Introduction

If you asked undergraduates to sum up university life in one word, chances are you’ll hear “stress” a lot. And it’s true — with all the activities and assignments, your years spent at university can be a stressful time indeed. That said, there are plenty of tools out there for undergraduates in a singapore university to help them cope with the insanity. What’s more, they’re all easily accessible from your desktop or even right in the palm of your hand. That’s right, from scheduling to doing assignments, here are six apps every university kid needs to have.

1. Grammarly

Whether you’re an Engineering or English major, writing is an essential skill in university. If not essays, then emails to professors and faculty members — both of which require your grammar to be in tip-top shape. This rings true, especially in essays, reports, and journals, where grammar can determine your grade.

Unfortunately, not all of us are gifted with perfect grammar. Moreover, some small mistakes are hard to catch, avoiding detection even with the best spell-check software on Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

To help out with that, we recommend using Grammarly, as one of the apps every university student needs.  Grammarly is a software tool that’s available on both the desktop and on the web. All you have to do is to launch it and copy and paste your writing into it. Then, the artificial intelligence will automatically sieve out the grammar mistakes and correct them, even giving reasons why. If you’re writing on Google Docs or the web, you can also install the Grammarly Chrome Extension to check as you type in real-time.

2. Noisli

This one’s a lifesaver for those who can’t work in silence, but at the same time get distracted by listening to pop songs on Spotify. Well, first and foremost, there’s scientific evidence that our brains aren’t able to focus when there’s too much or too little engagement.

Enter Noisli, the productivity app that helps save you from distraction with soft ambient noise. This helps to keep your brain occupied while you study, while at the same time, preventing you from bobbing around or lip-syncing to the latest hits. You can choose and mix different background noises, from soft white noise to the gentle pitter-patter of falling raindrops.

There’s even a timer function to help you keep track of how long you’ve been studying. A pro tip is to stick to the desktop and web versions as it’s free. On smartphones, you’ll have to pay for it.

3. Onelook

This one is super handy, especially for those who write essay after essay and find themselves using the same words over and over. For those who can’t seem to remember words quickly enough and want to expand their vocabulary, this is one of the apps every university student needs.

If you find yourself in any one of these groups, Onelook might just be for you. It’s like a reverse thesaurus, where you can search for words by their definitions. It also has a useful function for you to search up words you think you might remember — simply key in the part of the word you do remember, and they’ll give you a list of real words it might be. This software is freely available on the web, so add it to your Bookmarks Bar today.

4. Notion

This note-taking application is a real school hack, especially for serial organizers and note-takers. The app is available on desktop, web and smartphone, and it’s completely free! All you have to do is sign up for a free account, and immediately you’ll have total access to your cloud storage for notes written on the Notion app. You can have as many notebooks, pages, lists and virtual post-its as you want.

Visually, the app is a sight for sore eyes with plenty of gorgeous pastel colours you can use to make highlights. You get to pick headers, and emoticons and customize your notes freely. What many students also love about it is the special note-taking tools that are extremely functional. A favourite is the toggle tool, which allows you to create your dropdown lists. Another tool is the callout tool, which lets you easily highlight anything important in your notes.

5.  Splitwise

We take a break from studying for a second and move to social life. Well, it’s no secret that going out with friends or sharing food with them can be tricky at times when it comes to money. After all, many of us tend to forget how much to collect back or how much to return — which can lead to small squabbles that no one likes.

In that case, Splitwise might just be the app you and your friends need. Everyone has to download it sign up for a free account, and then join a group in the app. You can join as many groups as you need, so no worries about having too many friend groups to keep track of. Once you’re there, it’s super easy to input the expenses. It also comes with preset in-app options to split the costs and do the math with the tap of a button.

At the end of the day, the app notifies you and your friends individually of how much they have to collect or return. With the convenient “reminder” function, it eliminates the headache of having to chase your friends to return what they’ve borrowed, too.

6. Noa

When was the last time you read the news, or spent time catching up on current affairs? If you find it too difficult to set aside time to do so, then you’ve got to check out this useful app. Essentially, what you get from this is curated news in the podcast version, otherwise known as audio explainers. Not to worry, the sources of the podcasts are all reputable and certainly professor-approved.

Now this one’s a paid app and one of the apps every university student needs.  But for all the time it saves you on having to source information on your own, we say it’s well worth it. If you’re still not sure, opt for a trial that grants you 20 free articles on the spot and three free ones a week after that.

Conclusion

There you have it, our top six apps every university student needs. These will help make your uni life easier by leaps and bounds. Whether it’s note-taking apps like Notion or distraction-blocking apps like Noisli, make full use of them and they’ll help you work both hard and smart!