So Im kinda stuck with my college essay and honestly have no idea where to get some decent feedback on it(AI slop aint helping at all).

Ofc theres lots and lots of essay review services online, but half of them look like the same made-up "BEST COLLEGE ESSAY HELP" typeshit. And Im not really willing to throw money at some random person just to get a couple of generic comments I could've figured out myself.

Already tried getting some help online, but the feedback was pretty much useless. Like, Im not the best writer myself, but even I could tell there was barely anything helpful in it.

Thing is: I need some honest advice/recommendations from people who've actually used one of these services. Where did you get your essays reviewed, and was it even worth paying for?

Money is kinda tight, so Im more concerned about getting actual useful feedback than paying someone just to fix a few commas and call it a day. Also dont wanna deal with any plagiarism or AI-generated feedback typeshit.

The thing I’ve noticed is that you can spend hours working on an essay, fix all the grammar mistakes, and still lose points for things that have nothing to do with how well you write. So I had this problem for a while and I chatted with my professor for a few times before actually realizing what exactly I am doing wrong. So sharing it here in case you also need it.

1. Answering the topic instead of the actual question. You might write a great essay about the general subject but barely address what the prompt is asking. So it's really vital to pay attention to words like compare, evaluate, discuss, or analyzebecause they require different approaches.

2. Making claims without explaining them. Dropping in a quote or statistic doesn't automatically make your argument stronger (unfortunately). We need to explain what the evidence shows and how it supports our point. Otherwise, it is graded as a collection of facts.

3. Trying to cover too much. It's tempting to include every interesting idea you found while researching, but too many unrelated points can weaken your main argument. It's usually better to develop a few relevant points properly than mention ten things without exploring them.

4. Repeating the same idea in different words. Sometimes a paragraph looks long but doesn't actually move the argument forward. After writing each paragraph, I now ask myself: does this add something new, or am I just restating what I've already said?

5. Leaving the introduction and conclusion disconnected. The introduction sets up the question or argument, while the conclusion should show what you've established. If the conclusion introduces a completely new argument or simply repeats the introduction word for word, revisit it.

6. Leaving citations until the last minute. It's easy to forget where a particular statistic or idea came from when you've used dozens of sources. Keep track of references as you write, and make sure every in-text citation matches your reference list.

7. Proofreading only for grammar. Read your essay one final time for logic, too. Check whether paragraphs flow naturally, your argument stays consistent, and each section contributes to answering the question.

My favorite final check: read only your thesis statement and the first sentence of every body paragraph. If you can't follow the logic of your argument from those sentences alone, your essay might need a clearer structure.

What other essay mistakes would you add to this list?

Hope it's useful!

I would focus more on building consistent study habits instead of waiting for exams to start preparing.

Mustafa dreams of studying in the UK

I've been thinking about this for a while now. Every semester I start out organized, and by week 5 I've got slides in Downloads, a couple files in Moodle I never opened, and notes spread across a few apps.

So basically I'm curious how other people handle it:

• do you study straight from Moodle/Canvas/Brightspace or move everything somewhere else
• have you ever missed a file a prof uploaded mid-week and found out right before the exam
• for diagram-heavy classes, how do you actually study the diagrams
• if you use an app for flashcards or notes, which one stuck past midterms

One thing that's helped me a bit: every Sunday I open each course page and check what's new for that week before I plan anything else. It takes like 10 minutes and I stopped getting surprised by random uploads.

What does your setup look like right now? And what's the most annoying part of it?

I built LearnLedger because we learn from YouTube, articles and courses from different sites and there is no structure way to track the learning and recall the topics for revision.
LearnLedger keeps track of it and tests you before you forget.

Stack - Vanilla JS, Manifest V3, no backend at all.

https://reddit.com/link/1x64ckl/video/5jynopf679vh1/player

What it does:

- Notices when you're studying on YouTube or a learning site and suggests the topic. One click to confirm.

- An hour later you get a 90-second recall test with 3 or 4 questions on what you studied.

- Marks each topic Strong, Moderate or Weak and brings it back for revision at 1, 3, 7, 14 and 30 days.

- Shows which chapters you've covered and which ones you haven't touched yet.

- Lets you log offline study too, like classes, textbooks or PDFs.

Right now the question bank is built for one syllabus, CBSE Class 10 Social Science (India's national board exam): 22 chapters and 400+ questions. Anything else you study still gets tracked and scheduled, using your own notes and flashcards.

No account, no servers, no analytics. Everything stays in your browser.

Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/learnledger-class-10-soci/oblfffnhmlfljefnieigjnooklkblipg

Site: https://learnledger.site

Feedback welcome, especially on permissions. It runs on about 30 education sites by default, and tracking on all sites is opt-in.

Every exam season my browser turns into chaos: the course page, the exercise sheet, last year’s exam, a lecture video, and the AI chat where I finally understood that one concept, all spread across 20+ tabs. Then I close Chrome (or it crashes) and spend 10 minutes rebuilding everything the next day.

Bookmarks never worked for me because they turn into a graveyard, and the tab managers I tried felt like too much. So I built something that works like the file explorer I already use every day: one folder per subject, with all the tabs and files for that subject inside.

