It’s that time of year, #TeamBlackBerry students — you’re cramming to make the grade, and hopefully you’ve got all the right credits to ace your finals and graduate (with honors!). But what about life after school? Have you thought about what you’re going to do in the “real world”?

Sorry if I gave you a bit of a scare there (or sounded too much like your dad). While you ponder your future, check out my top 5 apps for grads to help you along:

1. Evernote: Life is busy and your brain is stuffed to the brim with knowledge. Evernote is simple to use and helps you keep track of all your notes, files, pics, and audio notes as they happen. Click on over to Evernote for BlackBerry® smartphone and Evernote for BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, so you can give your memory a rest. Also works great as a study aid for that final exam!

2. SideSwipe: The world is busy place, and as you embark on your next adventure, you’ll definitely want to keep tuned in to worldly events as they happen. SideSwipe is a nice news aggregator for BlackBerry smartphone.

3. Top Gear: Now that you’re all grown up, you might be looking for a new car. The ones featured here may be a bit out of budget, but that’s also another thing you need: motivation! A grad can dream, right? In the meantime, you can practice driving your dream car with Top Gear for BlackBerry smartphone and Top Gear for BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

4. InstaPhoto: Unless you have a superhuman memory, those magical moments of graduation won’t last a lifetime if you don’t capture them. InstaPhoto is my favorite way to customize your images and share them with your friends, family, and the world via social media. I, for one, happen to think that my pictures look way better with trendy filters on. Snap this one up and snap away!

5. Poynt: After you graduate, you may find yourself in a brand new city for a new career or your next adventure. Poynt is designed to help you find what you need and keep you connected to where it’s at. You can even make in-app purchases on things like movie tickets, make reservations at local restaurants and take advantage of local deals. Wherever you go, you’ll want to make sure Poynt goes with you by using Poynt for BlackBerry smartphone or Poynt for BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

You may not have locked down what you want to do with your life, but rest assured these apps will help you enjoy the journey a little more. Got a favorite app that you couldn’t have survived school without? Let us know in the comments.

(YouTube link for mobile viewing)

(Inside BlackBerry Blog readers, please welcome Angela K. for a quick guest post to tell you about the winner of a great BlackBerry initiative…read on! – Ed.)

The BlackBerry® team spent five months searching for Canada’s best life campus story that they believed would inspire and excite the whole country. Canadian College and University students entered to tell all of Canada why they were living the best life.

The contestants were required to upload a photo or video and a short essay to the contest website to spread the word throughout their campus as to why their life was best. The 30 entrants that generated the highest number of votes moved on to compete in a series of challenges with opportunity to receive prizes along the way.

From the very start of the competition, Zachary Wan and the Canadian Asian International Student Association (CAISA) from the University of Western Ontario stood out from the crowd. In a short period of time, Zachary and the members of CAISA mobilized their media lives by creating how-to-vote promotional videos and using their BlackBerry smartphones to create over 30 individual Twitter® accounts which enabled them to spread the word and rally their campus together.

Throughout three challenges, Zachary spread happiness and excitement on his campus in really imaginative and creative ways. From bringing a bear mascot onto a bus to cheer up students on their way to morning classes, to organizing flash mobs, potlucks and even sushi-eating competitions, Zachary’s creativity was impressive.

For his fantastic efforts, Zachary was awarded a $4000 grant that he is generously donating to the CAISA Fashion Show in support of the Children’s Health Foundation. We wanted to send our congratulations to Zachary for bringing so much excitement to his campus and showing Canada what living the best campus life is all about!

“CAISA has worked so hard to create something that we love. We donate all of our sponsorships to charity – it is out of this selflessness that I know we are doing the right thing and living the best life.” –Zachary Wan

Hi Inside BlackBerry® readers! We’ve got a few quick words today from Angela, who’s excited to tell you all about Campus Perks. Read on and get thinking about how you can participate!

We are on a search for Canada’s best campus story to inspire and excite the whole country. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been seeking out the best stories, whether it’s about how you’re making a big-time difference at your school, being a part of the most awesome program, or even throwing the coolest parties that everybody needs to be at.

As with most searches, the best life is all about the journey. This is a chance for students to showcase everything their story represents to thousands of students and friends across Canada and get some well-deserved recognition. It’s all about the best friends, the best moments, the best programs and everything that puts the “best” in the best life.

Of course, there are some awesome rewards too. The top 30 nominees will move on to compete in a series of challenges. The top 20 will each win a BlackBerry® smartphone, and the top 10 will create their own “best life” event in a final run for the top prize: a $4000 scholarship and a chance to have their story featured in our BlackBerry social media channels (like the Inside BlackBerry Blog, our Facebook page and Twitter account). Full details can be found here.

Know someone that you think deserves to win? You can nominate a best life story for yourself, your friends, a campus group or club, or your whole program. Explain your choice with a photo or a 65-second video – be creative and let us know why you’ve chosen your nominee! Hurry though, because voting ends January 15th, 2011, so the sooner you get your nominations in, the better.

If you want to get in on the action by participating, the voting has already begun, so start checking out the stories now at the official Campus Perks website and share your favourites with all your friends to help them get as many votes as possible!

Those interested in participating can fill out the nomination form, and if your nomination is approved, we’re going to shine the spotlight on your story and spread the word from coast to coast. Be sure to check out all the rules and regulations and make sure you agree to them before entering. And remember, there is no purchase necessary to enter or win.

Good luck!