Apps to Help You Get Through Remote Campus Life

Human interaction is key to the job search—so how do we compensate now that we’ve each found ourselves isolated? There’s an app for that. There’s actually several. Your education doesn’t need to be put on hold or even slow down now that the world has been turned upside down, and having the right tools can help to keep you on track. Take a look at some of the apps we’ve found that can boost your remote college experience.

For Getting the Most Out of Your Classes:

There are myriad e-learning apps for students. Some of the staples are JSTOR, EBSCO, Lexis Nexus, and the like—databases that you can reference while writing papers. Check with the library to see what subscriptions your school offers and how to get access through their apps. Flashcard apps can also be a huge boon when studying—apps like Quizlet or StudyBlue can help keep information fresh in your mind for your next exam or class discussion.

When it comes to keeping things organized, a scheduling app can be helpful—My Study Life is specifically designed for students, allowing you to keep track of classes, exams, and assignments, and even to track your progress on assignments. And if you want to scan any of your notes, outlines, or materials to send to classmates or professors, try Simple Scanner for a quick way to convert pictures to PDFs.

For Your Job Search:

Think your resume could use a polish? Microsoft Word is certainly one way to go about things, but why not give some apps a try? Pocket Resume is a tool that can help you create something quickly, providing prompts to answer and laying out your information for you. Resume Star functions very similarly, though the end result is a PDF—which some employers prefer while others don’t, so keep that in mind.

Some places are not interviewing in this time, and while that’s completely understandable, others have simply moved to remote interviews and call-backs, so it’s important that you keep your interviewing muscles warm. Job Interview Question-Answer may not be the most cleverly named app out there, but it’s all in the title: the app poses you with some typical job interview questions, offers a video tutorial with some advice on how to answer, then allows you to record your answer. You can re-listen to your answers and evaluate them until you’ve got your responses nailed. In this vein, you can also set up mock interviews with friends and classmates through Zoom, Skype, or FaceTime—this type of practice will give you the additional advantage of making sure that your body language is professional on camera.

For Making Connections:

LinkedIn is and (for the foreseeable future) will continue to be the grand poohbah of networking apps. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, it’s definitely time to sign up. If you do have one, time to clean up your profile and explore the app, which allows you to browse potential contacts, reach out with messages, and post links to interesting articles.

If you’re already a LinkedIn expert, there are other options to expand your network. For example, Shapr helps you to meet people in your field and takes the form of the swipe-right-or-left dating apps. Common Connect serves a similar function, although it is location based, so you can meet people in your city—and hopefully, when things begin to open up again, meet them in real life for a cup of coffee.

For Your Sanity:

School, job searching, and networking are stressful in the best of times. That goes double during a global pandemic. So it’s important to make sure you’re taking care of your mental health during these times. For mental wellbeing, check out Headspace for guided meditations—it’s a fan favorite for a reason. If meditation isn’t your thing, Woebot might be worth exploring—he’s an AI cognitive behavioral therapy app that can help you sort through complicated emotions. If human therapy is more your speed, Talkspace can connect you with real-life therapists—remotely. There are a ton of options out there that can help keep your mental health in check, so be sure to explore your options to see what best suits your needs.

Apps may not feel like a great substitute for the real-life connections and resources that are available to students during the normal course of the school year. But in these times, we all have to adapt and overcome. Let’s all be thankful that we live in an age where technology can connect us and provide information, and let’s leverage that tech to fill some of the gaps that remote college might leave.