Regardless of what you are majoring in, college is no piece of cake. My dad always tells me, “If it were so easy, everyone would have a degree.” I constantly remind myself of this fact and tell myself that it’s okay to struggle as long as I try my best. With that being said, an important part of getting through college is to learn how to use your resources.
Sometimes, you’ll find yourself struggling to figure out a concept the night before a big exam. With the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, you can easily just prompt the site with an “Explain this concept to me,” query and get an instant answer. While this tool can be both helpful and accessible, it may not always be correct. Additionally, with something as convenient as this, we can easily forget all the other resources we have at our fingertips. Have you ever experienced the feeling of searching far and wide for help before stumbling across a YouTube video that just magically makes everything make sense? It’s truly amazing.
Three major things have helped me study and understand concepts: reading articles or textbooks, watching videos about concepts, and doing practice problems on my own. Throughout my semesters at the University of Connecticut, I have found some really useful resources online that have gotten me through tough courses.
Everything You Could Ever Need: Khan Academy
Starting off strong, I am a huge fan of Khan Academy. It’s a non-profit educational organization founded by Sal Khan. Without needing to pay a single cent, you can access videos to help understand concepts, articles to read on specific topics, and take quizzes or complete practice problems. This website can help with anything from general education classes to major exams like the MCAT. As you work through modules in a course, it can show which topics you are doing well in and which ones need more work, which is very helpful when you are studying for exams. Knowing what you are good at and what you need to practice can help you stay motivated.
You can practice with or without an account. To save your progress and pick out courses that you need help with, simply visit the website, create a free account, and add what you are looking for.
You can check out the Khan Academy here.
Like Videos? Subscribe to The Organic Chemistry Tutor!
You might’ve heard of this YouTube channel before, but I wanted to include this regardless of how popular it is because it has truly helped me in so many ways.
The Organic Chemistry Tutor is a YouTube channel by Julio Gonzales. Despite the name, he doesn’t just teach chemistry. He is great for helping with math and physics as well. From high school precalculus to college-level chemistry, The Organic Chemistry Tutor has gotten me through everything.
If you need help but aren’t sure where to start, his channel is organized into playlists by subject. You can easily find a specific video or watch a whole bunch of them if you are cramming for an exam.
You can check out his channel here.
Free Online Textbooks? Say “Yes!” to LibreTexts!
While textbooks are a good investment if you use them often, they can also be quite expensive. Thankfully, there are multiple places online where you can obtain free textbooks, including LibreTexts.
I learned about this website through one of my professors during my first semester in college, and it has helped me learn and practice many concepts ever since then. The website provides online articles written by professors, many of which include practice problems with answers.
Personally, I’ve read a lot of great chemistry articles on this website, but there are other subjects available as well, including physics and biology. Browsing the website’s library can help get a better understanding of what’s available and where you can find what you need.
Check out what the website has to offer here.
Math Isn’t Making Sense? Professor Paul Has Your Back!
Paul’s Online Math Notes is a website of helpful math-related articles written by Paul Dawkins, a highly rated math professor at Lamar University. The website is easy to navigate, as his notes are organized by class and topic. Notes, examples, and practice problems are provided to help with concepts in algebra and calculus courses. This website was very helpful when I took calculus courses, and I recommend taking a look next time you are struggling with understanding a math concept.
You can find his notes here.
Not Compatible with Chemistry? Chemistry Coach Can Help!
Finding a chemistry coach while struggling through organic chemistry was like digging through a sofa and finding a $100 bill buried in it. This website can help you get through general and organic chemistry by providing articles on topics, summarizing groups of topics, and through practice quizzes or exams. The topics in general and organic chemistry are divided into groups, with dropdown menus to help you navigate the site. The website also includes a Knowledge Base where you can find helpful articles on both topics in chemistry and studying concepts.
This website helped me get through finals week last spring and I recommend it to anyone I meet who says they need help with general or organic chemistry.
You can try out Chemistry Coach here.
Need Programming Help? Try CodingBat!
Last (but certainly not least) is a resource I’ve used since my junior year of high school. CodingBat is a free, live coding website created by Professor Nick Parlante, a computer science lecturer at Stanford University. On this website, you can practice coding problems in both Python and Java. You don’t need any fancy software, as the coding can all be done on the website itself.
The pages include sections of questions which are divided by difficulty level and the skills they focus on. After writing your solution, you can run your code in the space provided. The website will tell you if there are compiler errors, including the lines where they occur, along with showing a set of test cases and which ones pass. This helps you figure out where to fix your mistakes.
Lost on a certain concept? The website provides links to other resources. Websites like W3Schools and GeeksForGeeks can also help you figure out your syntax.
Interested? Simply go to the website, create a free account, and get started!
These are just a few free online resources that can help with your classes. Happy studying!