10 must-have apps for students on their year abroad

Jessica Bull finds ten must-have phone apps for students studying abroad

Mobile messaging company WhatsApp is to be purchased by the social media giant Facebook in a $19 billion (£11 billion) deal (AP)

From translation to planning trips home, foreign students often have more on their plate than the average Joe. Why not make things easier with some of these time saving apps?

WhatsApp

Catch up with friends and family wherever they are with this handy messaging app. It’s also useful for projects or group presentations as you can create group chats and organise meet-ups.

Free

Available on iPhone and Android

Viber

Make calls to anyone anywhere in the world with Viber, as long as the recipient has the application on their phone. It is similar to Skype, but without the video, although you can send video messages and text as well.

Free

Available on iPhone and Android

Skyscanner

Plan your next trip home (or adventure to another country) and find the cheapest flights using the handy search results display, which allows you to view prices by day, week, month or even a whole year. It also directs you to the cheapest company for each flight when booking.

Free

Available on iPhone and Android

XE currency converter

Know just how far your money is going with this currency converter, which stores the latest rates to give an accurate figure when you’re not connected to WIFI or 3G. It also comes in a selection of different languages, which could come in handy.

Free

Available on iPhone and Android

Moneywise

This allows you to keep track of your everyday expenses, which you can browse and filter by date, type or account. You can also view graphs to see if you’re sticking to your budget. If you have an iPhone, there are apps like Ontrees or Mint (also free) which do a similar job.

Free

Available on Android

Google Translate

Despite its humorous and often too literal translations this application can be useful when you can’t remember something and want a quick translation for a specific word.

Free

Available on iPhone and Android

Say hi

This app allows you to translate your voice in over 100 languages as well as type what you want to translate, for all those moments when you’re lost for words, but probably to help your pronunciation, mostly.

£1.49

Available on iPhone

Word lens

Instantly translate a text using the lens of your camera with this clever app - you can even use it offline. The only downside is that there are only packages available for a handful of languages, not including Arabic or Mandarin.

£2.99

Available on iPhone and Android

BBC weather

You never know how unpredictable the weather on this tiny island can be, so don’t be caught out by a sudden drop in temperature or rain shower. You can also see what the weather is like at home, as the app allows you to have several locations available at the flick of your thumb.

Free

Available on iPhone or Android

Voucher cloud

Never pay full price again with. Whether you’re looking for somewhere to eat, something to do or you need a new laptop, find all the latest discounts on Vouchercloud. It also comes in an array of different languages.

Free

Available on iPhone or Android

Jessica Bull is the editor of Postgraduate Search and a City University Journalism MA graduate