Six apps essential for surviving college

Thrive collab

SPOT PARTA

It can be hard to learn how to use Kent’s bus system, especially if you’re coming from a place that has no public transportation. But SPOT PARTA shows you all the closest routes to your location, and it can even show you the quickest route to any destination in order to get you where you need to go without the hassle.

Blackboard

The Blackboard app offers many features that aren’t available on the desktop version, but the best are the push notifications. Make sure you set them up to notify you when your professors upload new content to avoid that big, fat zero in the gradebook.

Quizlet

With all the extra weight of your laptop and textbooks in your backpack, nobody has any room for actual notecards. Quizlet makes it much easier to create your own flashcards and study on the go. Making it easy to get a quick study session in while in line for lunch or while walking to class.

LinkedIn

Networking is one of the most important parts of college. So how do you do it? With perhaps the most overlooked social media of all time, LinkedIn, you’ll have

the opportunity to jumpstart your professional development and create an online presence that future employers will love.

GroupMe

Whether used with coworkers, classmates, or fellow dorm residents, GroupMe is the perfect way to avoid annoyingly active iMessage chats [and that green bubble from a certain group of people] to keep yourself updated with everything on campus. So don’t be shy, make that group chat with your classmates — it’ll save your academic and social life over and over again.

KSUmobile

KSUmobile is the official mobile app for the university. It allows students to view their grades and schedules, by books and see what events may be happening around campus. There is also a campus map in the app, a bus tracker and real-time updates on parking availability throughout campus. On your profile in the app, you can also access your student ID number, account balances, meal plan and FLASHcash balance. KSUmobile essentially serves as a “one stop shop” for all things Kent State.