College students are a notoriously harried bunch. Between newfound freedom, a co-ed campus, plenty of mixers, and no mom and dad to impose curfews, set alarms, or enforce studying and attendance, it’s all too easy to lose track of classes and end up writing papers and cramming at the last minute to pull a passing grade (forget about the GPA). Luckily, the days when freshmen (and other collegians) had to depend upon their own resolve in order to succeed is gone, thanks to smart phone technology. These days, a handful of apps is all you need to ensure that your college career goes off without a hitch. So here are some awesome entries for the iPhone that will help you stay on track, despite your best efforts to derail.

1. Foursquare. Everyone’s got to eat, and Foursquare can help you eat three (four?) square meals a day. Okay, so you probably have a meal plan through campus. But what if you need gas for your car or an evening of entertainment on the town? What if you’re too sloshed to drive and you need a nearby motel to sleep it off in safety? Foursquare can show you any type of business in your area and even make recommendations based on your preferences. As a bonus, you can “check in” everywhere you go and if you visit frequently, you could even become the mayor of your favorite businesses. And businesses that partner with Foursquare may even offer discounts and deals for the mayor (or for patrons in general).
2. Kayak. When you’re far from home for the first time in your life, chances are good that you’ll want to visit the old homestead once in a while (for the holidays, at least). But plane tickets can be pretty pricy and you’re probably on a tight budget. What’s a homesick student to do? Check out a slew of options on Kayak, which now has an app for that. You’ll find great prices for all of your travel needs thanks to one-stop comparison shopping.
3. Skype. If you’re familiar with this free video conferencing software for your computer, then you’ll be happy to hear that you can now save your parents on the cell phone bill by using it to call home. All you need is a Wi-Fi hotspot (try the library on campus or a nearby Starbucks) and this handy app to avoid using your minutes (or worse, roaming).
4. iStudiez Lite. This freebie is one that absolutely every college student can use. Not only can you enter your class schedule (with options for an AB or block schedule), you can also add in homework assignments and notifications to remind you to get to class or get your homework done on time. If you have a lot of classes, you may want to spring for the paid version (at $2.99 it’s still a good deal), but try the lite app first.
5. Evernote. Taking notes by hand can certainly be tedious, but your laptop might take a nap in the middle of class. And since you don’t want to spring for home tuition, you really need dependable notes to study with. Evernote can help with options for note-taking via text, voice, or even photo. And incredibly, you can snap a pic of text (on an overhead, for example) and search the text from the photo. Do class notes get any easier?

Editor’s Note

Thanks to Evan Fischer for this quest post. He is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.