Internet Back to School Supplies

You’ve decked out your dorm room, put bumper stickers on your car, but will people be able to tell you go to college by just looking at your phone? Updating your tech to reflect your new collegiate status is not just important for your street cred, it’s also an essential part of learning campus culture.

Here are the apps and sites you need to help you figure out the stuff you can’t learn in the classroom.

Healthyhorns Nap Map

If you’re not already tired, you certainly will be by the time you get to college. Whether you pulled an all-nighter studying or partying, chances are that you’ll eventually need to nap, and you won’t always be able to go home to do so. Enter the Nap Map, which shows all the different sleepy spots on campus and sorts them by noise level. The locations are also rated on accessibility and comfort, so you can really match your napping needs.

@UTAustin

While it may be obvious, it’s also a needed follow for any new Longhorn. The UT Austin Twitter account will surely make your school pride a little stronger – especially on those days you find out that school has been canceled due to inclement weather.

These @CockrellSchool students discovered the limits of solar technology on the racetrack ☀️🏎https://t.co/tUFSCIcDcJ

— UT Austin (@UTAustin) July 12, 2017

UT Buy/Sell/Trade/Free

Like Craigslist, but specifically for UT students, you never know what you’ll find on this group. While it’s a great place to find cheap textbooks around the beginning of semesters, you can also find furniture, clothes, and the occasional furry friend in need of rehoming. Try not to adopt every baby hedgehog you see, otherwise you’ll have a lot of explaining to do come Thanksgiving dinner.

Hooked

An app that’s useful regardless of your college, Hooked gives you discounts at restaurants and bars based on your location. Finding cheap food is probably your best option to become the most popular kid in the crowd, so download it and strive to avoid the hordes of students complaining about how broke they are.

InclusiveU

Created by the Gender and Sexuality Center on campus, this app will help you find gender-neutral bathrooms all around campus. With things heating up at the Capitol, it’s nice to have this app in your back pocket and know that you have options outside of current legislation.

Thrive

Coming to college means establishing a new routine. When you’re in those first few months of building habits, Thrive can make sure you also incorporate daily practices that will keep stress low. Developed by the Mental Health Center on UT’s campus, Thrive offers videos and exercises to make sure your mental health stays happy.

RideAustin

For a while, Austin had kicked Uber and Lyft out – you can blame that local pride. In that time, other companies more suited to the city’s spirit moved in, RideAustin among them. Though the ridesharing giants have come back, if you really want to grab the title of Austinite, you’ll want to stick with RideAustin. Every time you use the app, you have the option to round up your fare. All that extra cash goes to local charities and underserved communities.

@UTAustinPolice

Probably the fastest way to learn about the dark underbelly of UT, following UTPD is not always fun, but it’s often necessary. Whenever crime on campus occurs that may cause you worry (theft, assault, gunfire – the unholy trinity), UTPD will let you know what areas to avoid and when the rumors are just rumors. Fortunately, these crime alerts are few and far between, and most of the time UTPD will just give you helpful safety tips for your new home, with everything from info on how to register a bike to updates on areas of construction.

@AustinChronicle

This city is your home now for at least the next four years; shouldn’t you know something about it? Your fastest way to convince people you run this town is to know this town, and The Austin Chronicle’s Twitter will give you recommendations for things to do, hard-hitting news, and stories on the elite artists and musicians that make Austin the best place to live in Texas.

The @fantasticfest announces its first wave of movies with Stephen King adaptations, Arabic cinema, and more. https://t.co/XrkTWcfoZK

— Austin Chronicle (@AustinChronicle) August 8, 2017