As a freshman, I used these apps on the daily; check out their pros and cons and download them to stay ahead your first quarter at Davis!
1. JoyRun
This food delivery service app is a lifesaver during finals and midterm weeks. To order food, you check the main menu to see what “runs” are active — meaning there is someone (usually another UCD student) working through the app to take your/others orders and go pick up your food. Pick up and delivery generally takes about an hour, but can be longer depending on the day/time. If you’re craving a caffeine kick, you can get Peet’s, Dutch Bros, or even McDonald’s coffee (but that’s a questionable option). Other common active runs are Chipotle, Thai Canteen, Open Rice Kitchen, Sharetea, and more. Tip: This is only a time saver if you know exactly what you’re craving– otherwise you might make the mistake of scrolling through the app for too long and wasting precious study time.
Pros: treat yo’self during finals, easy-to-use app, lots of options during finals
Cons: wait time can be a drag, hefty delivery and tip fee, sometimes no active runs
2. Aggie Dish
If you want to know in advance what the DCs are serving up, you can check Aggie Dish! The app is updated constantly, so even tomorrow’s menu is displayed. This is great for people with dietary restrictions that want to be prepared for what to eat. The app also provides information on upcoming dining events.
Pros: shows Tercero, Segundo, and Cuarto separately, always up-to-date
Cons: none!
3. Aggie Traditions
Get started on completing your Davis Bucket-List with the Aggie Traditions App! There are 50 goals to complete in total: some include attending events or places, like the Farmers Market, Whole Earth Festival, or Arboretum. Others are activities, like “Read an Aggie Newspaper”, “go bowling at the MU”, or “Vote in ASUCD elections”. “Completing” an Aggie Tradition consists of uploading a photo to each of these tasks. If you complete all 50, you are honored with a special medallion to wear at graduation, so get started now!
Pros: fun to complete, some tips are provided in the app
Cons: some tasks are harder than others (i.e. Stride for Aggie Pride, Advocate for UC Davis)
4. Venmo
This app by far was the biggest lifesaver during my freshman year. Venmo is a money-exchanging app that makes paying back your friends much simpler, especially since college students don’t always have cash on them. Hook up your debit card to the app (don’t worry, it’s 100% safe and a partner company of PayPal) and you can pay back or charge your friends money at the touch of a button. It’s perfect for nights out where you don’t want to deal with multiple cards on one bill, for paying someone back for a t-shirt you ordered through some club/organization, or charging someone for… party beverages. There’s even a social element to Venmo; a newsfeed displays your friends’ recent exchanges, and sometimes people like to get creative or secretive with what they title their payment requests.
Pros: super easy to use, social element
Cons: deposits take 1-2 days to reach the bank, people will see how much you spend on food