The 15 Best Free Apps for Students

We know you're busy, so we've done the research for you! Here are a few tools to help you get through your courses and make your life easier. 

Study Blue: Flashcards, Quizzes, etc

(Android and iOS)

Flashcards, review sheets, quizzes, study guides, and more. Offers the largest and fastest-growing library of online study materials, containing more than 350 million user-generated digital notecards covering every topic from Algebra to Zoology. Start Studying. 

EasyBib: Automatic works cited page

(Android and iOS)

Generate citations in MLA, APA & Chicago formats for your bibliography. Save time by making a Works Cited page automatically!

RefMe: Citation generator  

(Android and iOS)

The app allows students to scan the bar code on books and journals or copy and paste a URL to get citations in various styles.

Chegg: eTextbooks

(Android and iOS)

Your books & solutions on the go. Read eTextbooks & get a free preview. Tap into 2.5 million+ guided solutions (2 FREE each week). Free instant access to your books for 7 days.

RealCalc: Scientific Calculator

(Android)

RealCalc is designed to look and operate exactly like a real hand-held calculator. It has all the standard scientific functions plus history, memories, unit conversions and constants. You can choose from a number of display styles and formats. It also supports binary, octal and hexadecimal calculations and has an optional RPN mode. RealCalc is easy to use, but has full help included in the app. 

Genius Scan: a scanner in your pocket! 

(Android and iOS)

Genius Scan enables you to quickly scan documents on the go and email the scans as JPEG or PDF with multiple pages.

Evernote: Makes Note Taking Easier

(Android and iOS)

Take notes, track tasks, and save things you find online. Syncs everything between your phone and computer automatically. 

Wunderlist: Paperless lists

(Android and iOS)

Plan for anything. Organize and share your to-do, work, grocery, movies and household lists. No matter what you’re planning, how big or small the task may be, Wunderlist makes it super easy to get stuff done. 

Mathway:Instructions and answers to your math problems

(Android and iOS)

Get step-by-step instructions and answers to your math problems. With hundreds of millions of problems already solved, Mathway is the #1 problem solving resource available for students.

Dropbox: Free cloud storage up to 2GB

(Android and iOS)

Free cloud storage up to 2GB, with plenty of ways to earn extra storage. Bring your files with you when you're on the go. Edit files in your Dropbox from your phone. Easily upload photos and videos to Dropbox. Share freely with family and friends. 

RescueTime: Eliminate distractions

(Android)

Tracks time spent on email, social media and websites, and identifies top distractions. RescueTime also offers a desktop version that tracks time spent on websites and syncs with the mobile app to give users a better picture of how they spend their time online

Uber: Need a ride?

(Android and iOS)

Uber connects you with a driver in minutes. Cheaper than a taxi, you can request, ride, and pay via your mobile phone. 

Venmo: Send money instantly

(Android and iOS)

Make and share payments. Send money instantly, for free. 

Google Drive: Store and share files

(Android and iOS)

Students can use the app to create, share and collectively edit presentations, spreadsheets and documents.

My Study Life: Organize your schedule

(Android and iOS)

Designed to make your study life easier to manage. My Study Life allows you to store your classes, homework and exams in the cloud making it available on any device, wherever you are.

Earn a Bachelor's Degree on Valley's Campus

Yes, we're serious. You can earn your bachelor's degree without ever leaving Kalamazoo Valley's campus. 

As of September 17, 2015, Kalamazoo Valley launched it's university center on campus where bachelor's degrees programs will be offered through partnering universities. 

How does this work?

After you complete your associate degree at Kalamazoo Valley, you can apply to any universities available through the university center (currently Davenport University programs are available, more universities will be available soon) and take classes on Valley's campus to earn your bachelor's degree. Essentially, it's like transferring without ever having to leave the comfort of home (aka: Kalamazoo Valley's campus).

Interested or want more info? 

Email the Student Success Center at success@kvcc.edu, or call 269.488.4040.

Five Classes You Didn't Know You Could Take at Valley

1. Scuba Diving: No joke. 

(WPE 176) This is the entry-level course in diver education. Course covers information on physics, physiology, medicine, and environment. Practical aspects of the course cover equipment, gear usage and familiarization drills. Open-water training is conducted. Students who complete all requirements receive SCUBA certification. Recommended prerequisite: Students must have healthy lungs, not be suffering from asthma, or any other airway-restricting condition. Students must also be comfortable swimmers. Pool evaluation will be given first session. 

2. Golf: Yep, you can get your golf game on and get credit. 

(WPE 176) This course is designed to help students develop skills and etiquette necessary to be successful in golf. All segments of the golf swing, as well as putting, will be introduced.

3. Yoga: Find your zen. 

(WPE 163) This course is a study of Hatha Yoga, which is a system that uses: asanas--poses; pranayama--breathing; and shavasana-- relaxation of mind/body to help each student achieve physical, mental and emotional balance.

