Can your smart phone get you into college?
The simple answer is “no” but the big-picture answer is “yes”.
If you’ve got a phone, you have the power to be more prepared and much more organized. However, you are the primary driver of your school career success. You’re the one who shows up in the morning, attends class, studies, and gets quizzed on centuries’ worth of civilization and mathematical formulas. However, there are apps that make school (and your valuable time) much more manageable.
Organization and Task Management
There are lots of great apps available to help us keep on top of things. Many people use Dropbox and Evernote to store data and keep track of ideas we need to get back to later. Things (hailed as a “delightful and easy to use task manager”) is a basic app to help keep track of your life in (and out of) school.
Similarly, there are countless apps you can download to help you get more organized; even ones to help you study, learn and memorize. Plus there are the apps designed specifically to keep you from visiting Facebook and block out other distractions. Even if you’re a 4.0 student, there are apps that can even quiz you when you are standing in line at the grocery store.
Time Management
One app, called Rescue Time monitors time spent on the computer working, studying, and even goofing off. By breaking down the amount of time we’re on each project, we know instantly where we need to devote more time, energy, and even focus. Rescue Time sets a clock that generates reports so you know exactly how many hours you spent working on a term paper.
Other Apps That Can Help
The website Magoosh has a list of 20 great FREE apps that high school and college students should check out. There are some superb ones that help with study, memorization and test prep, among them:
Doulingo is a fantastic foreign language prep app. The app is fast and free and works on Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, and English.
The AP Flashcards app is also an awesome study tool. The app includes 2900 flashcards from 8 categories that cover all elements of the AP exam, including history, biology, statistics, economics, geography, government, etc.
If you’re thinking about standardized tests, you’re probably getting focused on vocabulary, reading, and math. A great app exists that introduces you to sample test questions in a manageable – i.e. non-cramming – way. It’s called the College Board’s SAT Question of the Day app and it does just as its name implies …we’re all for this one.
You have got a lot on your plate and there’s probably plenty of other things you just don’t have time to conquer. However, with just a little organization, it’s astonishing how much you can accomplish. Apps that help with organization, task management, and time management can easily streamline your entire workload. They’ll make you feel less cluttered, they’ll keep you up to date and they’ll give you the sense that you’re in control of your day-to-day life. The more productive you are, the more confident you will feel. That’s a win-win.
Here are some great resources for apps:
Doulingo:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.duolingo
Study Blue
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.studyblue
Quizlet
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quizlet-flashcards-study-tools/id546473125?mt=8
Magoosh
http://magoosh.com/sat/2014/top-20-free-apps-for-high-school-and-college-students/
US News & World Report Article
http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2014/01/06/3-apps-to-help-high-schoolers-organize-their-college-search
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