FSU apps that were created to make your life infinitely easier

I’m going to let you all in on a little secret: The key to life is through apps.

My first day on campus, I was 23 minutes late to my first class. Not only did I drive around trying to find a spot in every parking garage on campus, but I got lost looking for my buildings, too (I also got lost inside them, but that’s a story for another day). My point is, even though FSU is a compact campus, it’s still fairly large and can be incredibly confusing when you first get here.

Using apps to help you navigate through being at a large university is one of the best things you can do to make your life a little easier while here.

My FSU Mobile

Not only was I 23 minutes late to class my first day on campus, I also got lost more times than I could count. Having MyFSU Mobile would have made finding buildings, and my way home, a heck of a lot easier. MyFSU mobile is essentially FSU’s website via your cell phone. It’s got a satellite map of campus that shows you where to locate every building, it tells you which busses are running, where and when, it sends you University alerts in case of an emergency and tons of other neat stuff. It basically has everything else you could ever want and need in a University app, accessible at your fingertips.

FSU Tranz

I must confess, I love FSU parking garages. This is an unpopular opinion for most FSU students because typically, they’re always full. I love them because before you even drive in, there’s a little spot counter that lets you know how many spots are left. So if the spot counter says 4, and there are 5 cars ahead of you, you know to abort mission. My only issue with the garages is you have to drive to each garage to know how many spots are left. The FSU Tranz app pretty much saves you the hassle. It lets you know which garages are empty, which have at least half of the spots left, and which are full to capacity. If the app tells me a garage is full, I don’t even bother- it’s the ultimate decision maker in if I even decide to drive to campus on any given day.

Hooked

The one thing that unites college students more than the love of free stuff is the love of free food. I don’t know about y’all, but I’ll go to any event that feeds me for free. With that being said, sometimes you just want free/ discounted food without the hassle of having to attend something; that’s where Hooked comes in. Hooked is an app, found in largely populated college towns, that tells you where the incredibly cheap and free food is. When you open the app, it uses your location to tell you where the deals are, and how long the deals are lasting for (typically a few hours at a time). Once you’re inside of the business, just show them the deal on your phone in order to receive it and voila!, free food for you!

Rider

Before I got to FSU, the only time I’d ever ridden public transportation was in New York City. I rely on my car for everything. The issue with that is, as stated above, finding parking on campus is like winning the FSU lottery. I was told at orientation, everyone rides the busses, and it’s true- it isn’t really taboo. The Rider app pinpoints the closest bus stop to you, and lets you see in real time what busses are on which routes and how far they are from you. The Rider app made my FSU transportation nightmare into a dream come true.

Florida State has so many resources for students to have an incredible experience while attending school here, but it can be hard to find them when you’re first starting out. Don’t be afraid to ask questions- to classmates, your roommates and professors, your bus driver, the valet guys near the Woodward Ave garage. You may even find apps that aren’t listed here when you do. Chances are, your phone is glued to your hand anyway; why not use it to make your life easier?

@kamijthomas