4. History of Rock and Roll: Because learning should be fun.

(MUS 102) This course is a comprehensive study of rock music of all types from the earliest styles to those of the present day. In addition, it will examine the many pre-rock forms that have fed into the development of this music. Also covered are the people who create rock, including performing artists, composers, and producers.

5. Ceramics: Channel your creativity...no experience needed! 

(ART 110) Techniques and skills of working with clay are introduced through various hand building and wheel thrown projects. This course will allow students to develop their skills, creativity, and self-expression as an artist/craftsman. Glazing and design principles are also covered. Comment: Additional lab hours are required during posted open lab times.

Interested? Sign up now at www.kvcc.edu.

Unlabeled

We were really inspired by Coca Cola's campaign video aimed at eliminating labels. It is your right to express yourself and be who you are, without judgement. We stand behind you for who you are. There is room for everyone at the table. No masks, no labels, no preconceived notions. 

Respond with your photo and 3 unexpected facts that people wouldn't know if they labeled you...without getting to know you.

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

I know this is a fairly expansive question, but one that we should ask ourselves as habitually as we check our phones every hour. 

Fear is a complex sensation. It’s accompanied and triggered by a variety of overlapping thoughts, feelings, emotions, instincts and physical responses.

Fear is rooted in a multitude of motivations and based around our perceptions of experiences, either valid or imagined.

Fear is the instinctual voice in our head that reminds us that it’s probably not the best idea to high five a cactus, or jump out of a moving vehicle. Those fears are pretty solid. I think it’s safe to say that those fears serve us. Maybe some of us could benefit from entertaining a little more fear…or common sense.

But what about the kinds of fears that hold us back? I’m not talking about the fears that keep all of our limbs intact. But the kind that freezes us in our tracks because it is so ridiculously persuasive. Fear is necessary for our survival – a natural response that exists within all of us.

But… at the same time, fear is a bully--the culprit guilty of endorsing resistance, immobility, and sometimes completely ridiculous irrationality.

Even when we are completely aware that our fears are grounded in absurdities, they can still overpower us. 

Trust me, I know my fear of walking alone in my dingy, old, creepy basement at night to do my laundry, is probably not based on any kind of factual or rational idea, but completely rooted in the too many episodes of American Horror Story that I binge watched on Netflix. But does that make me any less scared that a monster might jump out from behind a box? NEGATIVE…

                Now that’s just preposterous!

If you’re still with me, great, we have identified just two types of fear… this is a blog, not a novel.

We have the:

“Lets try not get hurt or die,” fear: I.E.

-- The type essential for survival without major injuries or deformities

And then the less productive:

“There’s definitely a monster in my basement and if I go down there alone it will absolutely kill me,” fear: -- The kind obviously rooted in something that we have never experienced, witnessed, and will likely NEVER encounter, but it still consumes us.

Now I can’t speak for everyone. Maybe you found humor in the fact that I am legitimately terrified of the factitious beast lurking in the shadows of my basement, but you can’t deny that an unreasonable fear has held you back at least once in your life. So maybe you are not scared of monsters, but as a college student or potential college student, I'm confident you can relate to at least one of the fears below.

When you have to play the oh-so-popular name repeating game and you're up last...

"Yeah, theres no way that all of the answers could be C"

                                                                                          The moment you realize that graduating means if you haven't already, its time to get a big kid job, start paying people back, and look into a vacuum that isn't battery operated...Welcome to adulthood, what's there to fear?

I'm graduating in about a week. I can tell you that fear is running rampant in my mind right now. Fear of what my next steps are, fear of forgetting my speech or face planting on stage. In my time as a student at Kalamazoo Valley Community College I was overwhelmed by fears that made relatively straight forward tasks, unreasonably more difficult than they had to be. I was afraid I would fail...I didn't. I was afraid I wouldn't ever finish my classes, I DID. I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to balance my life in my various roles, I COULD. 

So I guess the point I'm trying to make here is that fear is an inevitable part of life. We all have things that scare us. How you work with that fear is what will define you. 

Yeah some of our fears turn out to be accurate, but things don't play out with near the intensity as our fears lead us to believe. We have to remind ourselves everyday that if we're scared, we should probably figure out why--and if we can't figure out why, we probably shouldn't let the fear make our decisions.

You will be pleasantly surprised to learn that many others just like you have fears similar or identical to yours. You don't have to navigate the whole process of life by yourself, but you are the only one who can turn your fear into possibilities.  When we stop feeding our fears they become much smaller.

What would you do if you weren't afraid? 

Now go do it!

Bring on the fear, we're still gettin' stuff done! Thanks Kalamazoo Valley Community College and everyone who has supported me so I could turn my fears into success! Congratulations to fellow graduates--don't be afraid to fall down (on stage or in life), we will all be there to help you back up.

Sincerely,

Alexandra Claus, 

-- Soon to be former intern, student, and Graduate of Kalamazoo Valley in T minus 8 days!