Smartphones aren't just for entertainment; they're incredibly versatile, and you can use them to help you meet your academic goals. Thanks to these mobile apps, you can fit everything you need as a college student right in your pocket.

1. Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft's note-taking platform, OneNote, is the ultimate digital notebook. You can easily manage those huge chunks of notes from classes, organize them in subsections, and share them with your peers. In addition, you can import pictures and annotate them with the built-in set of tools. If you have a stylus, you can even doodle.

OneNote also has a vast gamut of other utilities ideal for a student's needs, including cross-platform sync, audio inputs if you'd like to import lecture recordings, the ability to add web clippings, and much more. OneNote, unlike other Office products, is free and available on nearly every platform.

Download: Microsoft OneNote for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

2. OneDrive

OneDrive automatically backs up documents and multimedia files on your computer so that you can access them on your smartphone. Of course, it can also backup files on your smartphone that you want to access on your laptop.

The ability to take photos of your class notes and convert them into PDFs is one of the many reasons to use Microsoft's OneDrive. It's compatible with Windows, iOS, Android, macOS, and Xbox, so you're covered regardless of your platform.

OneDrive's free cloud storage is only limited to 5GB, and if you want more space, you'll need to pay for a Microsoft 365 subscription starting at $1.99 per month.

Download: OneDrive for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

3. TickTick

Having dozens of pending to-dos is an unavoidable part of your student phase. To ensure you have a proper schedule in place to deal with them, we recommend trying TickTick.

TickTick is more than a task management app. It's an all-in-one productivity solution with a host of tools that enable you to plan all your work without any hassles. You can build lists for specific purposes, add notes or sub-tasks to individual entries, and even collaborate with others.

What I really like about the TickTick app is that I can categorize my to-do list based on urgency. It also helped me to develop a habit of setting up a reminder so I don't forget. This could be very useful if you're struggling with ADHD.

Besides that, it comes with the Pomo Timer to help you stay focused on your tasks. Some advanced features, like Filters and Historical Statistics, require you to upgrade to premium, but you can still access the essential features for free.

Download: TickTick for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

4. Forest

Smartphones can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they can assist you in reaching your goals quickly. But they can also be a significant distraction if you're not careful. Enter Forest. It's a free app that helps you focus on what's important—this could be a study session or dinner with your family. Forest allows you to put your phone down by employing a gamified timer.

For every moment you spend away from your phone, Forest will grow a seed. If you break the rules, the plant will die. If you don't, it will blossom, and you will score a few points.

Once you've gained enough points, you can invest those in Forest itself, and the team behind the app will plant a sapling in real life. It's a win-win situation. Forest also has an insights tab where you can view all your statistics and time distribution history.

Download: Forest for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

5. Notion

If you want a single app that you can use to take and organize your class notes while keeping track of your takeaway assignments, the Notion app fits the bill. Other ways to use Notion as a student include tracking your budget, creating a to-do list, and collaborating with your classmates in group assignments.

Beyond that, you can use Notion AI to improve your productivity by summarizing your class notes, fixing spelling errors, and asking for further explanations when you don't understand the context of your notes.

Download: Notion for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

6. Coursera

If you're looking for a way to acquire certificates for short courses that would complement your degree or diploma, you could try out Coursera. It's an online learning platform with over 7,000 courses that you can learn online.

But what makes Coursera one of the best apps for college students is that the courses are taught by qualified and accredited lecturers. In fact, you could even enroll for a Bachelor's or Master's degree in some of the top universities around the world through Coursera.

However, Coursera may not be practical if you're pursuing a course that requires hands-on technical expertise. It also doesn't offer all the units that are relevant to your curriculum.

Then again, Coursera is more suitable if you want to take a short certificate course that would widen your knowledge in a specific area you haven't been taught in college. For instance, if you're majoring in Computer Science, you could use Coursera to expand your knowledge of artificial intelligence.

Download: Coursera for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

7. Brainly

A while back, Brainly was the go-to app if you wanted to ask strangers questions to help you do your homework and project. But with the emergence of AI, Brainly integrated AI-powered features to help you finish your homework much faster.

However, as someone who uses AI for research, I don't think it has advanced to a level where I can completely rely on it to do my homework just yet. To be more specific, one of the biggest problems with AI is that it hallucinates, and more often than not, it misses out on important details that would help me get a higher score.

But you know what's better? An AI and a human expert in your field that helps to research and answer questions. That's exactly what Brainly delivers. Additionally, you can access thousands of books on Brainly to help you reference your research projects, making it one of the best apps for college students.

Download: Brainly for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

8. Adobe Scan

Adobe Scan is a straightforward document scanner that lets you capture a wide range of documents, such as business cards and whiteboard scribblings. On top of that, it's equipped with a series of smart utilities to make the process less cumbersome.

Adobe Scan can automatically recognize most of the documents you try to click. That means all you have to do is point your phone in the right direction, and Scan will grab the document without you pressing or adjusting anything. Once you've taken the picture, you can edit the result with several cropping tools as well as filters for enhancing its clarity.

Furthermore, Adobe Scan allows you to stitch multiple files and form new PDFs from them. Before finishing up, you have the option to sign the documents as well. You can simply keep taking photos and appending them to the temporary project.

It even has the ability to parse business cards, which you can then easily save in your phone's contacts. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is available if you wish to extract the text instead of the image.

Download: Adobe Scan for Android | iOS (Free, premium subscription available)

9. Alarmy

Of course, to employ the rest of the apps on this list, you'll have to first wake up in the morning. As you already know, that isn't always the easiest activity of your day. So, to make sure you get up on time, try Alarmy.

Alarmy presents you with a challenge before you can stop an alarm. It could ask you to shake your phone ten times, take a picture, or solve a math problem. And that's why it's one of the best apps for college students.

The choice is yours, though Alarmy has a setup process that suggests challenges based on what kind of sleeper you are. Besides that, you can use Alarmy to record yourself when you sleep and detect if you snore or wake up too often. Of course, you also have the option to access your sleeping report.

Download: Alarmy for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

10. Money Manager

Money is the most critical resource students usually struggle with. With precise budgeting, however, you can easily cut back and keep track of where you're spending. The app we recommend for this is Money Manager by Realbyte.

It comes with a ton of features and lets you add expenses however you want. You can categorize your data depending on the source and configure multiple accounts as well. There's a comprehensive dashboard where you can see your balance and access specific details through filters.

The app also has options for attaching receipts and larger expenses like real estate. If you wish to visualize everything on the big screen, you can also load up Money Manager on a web browser by heading to More (...) > PC Manager in the app.

Download: Money Manager for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

11. HelloFresh

If you're too busy during the exam period to cook a decent meal but don't want to eat out too often, you could use a meal kit app like HelloFresh. It saves time for students by sending packaged meal ingredients to your doorstep, so you don't have to go to the store.

In addition, the meal kit includes recipes, and you can order enough servings for a week. Of course, you could also order ready-to-eat food that you can prepare with a microwave if you're too preoccupied with your studies to cook. Another option would be to order quick, easy recipes from HelloFresh that you could cook with an instant pot or an air fryer.

Download: HelloFresh for Android I iOS (Subscription required)

Survive Student Life With Better Planning

It's normal to feel overwhelmed as a student trying to keep up with classes, assignments, study group discussions, extracurricular activities, and preparing for exams. However, managing your time, notes, and tasks could be a whole lot easier if you use some of the apps we mentioned here.