It should be no surprise that it’s included in this list. There’s a ton of note-taking apps for college students out there, but Evernote is by far the best. Here are the contenders for the best note-taking apps for college students on the Mac. While Apple’s Notes is okay for quick lists or doodles, if you’ve got a Pencil, it’s not powerful enough to organize lecture notes. Once you’ve settled on taking notes digitally, you’ll need to find the best app. Most of us type faster than we write (or think, in some cases) so you can stay up to speed easily. If you want to keep up, you can either learn shorthand or keep digital notes. And depending on your professors’ teaching style, you may need to take rapid-fire notes from lectured material. Taking notes effectively is a crucial part of succeeding in college. If you don’t want to succumb to stress, you’ll need some apps to help keep things organized. Despite (or perhaps because of) excessive warnings about how “different” college will be from educators and parents, new college students are often overwhelmed by the new expectations. New places, new friends and new beginnings come with new challenges.