14 Essential Apps for Grad School Success

Navigating grad school is a constant balancing act. Between classes, coursework, internships, and maybe even a social life, it can feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Each semester can feel like a new crash course in time management, organization, and project management and, admittedly, motivation and self-discipline too. You might find that the “old school” methods of handwritten notes and planners you forget to write in after a month are not going to cut it. Great intentions, poor execution. Fortunately, there are plenty of useful apps to help you streamline your workflow, stay on top of deadlines, and become a more organized and productive grad student. We've compiled a list of 14 great apps and online tools that can not only help you become more efficient and successful but also improve your work-life balance so you'll have time to enjoy everything the community and UL Lafayette have to offer. Laissez les bons temps rouler, and geaux Cajuns!

Organization & Project Management Tools

1. Trello $0 – Plan and Visualize Your Schedule 

Trello’s free platform can help you manage your weekly schedule and workflow. It’s a very useful tool for organizing tasks and assignments by day, providing both structure and flexibility. The platform’s visual and customizable interface encourages you to stay focused, and the feeling of dragging tasks into the “Completed” column once they’re done is so satisfying.

2. GoodNotes $0-$35.99 Plans – Digital Notetaking

This notetaking app is helpful for anyone who retains information best by writing it out. GoodNotes allows you to take notes digitally, organize them into personalized and customizable virtual notebooks by subject, and upload and annotate files like online textbooks and lecture slides. It's also accessible anywhere, at any time with the offline mode. GoodNotes has several plans from free to $11.99 a year and up, depending on what features you want. The price is comparable to what you'd spend on a few physical notebooks, and GoodNotes allows you to have all of your notes in one convenient and organized place.

3. Microsoft OneNote $0 – Digital Notetaking

Microsoft OneNote allows you to create notebooks and organize pages within these notebooks. You can also create tabs to separate different categories and sections of your notes. Because OneNote is integrated with your university Microsoft account, you can access any notes that you've uploaded to your OneDrive on any device where you are logged into your Microsoft account. So, you can start taking notes on your laptop and continue them on your iPad, with Microsoft seamlessly updating them as you work. You can even include scans and photos of in-class handouts, use a stylus or Apple Pencil to handwrite, and use tags like "To Do," "Definition," and "Remember for Later" to flag important notes. And, best of all, all of its features are completely free with your university login! 

4. Notability $0-$79.99 Plans – Digital Notetaking

Notability is also a great option for notetaking. It has many of the same features as GoodNotes and OneNote with the primary difference being how it’s organized. Notability is organized more like computer files rather than visual notebooks, like GoodNotes and OneNote are. Like GoodNotes, Notability has plans ranging from free to $11.99 a year and up. OneNote, Notability, and GoodNotes are all excellent options, so you can choose which style is best for you. You really can’t go wrong with any of them!

Research & Citation Management Tools  

5. Zotero $0 – Reference Management 

Zotero is the productive grad student's go-to for managing all research sources. Zotero makes organizing your sources simple with intuitive prompts. You can drag and drop PDFs to instantly generate citations in any format and citation style. It also easily organizes references into folders and tags them with keywords for quick access. Zotero integrates with word processors and browsers so you can keep track of sources and include them in documents without having to pause your workflow. Inserting in-text citations with the one-click feature is excellent when you're on a roll and don’t want to stop and manually cite. The collaborative bibliography tool makes group projects and papers much easier too.

Writing & Study Tools

6. Grammarly $0-$12 Plans – Writing Assistance 

Grammarly doesn’t just catch spelling and grammar mistakes. It also helps to improve the overall flow and tone of your writing. Grammarly allows you to set tailored “goals” for every piece of writing that you work on. For example, you can the formality as “formal,” the intended audience as “knowledgeable,” and the domain as “academic.” These settings tell Grammarly how strict to be with its suggestions. It also provides feedback on readability, vocabulary, and even reading time, so you get a better sense of how your writing comes across. It’s like having a personalized editor that adapts to the way you want to write. Grammarly uses AI to make grammar edits and alter the tone of your writing, so make sure you are aware of your department's and your professor's guidelines on AI usage before incorporating Grammarly in your work. 

