Mikah SargentTextbooks are expensive. Like, really expensive. The College Board estimates a full-time undergrad will spend a staggering $1,200 per year on books and supplies.
Which is why, increasingly, students are turning to textbook rentals and online materials. Like those offered by Chegg, for example.
Chegg is a student hub that offers a variety of digital services for students in addition to the ability to buy, rent or sell books.
The company says it can save you up to 90 percent on textbooks and offers a 21-day guarantee — so when you decide to drop that physics class, you’ll have rigmarole-free returns. (Video via Stanford)
Chegg’s service is centered around its app, which is available for both iOS and Android. You can search for your books through the regular means: title, author and ISBN or use the app’s barcode-scanning feature to quickly find a book.
Oh, and you know how you’ll order a book online a week before class, and thanks to slow shipping, you end up sitting through the first week of class without the book?
Chegg has a nifty feature to solve that entirely self-inflicted problem. While you’re waiting for your textbook to arrive, it’ll give you free 7-day access to the e-book version of the text in transit.
And for $14.99 a month, Chegg can help you out with your homework. Most textbooks come with standard problem sets, and Chegg has built up a database of step-by-step solutions to those problems.
And when your professor decides to challenge you with equations not found in your textbook, you simply snap a photo of the problem with your phone, wait a few hours and get a solution from one of Chegg’s “subject experts.”
Now, if you find yourself submitting a whole lot of these problems to Chegg’s subject experts, it might be time to track down a tutor. The service can help you with that, as well. New students get 30 minutes of free tutoring; prices start at 50¢ per minute after that. Chegg will help you track down an online tutor, versed in any number of subjects. Using Skype-style video and voice chat, your tutor can help you get back on track.
Once you feel you’ve tackled the tough topic, you’re going to want to study. And as you might’ve guessed, Chegg can help you with that, too.
Its flashcard app lets you build custom flashcards, and even includes a database of common subjects. If you’re learning a new language, the app can provide audio pronunciation as well.
We took a peek at Chegg’s ratings in the Android and iOS app stores. It received, on average, a four-star rating across all its apps — in other words, people seem generally pleased with the service.
To learn more about Chegg, you can head to the company’s website.
This video includes images from Getty Images.
