14 DAY TRIAL // I remember that when I was going to school, I used to buy the coolest timetables to remember the classes I had to go to every day. But I always managed to somehow cut a few classes at least once a month. Nowadays those paper timetables are no longer in fashion and computers provide the necessary support on this matter, also.
I bumped the other day into a software that managed to throw a dust of nostalgia over me. Its name is Student Life and the developer is a tough parent that wants his/her kid to know exactly where the classes take place, so that excuses like "I couldn't find the classroom" become futile. I'm just kidding, the developer of the software is Tesoro Software, L.L.C., and they charge $19.95 for the application.
I think this software is a good idea, considering that more and more students use their laptops in school. And it is not beneficial only for school activities, but - as you will see - also in every day life. The interface of the application is extremely nicely drawn and if you are not content with the default appearance you can always choose between the twenty skins available. They are all beautiful and cover a wide range of tastes.
As I said before, the user can store the school activities in the software and add classes according to the semester. From the main application window the user can go to any option and feature of the program. And here s/he can enter Class Information, which comprises fields where you can enter the start and end date of the class, the degree and year level the class applies to, the class type (required for degrees, elective for degree or general non-degree).
On the right side of the window the student can type the name of the class, the category (there are several predefined categories, but you can also add your own), the location, the days and times when that class is held, and, more importantly, the location. What is great about this software is that the student can enter details about the instructor or professor teaching and the teacher assistant (T.A.) for that class. If you are part of a study group, then you do not have to remember each time where the sessions will take place or at what time, as Student Life will remember that for you.
In the right side of the main application window the users will notice some vertically arranged options. They are as follows: Homework and Tests, My Contacts, My Life, Calendar, Reminders, My Degree(s), Scholarship Loans and Conversion Calculators. We'll pass through each of them at a time, although I am a little reluctant to go through the first option.
In Homework and Tests, the student can store the assignments from school, and can add the due date and their importance. If s/he thinks necessary, the Reminder option is available and it will alert the student about the task. The reminder can be set to alert at any time, on the day of the task (which in some cases is too late) or some days before the due date. You can also type in a text, specifying the exact importance or info about the assignment.
After the due date of a certain task is past, the user can delete the assignment from the list and make room for some new activities.
My Contacts section is designed to store your contacts by categories: Friend, Family, Classmate, Study Group, Co-Worker, Business. As soon as you click the Add button, a new window will appear, and here you can add all the details about that person. In order to know exactly who the contact is, the software makes available the option of adding images. The fields for one person include the address, Internet, phone (from work, home and dorm), dorm location, birthday, etc.
My Life option is designed to be used for storing personal events. The submenus here are the Social Calendar, To Do List and Job Info. The first tab is for remembering the strictly personal events like dates, meetings, appointments, parties, etc. This list of events can be altered and the student can add his own events.
To Do tab is for remembering paying the bills, tutoring, interviews, etc. Job Info is a scheduler for the job timetable for the next week. Unlike the first two options in here there is no reminder, so you will not be alerted about a certain change in the schedule.
The Calendar option will give the user a comprehensive look at his/her activity starting with a selected date. There are two views in here, Weekly and Monthly. So if you want to add a new activity in your schedule, you have to take a look in here first, to see where you can squeeze it.
Scholarships and Loans are practically two managers that will help you keep track of your money related activities for school and self support. The Conversion Calculators is a pretty important feature that helps you make the necessary transformations between different measuring units for distance, temperature, volume, weight and velocity.
The Good
If there were a beauty contest for softwares interface, than this application would be among the firs five contestants.
There is no use to question the utility of the software for the American students, as the program covers some essential aspects in the life of a college student.
The Bad
The application responds a little too slow to my commands and I think it should be equipped with an audio alert option that functioned even when the application would be closed.
The Truth
I enjoyed working with the program. I wish I had such a help when I was in school. It covers a wide range of tasks and the user can choose to have a comprehensive look at all his/her activities.
You have 30 days to try this software, after that you will have to pay $19.95 to keep it running.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