My routine now:

• One folder per subject (Maths, Networks, Logic...)
• When I’m done studying, I save my session into the folder and close everything
• The next day, one click opens that whole subject again

It’s free, it’s called TAB Explorer, and it’s a Chrome extensin: Tab Explorer

I’m curious how you handle this. Bookmarks, tab groups, a mess of open windows? What’s your system when exams are close?

hello everyone i am acca student and I do self-study. ACCA is a difficult course, so I challenge myself by setting hard but achievable daily study goals.

My goal is to study for 8–9 hours a day and complete my study targets as quickly as possible. For example, I might challenge myself to finish a certain amount of studying before 12 noon.

I use a reward and consequence system to keep myself motivated. If I complete my target, I reward myself with ice cream or cold drinks. If I fail, I have to give up something important, like giving extra money to my friends or sister.

It usually takes me 2–3 days to complete one chapter, but I like pushing myself beyond my limits. Sometimes, I challenge myself to complete 3–4 chapters in a single day.

I’m looking for a serious, hardworking, and competitive study partner who can keep up with me. We will study for 8–9 hours a day, regularly update each other on our progress, report whether we have completed our daily tasks, and hold each other accountable.

We can set challenging daily targets, push each other to work harder, and compete to see who can finish their study sections faster. If one of us feels lazy or loses motivation, we should encourage each other to get back to work.

The goal is to stay disciplined, study consistently, complete our ACCA syllabus faster, and make progress together.

If you’re serious about your study, can commit to studying 8–9 hours a day, and enjoy challenges and competition, feel free to message me. Let’s push each other to do better!

Hi everyone!

I’m a first-year university student studying Accounting, and I need more practice with equity valuation in Business Finance.

I’m currently studying dividend valuation models, but I need more exam-style questions to improve my understanding and calculations.

I’m particularly looking for practice questions on:

• Zero Growth Model
• Constant Growth Model (Gordon Growth Model)
• Multiple Growth Model
• Calculating the cost of equity (Ke)
• Calculating the growth rate (g)
• Calculating dividends (D₀, D₁, D₂, etc.)
• Calculating share prices (P₀, P₁, P₂, etc.)
• Calculating the rate of return

I would really appreciate university-level questions similar to exam or past-paper questions, preferably with answers and step-by-step solutions.

I sometimes struggle to identify which model to use and how to calculate the different dividends and share prices, so any tips, resources, practice papers, or explanations would be very helpful.

Thank you!

Yesterday I "studied" for 3 hours. Then I audited what I actually did:

• Watched 2 study-with-me videos
• Reorganized my notes app
• Bought a new highlighter set
• Made a color-coded timetable

Textbook pages opened: zero.

That's not studying. That's meta-study — studying about studying. And it's the sneakiest trap in student life, because it feels exactly like being productive. Your brain gets the dopamine of "I'm a good student" without the friction of actual learning.

It's not laziness. It's avoidance wearing a productivity costume. Here's how I break out of it now — I call it the Close-the-Tabs ritual:

1. Spot it. If your hands are organizing, shopping, watching, or re-planning — you're in the trap.

2. Name it. Out loud or on paper: "This is meta-study. I'm avoiding [subject]." Avoidance can't survive being seen clearly.

3. Close it. Every meta tab closed. Phone on airplane mode, face down. One subject on the desk. Two minutes, that's the whole ritual.

4. Do one real thing. One page. One problem set. One flashcard round. Real studying has friction — that friction is the proof it's working.

The tell I use now: if my study setup takes longer than my studying, I'm in the trap.

Anyone else catch themselves doing this? What's your version — the planner shopping, the note beautifying, the endless method research?

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for a study buddy to keep each other company while studying. I don't really mind what you're studying, as long as you're also trying to learn something or work toward a personal goal.

We could hop on Google Meet and study together quietly. There's absolutely no need to turn on our microphones or make conversation if we don't feel like it. We can simply do our own thing while having someone else there studying alongside us.

Every now and then, we could send each other a little message to ask how studying is going, share our progress, or just give each other some encouragement on days when motivation is low.

I guess I'm just looking for a little companionship in the process of learning and growing. Sometimes studying on your own can feel a bit lonely, and it would be nice to know that someone else is out there trying their best, too.

No pressure to be productive every single day, no need to be perfect. Just two people quietly supporting each other and trying to become a little better, one day at a time. 🌱

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy, feel free to send me a message!

My commute is especially annoying when the train takes me underground and I've got no service (thanks T-mobile). I've built an app for myself and some friends for this.

Give it a topic or some documents and get a personalized learning path with audio lessons, quiz milestones, and daily review.

I'm giving away 20 slots for beta testers (completely free for 2 months). All I ask is to tell me what's working for you...or why its not... or what you'd actually want

This is a long-term commitment for me. The idea of AI leading us into a world of Idiocracy is what makes me most depressed. So I'm committed to making AI into the world's best pocket tutor (yes ironic I know)

Anyways feel free to DM me thoughts or just flame me here in the comments. I've got thick skin

link for claiming a free spot:

https://nemonic.ai/s/beta/Ugy9LPw3zt3VAhDGweiyKFJNP_6M3sYeKGkijGO3I9c