7. Quizlet $0-$9.99 plans – Studying and Learning 

Quizlet is one of the most useful apps for grad students. Figuring out how to study can sometimes lead to overthinking, and then you'll end up spending more time planning how to study rather than actually doing it. Quizlet takes the stress out of that by letting you create custom flashcards and quizzes, and you can also find study sets already made by other students, complete with user reviews to ensure the accuracy of the contents. The flashcards are great, as are the customizable practice tests, with options like true/false, matching, multiple choice, and written answers. Plus, it’s perfect for squeezing in extra study time, since you can use it on your phone anywhere you go! 

Communication & Collaboration Tools

8. Microsoft Teams $0 – Interuniversity Communication

UL Lafayette gives you access to Microsoft Teams with your university login, allowing you to easily chat with professors, hop on video calls, or work on group projects with classmates. Just knowing someone’s name is enough to connect quickly, which is fantastic when you need to reach out but don’t have a classmate’s number or email address. It is especially useful and convenient for sharing files and documents while working on group assignments. The ability to immediately see if someone is available with the green, red, or yellow circle by their name also is a great feature, helping you gauge if your message will be read quickly—or not!

9. GroupMe $0– Individual and Group Communication

GroupMe is also a useful application for group communication, especially for classes. It’s an excellent way to stay in close contact with classmates, remain up to date, discuss assignments, and plan study groups. You can email a QR code and link to classmates at the beginning of the semester for your class, and you'll never have to worry about how to get in touch with your classmates.

Focus & Productivity Tools

10. Forest $0 – Grow Your Focus

Forest is great for grad students trying to manage their time and stay focused. You plant a virtual tree that grows while the app is open. So simple, right? Wrong. If you get distracted and go off the app to search elsewhere, the tree dies. It motivates you to put your phone down during study sessions, and over time, your forest of trees is a visible reminder of your progress. That visually pleasing representation of productivity is especially satisfying.

11. NaturalReader $0-$25.90 – Listen and Learn

Natural Readers is a text-to-speech app that’s incredibly useful for grad students, particularly when you’re dealing with a lot of reading. It allows you to listen to PDFs, documents, or web pages, which is great for reviewing material on the go or giving your eyes a break after long study sessions. Instead of a podcast, you can even listen to your readings while driving or running errands. It’s also excellent for proofreading your own work. Listening to papers and written assignments read aloud can be helpful for catching mistakes you might otherwise miss.

12. Speechify $0-$30 plans – Listen to pdfs, notes, and websites

Speechify is another app for listening to your notes, PDFs, and websites. Using a text-to-speech app is a great time saver for a busy grad student. You can listen to your notes while cooking, cleaning, or walking around campus. It's useful for reviewing notes on the go, and it's also a great study tool if you listen to your notes as you read them. Speechify even has celebrity voices to read your notes to you! 

Goal Setting and Wellness

13. Daylio $0-$4.99 plans – Journal and Track Emotions

Daylio is a self-care app that allows you to track your wellbeing. It's much more than a journal; you can track your sleep, hobbies, social activities, health, and emotions. You can also write about and record voice memos recounting the highs and lows of your day. As graduate students, it can be hard to slow down and remember the accomplishments we've made and the high parts of our week. Daylio sends a reminder every day so that you can remember to log your day and appreciate the happy moments, the achievements you've made, and the goals you have completed.

14. Finch $0-$9.99 plans – Your Self-Care and Accountability Pet

With Finch, you don't have to worry about the costs of a pet; you get your very own digital finch to name and raise and take anywhere with you. By achieving daily goals, you give your finch energy to level up and go on different adventures. You can customize your pet's name and appearance, add friends to meet goals with, and create custom goals. Every goal you check off helps your finch level up and grow. You can also make custom goals related to anything you want to achieve during the day, whether that be cleaning, self-care, or schoolwork. The more you achieve, the faster your finch grows! 

Do you have a favorite app that isn’t included here? Share it here and tell us why it’s great for a grad student.