11 Stanford students reveal what's on their home screens

Class of 2017

Home screen highlight: Simar is a Flipboard enthusiast. The app aims to "remake the experience of reading a magazine on a tablet" by letting users curate articles from their social feeds.

Apple once called the news reader the best app for the iPad, but Flipboard is dealing with intense competition.

Class of 2017

Home screen highlight: Google Calendar prevents Kerry from over-scheduling and bailing on appointments at the last minute.

"That kind of flakiness prevents the growth of human relationships. My Calendar app keeps me accountable," she says. "If it's going in my Calendar, it's going to happen."

She also uses FaceTime to connect with her twin sister in Paris.

Class of 2017

Home screen highlight: Karl says the app he can't live without is Messenger.

Facebook's messaging app launched back in 2011 but really took off in 2014 when the company removed the messaging feature from its main app.

"The person I talk with the most prefers the Messenger app, so that's what I use," Karl says.

Class of 2019

Home screen highlight: Caroline dreams of going to medical school and pursuing a career in pediatrics. Apple's Health app keeps her in tune with her own body.

When I ask what her favorite apps are, Caroline says, "mostly typically ones, like Instagram, text, email, Snapchat."

Class of 2019

Home screen highlight: When Jonathan isn't coding up a storm, he's playing music. His phone helps.

GuitarTuna uses an audio recognition algorithm that allows musicians to tune their string instruments, while Tabs & Chords by Ultimate Guitar provides over 800,000 tabs and interactive guitar lessons.

Class of 2018

Home screen highlight: Amidst the explosion of third-party keyboard apps, Textra stands out for its stunning, highly personized interface. Users can customize everything from the shape of text bubbles to the background color of the messaging app.

It's currently only compatible with Android phones.

Class of 2016

Home screen highlight: The Verge called Airmail "the email app that can do everything," from hitting the snooze button on an email to customizing notification sounds for different inboxes. It's currently compatible with Mac and iOS only.

Catalin also relies on Tile to keep track of his personal belongings. The app connects to a small Bluetooth tracker that he hangs on his keychain or stows in his wallet. When an item goes missing, Catalin can sound Tile's alarm or check its GPS coordinates on a map from the app.

Class of 2017

Home screen highlight: CamScanner brings homework into the 21st century by allowing users to take pictures of their written work (or anything) and order the sequence of shots. The app consolidates the images in a single PDF, making it easy to submit electronically on the class website.

Priyanka says CamScanner has saved her more than once.

Class of 2017

Home screen highlight: For some iPhone owners, Apple News eliminates the need to download a third-party app. It delivers content based on your reading history and gets to know you as time goes on.

"I don't know if it's machine learning or what," says Johnson, who follows the presidential campaign on the app. "They pull stories they think will interest you based on your previous interests and previous stories you've chosen."

Class of 2018

Home screen hightlight: Strava is a diehard runner or cyclist's dream. The app allows Zachary to track his athletic activity, send encouragement to friends, and compete against his past times.

Zachary says the app he can't live without, however, is Facebook's Messenger.