May 17, 2024

These 15 Essential (And Free) Websites Will Help You Survive College

You can thank us later.

1. Ebates grants all of your wildest dreams by literally paying you to shop
If you’re an Internet shopaholic, it’s time to make Ebates your BFF. Every time you shop online Ebates credits a tiny portion of the total purchase, typically ranging from 1 to 4%, to your PayPal account. You won’t be rolling in the dough anytime soon, but the small amounts add up quickly. And you automatically get a $10 gift card to stores like Macy’s or Target just for joining the site (though let’s be real, when was the last time you spent only $10 at Target?).

Not every online retailer participates in the deal — shoe hoarders, I’m sorry to report that Zappos hasn’t joined the Ebates party yet — but there’s over 1,000 stores to choose from. So feel free to continue splurging on things that look awesome online but mehh in real life.

2. The Struggle Bus, college’s answer to the classic stress ball
The Struggle Bus lets you vent about your roommate’s dirty dishes AND destroy a bus at the same time. Just type in your worries and watch the struggle bus crumble to pieces. It’s strangely cathartic.

3. Music-Map, For when you’ve already memorized your favorite band’s “Related Artists” page on Spotify
This simple map shows you exactly how hundreds of artists are musically related to each other. Type in “Blink 182,” for instance, and it helps you find similar music by spitting out a map with “The Offspring” nearest to Blink and “Nirvana” farthest away — indicating that while the Offspring’s music is very much like Blink 182′s tunes, Nirvana is more of a stretch.

4. Quizlet, A social media site for flashcards
Create your own flashcards and share them with your friends or complete strangers. The site creates games that quiz you on your notes, so studying becomes a little more enjoyable. The best part is the flashcards stick around as long as you don’t delete them, so you can always pass on your wisdom to others in need or search for other people’s psychology 101 flashcards when you’re too lazy to make your own.

5. Surfly, A screen-sharing site that’s easy enough for your mom to use
You could use it for meetings and other work-related matters…or, you know, hosting an Orange Is The New Black viewing party for all your friends without ever leaving your respective apartments.

6. Doge Weather Since Doge is everywhere you are
Ugh. We’re sick of the Internet’s obsession with Doge too, but we’re kind of obligated to include this site on the list. People always check multiple weather sites for cross comparison purposes since no single resource gets it right all the time. At least this one delivers the message in a clearcut way: “wow sky is clear, much warmth.”

7. Amanda Please, Simply because it still exists and that’s reason enough
Penelope Taynt’s genius lives on. Make sure your speakers are on to get the full experience.

8. Zoc Doc, For when Student Health ignored you that time you Googled your symptoms and WebMD convinced you of your imminent death
When you need a doctor’s appointment and you need it NOW, this site is a lifesaver. It searches for doctors based on your location and insurance info, then lists the available appointment times starting that very same day. A few clicks later and you’ve booked your appointment and filled out all your pre-appointment paperwork directly on the site. Now your friends won’t have to take care of your sneezing, snotty, sick self à la Penny and Sheldon below.

9. Does The Dog Die, So you can come prepared with tissues
This site has compiled a comprehensive list of movies and assigns them each a dog death rating — does a dog die, get seriously injured, or go completely unharmed in the film? This is important stuff here, guys.

10. Here Is Today, The easiest way to put all your meltdowns into perspective
This handy little tool is a much-needed reminder that one bad day (or bad grade, fight, you get the idea) is no big deal. Really. It’s also an excellent way to review the Geologic Time Scale, in case you’re taking an Intro to Geology course anytime soon.

11. Sleepyti.me Bedtime Calculator, Because you’re pretty sure getting eight hours of sleep per night is an urban legend
Enter in the time you need to be up by and the calculator uses the science of sleep cycles to tell you the best times to fall asleep so that you wake up feeling refreshed (or as refreshed as you can feel after three hours of shut-eye).

12. f.lux, To save your eyesight when you’re Tumblring cat gifs studying at 3 a.m.
This is actually software you need to download, not a website. The f.lux tool automatically adjusts your computer’s screen light to the time of day. We all know that using our phone or laptop too soon before bedtime can mess with our ability to fall asleep. F.lux fixes the problem so that when you’re binge watching Arrested Development at 10 p.m., you can fall sleep soundly right after just one more episode (yea right).

13. Wolfram Alpha, Because numbers are evil creatures
This website will do your math homework for you and show you the work every step of the way. Use wisely. Meta-calculator is also helpful in case you don’t feel like dropping $80 on a graphing calculator.

14. Random Name Generator Lets you make up a name for your alter ego
Also useful if you need to write a story for English class and can’t think of a name for your lead character. “Kelila Newell” sounds like a protagonist waiting to happen.

15. The Useless Web, A StumbleUpon for meaningless sites
If you’ve explored all the sites on this list and still need to kill time, The Useless Web has tons of pointless websites for you to procrastinate with — from ones that turn your cursor into a duck to those that let you slap a dude in the face with an eel (yes, you read that right).

About the author  ⁄ Deepa Lakshmin

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