Phones and mobile devices have never impacted my life more than at Yale. From keeping track of my classes and browsing the dining hall menu to contacting members of my clubs, my phone allows me to juggle being a student, friend, and on-campus worker during the semester.
When I wake up in the morning, right after I get ready, a notification on my phone appears on Google Calendar to alert me of an upcoming class. With 10 minutes to spare, I quickly grabbed a pastry from the dining hall before putting on my air pods and blasting music from Spotify as I headed to class.
Shortly after entering my class, I open the Canvas website on my laptop. In order to log in, a notification from Duo Mobile is sent to my phone, requiring my approval to sign onto Canvas. During class, I download the lecture slides onto Goodnotes so that I can annotate the slides on my iPad.
Goodnotes and Duo Mobile: essential apps for Yale students
As my professor informs the class of upcoming deadlines and recaps the past few lectures, I quickly check the Yale Menus app for what’s available during lunch. Fortunately, it was Thursday, specifically, chicken tender Thursdays, which meant that I would be eating my body weight in chicken tenders during lunch.
After class, I decided to do my laundry before the laundry room became full of students. For convenience, I opted to pay for my load of laundry through CSCPay Mobile by scanning the QR code on the washing machine and starting the cycle from there.
Paying with CSCPay Mobile is so much more convenient that bringing (and forgetting) my credit card
Within a few seconds, my load of laundry was starting, and I decided to treat myself to Donut Crazy. Since I wanted to quickly grab a donut without having to wait in line, I used Snackpass to order a donut for pickup.
Love a Donut Crazy run with Valerie <3
After I returned to my suite, I proceeded to scroll through my phone, checking GroupMe and Slack for updates from my club and whether there are any available shifts as a residential college aide.
As you can see, after only a few hours into my day, my phone has been so helpful in organizing my day and easing my daily tasks. I believe these apps are essential to my success as a Yale student and for that reason (and many more), I am always found with my phone not more than an arm’s length away.
Other apps I have on my phone that are useful to have as a Yale student are:
- The Official Yale App: shortcuts to Yale news, events, the official directory, and resources for students, and a map with building codes not available on Google Maps
- DoubleMap: shows you the location of Yale shuttles in real-time
- TapRide: allows you to call nighttime shuttles, available from 6pm to 6am, bringing you directly from your location to your destination
- LiveSafe: direct access to the Yale shuttle map, walking escort services, sell safe information, and more safety resources
