College Hobbies is a practical desk for students. We started it because most of what we were reading about study apps, dorm setup and student software deals was either an SEO listicle written by someone who was never on campus, or a brand page pretending to be a review. We wanted an honest desk, first-hand reporting, specific verdicts, real prices, and a clear line between an editorial recommendation and an affiliate link.
We are the editorial team of College Hobbies, a small crew of writers and recent graduates who use these tools ourselves. Between us we have carried a laptop through four years of coursework in the US, the UK and Australia, tested every note-taking app worth naming, argued over dorm coffee kits, and worked the side hustles we write about. We publish weekly and we answer reader mail.
Study Tools: apps and workflows that actually raise a GPA, tested through a real semester rather than a weekend demo.
Dorm & Life: what to buy for a first room, what to skip, and what students throw out after the first month.
Budgeting: the numbers behind rent, food and travel on a student income, in dollars, pounds and Australian dollars.
Side Hustles: the ways students earn money around class, and the honest hourly rate each one pays.
Software Deals: the discounts a .edu or .ac.uk email really unlocks, verified rather than assumed.
Tech & Gadgets: the laptop, the headphones, the printer and the note-taking tools that survive four years.
Every guide starts with someone on the team using the thing the way a student would: on a real class schedule, on a student budget, on campus Wi-Fi. Study apps get a full semester of use before we rank them, and gear goes into an actual backpack or dorm room, not a studio.
Student discounts are checked with a working .edu or .ac.uk address at the time of writing. We name the operator and date every price we quote, so you can see whether a figure is still current before you sign up. When a deal changes or disappears, we update the guide or drop the pick.
Rankings come from what we find, never from who pays. No brand or affiliate partner sees a story before it goes live, and we publish "skip it" verdicts as readily as "worth it" ones. The full standards are in our Editorial Policy.
We are reader-funded through affiliate links, the same price for you, a small commission for us when you buy through one of our links. Full detail is in our Affiliate Disclosure.
Have a study app to recommend, a discount tip, or a correction? Please use our Contact form. We respond to every message within two working days.