As a fraternity brother, there are few things in life that are absolute musts. In fact, some reprehensible human beings called “freegans” believe you don’t need anything at all.
They’re wrong.
And that’s why they’re eating trash out of the garbage.
Some things in life are a must. Things that you must have.
We at OmegaFi like to call these things “must-haves.”
Here are a few examples:
- Water (your cotton mouth breath is burning our nostrils)
- Sleep (it’s just soooooo gooooood…)
- A mate (everybody needs love; look at penguins)
- Prepared food (the one thing separating us from the animals)
- And to be frank, your smartphone
Sure, you may be thinking:
“Get out of here. Sure, I enjoy my iPhone, but come on. I wouldn’t consider it a must-have.”
But hear us out, you adorable fool. We’re willing to bet everything in our pockets that you keep your smartphone within 5 feet of you for 95% of your day. It’s right next to you in the car on your drive to class. It’s in your pocket (or more accurately lying on your desk) when you’re in class. You use it to research new information, communicate with friends, communicate with strangers, and as a CONSTANT stream of mental stimulation and entertainment.
Let’s face it. You’re closer to your phone than your pledge brother, Carl.
And you love Carl.
Our point is that your smartphone is important to the function of your daily life. But do you know what makes that smartphone as critical to your life as it is?
Your gosh darn apps, that’s what.
Luckily for you, OmegaFi is here to tell you why These Top 4 Fraternity Apps Are a Must-Have.
4. Scanbot
Let’s begin with the practical: In the realm of collegiate education, you will deal with a lot of paper. Wide-ruled paper and no. 2 pencils are just a part of the game. However, as a fraternity brother, and specifically a brother in an executive board ranking position, you’re going to be dealing with a lot of paper forms and contracts.
The problem with this situation—other than all the murdered trees—is that all that printing is going to cost you a fortune. And for every college student that’s printed a 10-page paper in the library, the reality is this: That toner ain’t cheap. So how do you avoid printing duplicates of the same contract? There’s got to be a better way, right? There must be a way to take that physical file and somehow make it digital, or “electronosize it,” if you will.
Here’s the solution: Scanbot. It’s a simple app that allows you to photograph a contract or paper and immediately convert it into a PDF for all your data-transferring needs.
Not only will this save you a ton of time in fraternity paperwork, but also a little money in printing costs—which can be used for food. Delicious food. Like pizza.
3. Wunderlist
We’ll speak to this one personally. Wunderlist is the sheet in the realm of fraternity apps. Without getting too deep into the weeds, we’ll just say that it’s incredibly intuitive, easy to customize, and sports an amazing and simple to use interface. But you’re not here for that, so instead we’ll just go through broad strokes of the basics.
So, what is it?
Wunderlist is a glorified to-do list. It allows you to create a list (a grocery list, today’s tasks, etc.) and to create entries within that list that can be checked off with a press of a button and a satisfying ding.
Why do I need it?
For starters, it’s awesome. And if you want to be awesome—as we all so desperately do—you need to get on board. Think about it. You can create a list called “This Week’s Assignments” and add entries for every paper, upcoming quiz, online assignment, or book reading. It’s accountability for what you want/need to accomplish at your fingertips and again, and most importantly, you get to hear that satisfying ding!
You basically get to play yourself in a real life role-playing game. Now go level up.
2. OmegaOne
This list wouldn’t be nearly complete without giving OmegaOne a mention. Basically if you’re in a fraternity or sorority, it’s right up your alley. If you aren’t and you’re reading this article despite the title, go join one and come back to us.
We’ll wait…
Great, so OmegaOne is a communications app at its heart. It allows mass texting which is nice for giving your chapter mass updates. And it also includes an interactive calendar to plan and organize your programming schedule, intramurals, chapter meetings, socials, and formals.
Aside from direct communication and planning, it’s also pretty handy for engagement activities like polling, attendance recording, and check-ins, returning a great deal of accountability back to your chapter secretary who will thank you profusely for restoring purpose to his life.
1. Forest
Last but certainly not least, we have the underrated but truly amazing Forest. Yes, we know the name is a little generic, and it also costs a dollar, but hear us out. For starters this app is helping save the planet, which is more than we can say for that Bumble app peeking out the corner of your “entertainment” folder.
Forest is an app that’s incredibly simple. It’s a timer. The app allows you set it within a range of 5 minutes to 2 hours. And in this time, a small digital tree is growing on your phone screen, however, if you leave the app for more than several seconds, POOF. Your tree is immediately killed by a vengeful internet god.
The benefit of the app is that when you set it for say 30 minutes, and you’re 17 minutes in, you feel invested. You’re focused on finishing your work rather than checking that text and losing your progress. And for a college student sitting in the library trying to grind out that finals paper, having a little incentive to stay on task will save you hours and many late nights.
So how does it save the planet, you ask? Easy. Every time you complete a given time-block, you’re given an allotment of gold coins. They can be used to purchase other designs for the trees you grow BUT can also be used to purchase something really cool in real life: a real tree to be planted in your name in Uganda and sub-Saharan Africa.
That’s right. By focusing on your work you get to contribute to global reforestation.
Download the app, time-block for your next big test, then go ahead and put that on your Bumble profile. You earned it, champ.
Which apps do you want to see on the next list? Don’t keep that information to yourself, Mr. Selfish. Let us know in the comments below!
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