses, mostly just design.
SparkNotes FREE (Android/iOS)
Let me just say, I recommend reading the actual book, but I understand sometimes that’s not always an option. The SparkNotes app incorporates all of the wonders of the website, but packed conveniently into app form. From plot summary to per-chapter breakdown and a quiz to test your knowledge, it’s about as close as you’re going to get to the real thing.
Flashcardlet FREE
This is one of the easiest flashcard apps I’ve found. Either create your own custom deck or download from a preset grouping. After creating the cards, easily flip though and mark them as either mastered to skip it next time, or starred to keep it in the loop. No more midnight runs to the store for index cards.
StudyBlue Flashcards FREE
A great alternative app for Android users; it allows you to type up flash cards on your computer, and then study directly from your phone.
Wolfram Alpha $2.99 (Android/iOS)
Easily the best app for, as they call it, “instant expert knowledge and computation”. I can’t even list all of the information this app can whip up in a few seconds, but it’s pretty impressive: Algebra, dates in history, measurements, chemical formulas, musical notes. It blows my mind every time I use it.
Other Helpful Hints
Did you know that if you highlight a single word on any iOS device, you can define it right then and there? Pretty helpful stuff and it’s easy enough to use without completely interrupting what you’re doing.
Even if you own a strictly Apple/Android device, you can turn them into e-readers with FREE apps from Amazon (Kindle) and Barnes & Noble (Nook). I use these all the time to download e-books over ordering the way-overpriced hard copy. Cheaper and instant? Yes please.