The 11 Best Web Apps for University and College Students

GROUCHY OLD MAN: Back in my day, the only apps we had were applications for the draft.

Lucky for you, you’re a student in 2018-2019 and there are a ton of student apps that will make life easier than gramps had it back in the day.

Actually, check out our list of the best apps for students and you’ll have a lot more fun, improve your grades, and have way more free time to listen to grandpa’s war stories.

Note: We DID NOT INCLUDE dating apps. Get to work!

1.  Evernote

First off, one of the best apps for students is the ultimate productivity app. Evernote allows flexible, searchable, effortless note-taking. You can take all kinds of notes (text, audio, image) and sync them up with your phone, laptop, or the cloud to share with others. Even the images are searchable. It’s amazing for group projects and will make you more productive than you’ve ever been before.

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2. RefMe

Tired of those red scribbly marks on your bibliography? Getting citations right every time (does Wikipedia count yet?) is tough for everyone, which is why this app is a godsend. Install RefMe and your camera instantly becomes a barcode scanner that perfectly formats a book into whichever whacky citation style your professor uses.

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3. Google Drive

We had to add Google Drive as one of the best apps for students! It may seem simple, but Google Drive is really a game changer. Save, store, and share all of your important documents offline so you’re safe in case your laptop crashes. If you ever need to share notes or send something to a professor, you can do it in one easy click.

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4. StudyRails

This is one of the least-known applications for students, which is strange since it’s the ultimate life hack. StudyRails takes all of your major distractions and helps you block them out. Literally.

Schedule a block of time to study and StudyRails will automatically prevent you from visiting your favorite sites during that time. If you put the “pro” in procrastination, it’ll help make you more productive than you think you’re capable of being.

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5. Diigo

It’s easy to highlight a book passage for studying later. But what about your web browsing? Diigo is an app that helps you read and research better. It lets you easily collect, annotate, organize, and even share your browsing markup with others.

Tag, highlight, put a sticky note—it’s got a lot of great features that let you directly markup your web research in real time and organize it for studying later. Pretty awesome if you ask me. Diigo is not only one of the best apps for students, but also one of the most essential.

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6. MS Office Lens

Office Lens from Microsoft lets you turn your notes, whiteboard presentations, receipts, books, and more into editable, shareable text. And if you’re seated at an awkward angle in class, it’ll even clean up the glare on the board so it’s easier to read. Now, you won’t lose that delivery receipt and your roommate won’t get away with skipping out on the bill again.

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7. Circle of 6

Aside from being one of the most useful apps for college students, Circle of 6 is the winner of the White House award for Apps Against Abuse.

This app lets you build a trusted network of friends, send pre-formatted messages, and find your exact location. With some of the crazy stories coming from college campuses, having an app that lets you and your friends keep tabs on each other is helping students across the world feel safer. Good job, guys!

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8. CliffNotes

Can’t make it past the 5th straight page of Elven soliloquies in the Hobbit? Couldn’t care less about Atlanta, Tara, and the rest of the outdated Antebellum South themes in Gone with the Wind? Good. We’re glad we can all agree.

CliffsNotes lets you skip all of the boring stuff and get the lowdown on all of the major themes of each book without falling asleep. Themes, characters, plot synopses, etc. You should still try to read the book though…

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9. CampusBooks

This is one of the most helpful apps for your wallet and your brain. We all know the business (erm…scam) of college books is getting a bit outrageous, so anything to strike back at the man is a big plus.

CampusBooks scours the web to find the cheapest purchase or rental prices and the best sell back rates when it comes time to get pennies on the dollar for what you paid. If you need to buy the book immediately, the app shows you the closest stores with the lowest rates. Only 25 years til’ you’re out of crippling debt!

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10. myHomework Student Planner

myHomework Student Planner is a great timetable app for students. It lets you stay organized regardless of where you are or what you’re doing (not doing your homework…). Keep track of your schedule, homework, tests, and anything else school related. The premium version even lets you attach files and change themes. Probably not worth the $5 though.

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11. Soda PDF

Did you know that Soda PDF was one of the best apps for students (and for everyone else as well)? Well, it is, and for a multitude of reasons!

Soda PDF is the most reliable, user-friendly, and intuitive PDF solution for reading electronic versions of textbooks (save the trees!), and taking electronic notes, highlighting, annotating and more! It is also the ideal application for saving and sharing term papers, to ensure that all your professors can view your essays with the correct formatting and structure – no matter their computer or operating system.

Download Soda PDF to help you get those A’s!

Isn’t it great to have applications for college students rather than applications for the draft or a real job?

Use some of these best apps for students to be more productive than you’ve ever been before! And remember, have fun this year!