10 Necessary Mac Apps for the College Student
Going through the first few weeks of college, I’ve found a few apps that have made my university life so much easier. Some of these apps will be things you have heard of. Hopefully, some will be new to you. Most of the apps have been designed for a much larger audience, but greatly help college students in particular.
1. Caffeine
Quite simply, this app keeps your Mac from falling asleep or dimming your screen brightness. Although it is extremely useful for watching YouTube videos, this app is great for students. Just click the ZZZ’s in the menu-bar when you go into class, and your computer won’t go to sleep during the lecture. It can be very annoying to pause taking notes for a few minutes and to return to a sleeping Mac. Download here.
2. EtreTask
This is a super easy, super simple, to-do list program. It has all I want with none of the bloat. Its interface is stripped to the bare essentials. My only gripe with to-do list apps is that I rarely want to check an item off the list and still want to see it. Just get rid of it right then. Either way, this apps is nice to have running on your Mac to quickly add and remove things you need to do. Download here.
3. iFlash
This is by far the best flash card app I have seen. It works incredibly well and has beautiful transitions. It has a cool full screen study mode. I have to add this onto my list, because it helped me memorize everything perfectly for my Quiz in RELI 122. Download here.
4. iStumbler
If you’ve ever roamed around a college campus, you’ve probably went through a bunch of wi-fi spots. iStumbler is a great utility that helps you sniff out what wi-fi signals are out there and how strong they are. It also has sweet integration with Growl (big plus). If you ever catch a low signal in your dorm room or in the classroom, iStumbler can help you out and get you connected to the best and strongest signal. Download here.
5. svnX
Lots of university classes are switching to digital submission for homework. One of the popular standards is SVN (a version control system). SVN is pretty confusing for the new user, so check out this app to make that process easier. I’ve also written a thorough tutorial on getting SVN set up. Any college students should skip step 1, but the rest of the info is really useful. Download here.
6. OmniGraffle
Everyone knows Omni. If you’ve been in any classes that might remotely be assisted with a flow chart, you have to check out OmniGraffle. It is amazingly intuitive and powerful. This app can be used in almost every subject offered in college. Flow charts are a great way to visualized info and to study info, and OmniGraffle is the best flow chart maker available. Download here.
7. Think
Taking notes on your MacBook in class is really useful. You can, however, get a bit distracted with all the other stuff a computer offers. Think is a cool app that keeps your focus on the front-most app, your note taking app. With this app, you’ll never get distracted, and you’ll make great grades (I hope). Download here.
8. iCal
Not a big surprise, but I highly suggest that college students get organized, and iCal is the easiest way to do that. Its dead simple and helps you keep up with your busy college life. I’ve put all my classes into iCal so my Mac reminds me when to go to class (as if I ever forget). You already have it!
9. Grapher
Like iCal, this comes with Mac, but you probably didn’t know it existed. You can find it inside the Applications folder. It’s in a folder called Utilities. Grapher is powerful graphing application for plotting complex (and simple) mathematical equations. If you are an SE (science/ engineering) major, you will probably gain a lot from having this in your repertoire. You already have it!
10. PhotoBook
And finally, how about an app geared more towards entertainment? What college student doesn’t live around Facebook? Give this iPhoto meets Facebook Photos mash-up a try. You can view all your friends’ photo albums in a cool Mac interface. Download here.
33 Replies
Austen on 9/27/2007 at 04:59I would add to the list genius:
http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Educational/Genius.shtmland schoolhouse definitely:
http://www.loganscollins.com/schoolhouse/
Anonymous on 10/2/2007 at 12:30what is your note taking app?
links for 2007-10-06 on 10/5/2007 at 23:32[...] 10 Necessary Mac Apps for the College Student » Dustin Bachrach Blog Most of the apps have been designed for a much larger audience, but greatly help college students in particular. (tags: mac apps college students collegestudent) Filed under Links by hyperlinkguerrilla [...]
Brian on 10/24/2007 at 17:32Backstage
http://www.widgetfab.com/BackstagePage.html
lets you copy your iPod music to any Mac or PC. Great for those times you need to get the music off your iPod onto another computer.
MonkeyT on 10/24/2007 at 17:37If you do any serious writing (particularly for your thesis), check out Scrivener.
What is Apple? on 10/24/2007 at 17:37EtreTask has to be one of the most frustrating apps in the world. No due dates… No sorting… No use for that thing…
Lee Dalglish » Mac Apps on 10/24/2007 at 17:45[...] student (for the time being, always subject to change), I do have a new found affinity for the Mac. These are some pretty handy apps, whether you’re a student or [...]
The World's Smartest Man on 10/24/2007 at 17:47Etretask is a very frustrating app. Good post.
Matt on 10/24/2007 at 18:06LOOKING FOR HELP:
Great article but it doesn’t list the one app I really need for school: an app lock-in utility.Think’s great but I have less self-control than that. I need something that will literally lock me out of every program other than Word for a set period of time, or at least make it a huge pain in the ass to switch out. I’m in law school and the pace requires taking notes with a keyboard, but sometimes things get boring, really boring. And when that happens, I’m on digg reading articles like this instead of paying attention.
Anyone have any suggestions?
Gerardo on 10/24/2007 at 18:09add Adium. It’s a must for any boring class with mandatory attendance.
Dustin Bachrach on 10/24/2007 at 18:13Thanks for all the suggestions. I use a lot of them. I personally use Word right now for note taking, but that will be changing soon. I’ve recently moved away from EtreTask and back into iCal, but I still suggest it for people to check out.
