Best Apps to Help You Thrive this Semester

by | Aug 31, 2020

For School:

Any.do (Mobile and Web)

Any.do is a free mobile and web app (with a Premium option) that helps you keep track of To-Do’s, create various lists, connect or create a calendar and much more. Enable calendar and To-Do reminders to keep on top of your schedule and goals. In the crazy world of online/hybrid/in-person learning, this is sure to keep you on track with all your activities.

Google Drive (Mobile and Web)

Tried and true, Google Drive can be used for free Google Cloud storage to hold various papers, videos, powerpoints, etc. that you can access anywhere. This free application is also handy for working on projects on various devices or for collaborating on shared documents with classmates.

Evernote (Mobile and Web)

Evernote is free (with a Premium option) and is an incredibly helpful notetaking tool, allowing users to clip and highlight important notes from various web pages or digital documents, organize notes efficiently and even upload paper documents digitally.

Grammarly (Mobile and Web)

The Grammarly extension for Google Chrome, as well as the mobile keyboard app are must-haves for writing term papers, emails, presentations and recruitment materials. Grammarly functions as a writing assistant by automatically checking your spelling, grammar and tone.

For Finances:

Mint (Mobile and Web)

Easily keep track of all your finances and learn to better budget! Mint is a free app that provides budgeting tools and resources, allowing you to connect all your bank accounts/cards to track and manage your finances in all one place. It even allows free updates to check your Credit score and provides suggestions on how to improve it and save for the future.

Acorns (Mobile and Web)

Acorns helps you save money in a simple and almost mindless way. The free app connects to your bank account and sets aside the leftover change from everyday purchases by rounding all purchases up to the next dollar. This is a simple and easy to way to save money over a long period of time by just saving up change! Acorns also provides lessons from financial experts on how to best use your money.

For Diet/Fitness:

Campus Cooks App (Mobile)

The Campus Cooks App is a free app where current clients can submit Meal requests, Dietary preferences, Late Plate requests and feedback on your meals! It is a perfect way to connect with your chef and get the meals you want, all while maintaining social distancing guidelines and best practices!

FoodEducate (Mobile and Web)

Fooducate is a free app that evaluates various foods based on how good they are for you, giving them a grade rating. By scanning a barcode or simply searching a food’s name, you are able to learn more about the nutrients and contents. How healthy the app sees the food based upon the ingredients gives its grade, ranging from A to D. It is a great app for students that want to learn more about the food they consume and how their diet could be improved.

Strava (Mobile)

Strava is a great app for anyone who enjoys walking, biking or running. This app tracks your runs and pace in an extremely efficient way, showing your path as you complete it. They have a social media platform element built in as well where you can share your workouts with friends and work together to motivate one another!

Five Minute Yoga (Mobile)

This app is great if you want to get in a quick session before your morning classes or prior to bedtime. Each flow is no longer than five minutes, which means you can fit it in whenever you have time. Each pose has clear images and detailed instructions making it ideal for people at any skill level!

For Self-Care:

Calm App or Headspace App (Mobile and Web)

Meditation and Mindfulness have big two big buzzwords in 2020, and upon researching the benefits of meditation, it is extremely clear why. Although many of us are fairly aware that meditation is good for us, it may be difficult to get started. That’s why apps such as Calm and Headspace are extremely helpful in beginning and continuing a habitual practice. Both apps provide thousands of meditations, sleep stories, and masterclasses on meaningful topics.  Calm app offers a free 1 week trial and Headspace offers a free 2 week trial, so you can try them both out before committing to either app. Both have been shown to help students alike kick off their mindfulness practice in an easier way, and the Premium versions of both are fairly affordable for the year. To learn more about mindfulness, check out our blog post here on how to incorporate mindfulness into your everyday.

Better Help (Mobile and Web)

BetterHelp is a fantastic app that helps you connect with a professional counselor via online chat, video or phone Anytime, Anywhere. Enduring this global pandemic all the while trying to complete schoolwork can be taxing on one’s mental health. BetterHelp is an affordable app that connects you with a therapist as much or as little as you need. If you feel as though you need a little extra help improving their quality of like and overall mental wellness.

Shine App (Mobile)

Shine App is an app simply to help you build more skills to care for your mental health. The app has daily meditations and check-ins to help you learn more about mindfulness, gratitude and self-improvement. They also have a library of 800+ original meditations, bedtime stories, and calming sounds to help you shift your mindset or mood. They also have a community on the app on the Facebook to connect with likeminded people. Daily Shine messages are free, but you can get a subscription to Mindful Moments for $9.99/month or $53.99/year).

Campus Cooks is wishing everyone a happy and safe semester. You got this!

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