Em Casalena
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Studying Abroad? Download These 6 Apps for International Students
Who doesn’t love the idea of being an exchange student?
The exhilarating culture shock. The valuable world experience. Traveling and living abroad as a student is a real adventure!
Still, it’s not all smooth sailing.
Traveling abroad and living semi-permanently in a new country can have its difficulties, such as homesickness, finances and language barriers.
But fret not! There’s an app for that.
There’s an app for just about every international living-related issue you could have!
To make things a bit simpler for you, we’ve tested out a ton of awesome apps designed for international students and made a list of our six favorites.
Ready to dive into these seriously useful apps? First, let’s take a step back and look at why certain apps are so necessary for international students to have on hand.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
How Apps Can Change International Students’ Experiences
- A navigation app is a lifesaver in unfamiliar territory. It’s true! You probably have no problem getting around your hometown, but you could be left scratching your head in a new place. If you’re in a country where people don’t speak your native language, navigation can be even more difficult. A reliable mapping and navigation app can make traveling much less stressful.
- Language and translation apps will help you communicate. Even if you’ve mastered the basics of a language, people often find themselves breaking into a sweat when it’s time to have an actual conversation. You may need to ask a native for help or communicate complex ideas. Language and translation apps can make this much easier for everyone involved.
- The list of things an international student needs help with is endless. When you move abroad, everything is different! It can be hard to prepare for every aspect of your new life. You’ll need to know the weather, what’s going on politically in the country and how to connect with other exchange students. There’s an app for all of those things!
Studying Abroad? Download These 6 Apps for International Students
Google Translate
Google Translate has a ton of perks that make traveling abroad and communicating with non-English speakers quick and easy.
First, it’s free to use. Who doesn’t love free stuff?
Google Translate also has an audio feature that allows users to play an audio clip of the sentence they’re trying to say. This makes talking to people much easier, especially if there’s an emergency.
My favorite feature of this app is its live translation feature. You take a picture of written text, such as a food product label or traffic sign, and translate the words into English.
Google Translate can translate dozens of languages, as well. Technology is pretty great, isn’t it?
Scholarships for International Students
This app is specifically for students who are considering studying abroad but haven’t made the move yet.
When it comes down to it, studying abroad is expensive! You have to pay for an international flight, tuition, books, housing, food, transportation and many other things. And it’s important to take all of these expenses into consideration before committing to studying abroad.
For many, studying abroad on their own income isn’t a possibility. That’s why a scholarship can really make or break your decision to travel overseas.
Scholarships for International Students is a game-changing app. It compiles new scholarship and grant opportunities for different countries, majors, ages and other demographics so you can find the scholarship that’s perfect for you.
It also makes applying for these scholarships fairly easy.
Smart Traveler
Smart Traveler is an official app released by the Department of State for American travelers. It’s designed to teach you different things about your new country from the perspective of a United States citizen.
With Smart Traveler, you can check out current country information, receive travel alerts, build itineraries, find local U.S. embassies and organize your trip all within one compact app.
This app is great to have in case of a national emergency, such as a natural disaster or political unrest. Smart Traveler can even help you if your passport is lost or stolen.
Moovit
Moovit is an ultra-reliable public transportation app that logs routes in over 80 countries. Never miss a bus or train again while studying abroad!
With this app, you’ll find up-to-date bus times, train times, transit maps and real-time line arrivals. You can also locate nearby stations and use the live navigation guide to walk you through your route.
You’ll hear a ding when your stop is next. You won’t have to worry about zoning out and missing your stop with Moovit!
Waze
Waze is one of the best apps around when it comes to navigation and travel. Luckily, it’s available literally anywhere there are roads.
Are you sick of getting stuck in traffic because there’s an accident? Or turned around because you can’t find a gas station with decent prices?
Waze can give you the details related to everything on your route, from accidents, to police presence, to construction, to gas prices, to accurate ETAs. You can even listen to music within the app.
Plus, it’s free. How cool is that?
WiFi Finder
This app is as simple as it gets, but it’s also extremely useful if you’re struggling with your data rates while abroad.
WiFi Finder can find Wi-Fi hotspots at local cafes, restaurants, airports and everywhere in between. You can save spots to your list of favorites if you’re traveling regularly to that particular area and need to access the internet.
Studying abroad can be scary. You’re away from home—possibly for the first time!
Download these apps to calm your nerves. Then you can just focus on having the time of your life as an international student.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Em Casalena is a published author, freelance writer and music columnist. They write about a lot of stuff, from music to films to language.