Charles on 10/24/2007 at 18:15A much better SVN client is SmartSVN. It comes in free (foundation) and paid version. It runs on Macintosh, Windows and Linux with the same look and feel.
ss on 10/24/2007 at 18:30i would probably add Quicksilver - great speed/productivity tool. it blows the ‘finder’ and ’spotlight’ away in usefullness - has many mod and plugin options as well:
larsalan on 10/24/2007 at 18:34this is a stupid list
mac’s allow you to set sleep time, even to “never sleep”
and those apps are standard
istumbler? are you encouraging illegal net access?
digital submission, in my experience must go to an assigned sitei use the dictionary that came with my mac often
and yahoomessenger/adium
i take notes on stickies or word
another good one is “grab” also comes with your mac
or book sites are notable guttenberg
Mark on 10/24/2007 at 18:45Willpower?
Dustin Bachrach on 10/24/2007 at 18:46larsalan:
As repeated by a lot of people over at digg, Caffeine does serve a really good purpose. Of course you can set your computer to never sleep, but I want my computer to sleep elsewhere, just not in class. And Caffeine makes that super simple with just one click.iStumbler does not include any illegal hacking services and no I do not encourage illegal access. iStumbler shows you which networks are secure and which ones are open since the Airport menu does not show that (it does in Leopard though).
I am taking a COMP course right now, and all submission is via SVN. I don’t take any arguments to your built in feature list. Those are great. I am simply informing other mac users of other options and features apple does not provide in the OS. Great OSes need great 3rd Party software, and these are some of those.
Eric on 10/24/2007 at 18:47OMG how can you make a list like this without including Schoolhouse!!
its probably the best 3rd party mac program I’ve ever used.
http://www.loganscollins.com/schoolhouse/
Ashton on 10/25/2007 at 11:20Uhh hello…. i do great in school and i owe it all to sixtyforce
nathan lee on 10/25/2007 at 13:34I would also suggest End Note for college students. If you have to write a paper, this turns the tedious, hours-long process of writing and formatting the bibliography into a 20 minute cake walk.
Jake on 10/25/2007 at 15:08I also highly recommend Genius. I’ve used a bunch of flash card apps and Genius is the best. The way it tests you is very intuitive: It really helps you memorize things.
Dustin, I would recommend pairing Genius and iFlash. Genius is very good for learning material, and I like using iFlash to print flash cards. They both have import/export options, so you should be able to easily go between them.
links for 2007-10-25 « 個人的な雑記 on 10/25/2007 at 16:30[...] 10 Necessary Mac Apps for the College Student » Dustin Bachrach Blog (tags: Mac software) [...]
Anonymous on 10/25/2007 at 21:53if it wasnt for adium i wouldve dropped out a while ago
Anonymous on 10/26/2007 at 07:16Need to make & organize your notes? There’s a plethora of OSX apps dedicated to this task. Journler just might be the best (and it’s free - as in “donation-ware”).
Rey on 10/27/2007 at 20:42Just for an update with leopard now you can do your to-do’s directly in mail.
Apps for college students « 0ddn1x: tricks with *nix on 10/28/2007 at 12:24[...] Apps for college students Filed under: OSX — 0ddn1x @ 2007-10-28 18:24:45 +0000 http://dbachrach.com/blog/2007/09/17/10-necessary-mac-apps-for-the-college-student/ [...]
10 Necessary Mac Apps for the College Student « Apple News on 10/29/2007 at 12:46[...] for a much larger audience, but greatly help college students in particular.[…] Thanks to ilkeryoldas for providing this nice story on [...]
firefli on 10/30/2007 at 22:23This list is great! And free :) Thank you thank you thank you!
With the addition of genius and schoolhouse, this list would be complete.
And thanks for the adium suggestion - it’s EXACTLY what I need (along with every other college student)
Josiah Bancroft on 11/20/2007 at 21:30Stumbled into your discussion with a suggestion for tasks. I have been using TaskPaper which is text based and pretty easy. For projects I am trying OmniFocus, but a simple todo list works great on TaskPaper:
http://hogbaysoftware.com/products/taskpaper
João Moreno .com » links for 2007-11-23 on 11/22/2007 at 22:26[...] 10 Necessary Mac Apps for the College Student Going through the first few weeks of college, I’ve found a few apps that have made my university life so much easier. Some of these apps will be things you have heard of. Hopefully, some will be new to you. Most of the apps have been designed for a much (tags: osx apps education mac software university) [...]
E.T.Cook on 12/17/2007 at 17:45Try the new app Anxiety for your task management. Syncs with ical, and is absolutely fantastic for a basic todo.
mmyNews on 12/27/2007 at 12:5310 Mac-Anwendungen für Studenten…
Und gleich noch ein Post zum Thema Mac: Der Student Dustin Bachrach hat eine Liste mit 10 Programmen aufgestellt, die das fleißige Studieren vereinfachen (sollen).
Darunter Bekanntes wie der Kalender iCal, aber auch Neuheiten wie PhotoBook, eine S…
Miguel on 4/29/2008 at 00:54NEOOFFICE, Not only perfect but free replacement of office
Mari on 5/4/2008 at 06:25this looks like a great list of things that i can ACTUALLY use for class! the only thing i regret is discovering this page when i’m up to the last final of the year. oh well, it’ll definitely be helpful next year, as well.
