Course Hero: Is It A Legit Study Savior? My Honest Review

If you’re like me, and you know there probably is a better way to study, but struggle to know just which one of many resources can help you study more efficiently you’ve likely tried a few things. 

Flashcards, whiteboard sessions, and frantic flicking through lecture slides are all things that seem great, but take up a lot of time and aren’t always that effective. I’ve spent a lot of time filtering through these and various other study resources, and have found the ones that really work. 

In this review, I’ll openly talk about my experience with Course Hero as one of these tools. I’ll cover what you can expect from the platform, how it works, pricing options, and the various pros and cons you should consider. 

Want to know more about the study platform I use? Then read on.

What is Course Hero? 

Course Hero utilizes quite a unique concept. It’s a platform that works through works by sharing documents, such as lecture notes and past exams. This earns users ‘unlocks’, and gives users access to other people’s resources. 

There are resources available from most schools and universities from around the world. Users can find access to a range of notes, study guides, practice questions and textbook solutions. 

There are some great ways that you can use both your own and other’s resources. For your own study, For example, if you upload a document with your lecture notes, Course Hero can help you summarize the notes, create flash cards, paraphrase and formulate solutions from one click of a button. 

Once you sign up, Course Hero is available 24/7, from anywhere you like. They even have an app. Need a math problem solved on the go? Snap a picture and let Course Hero tell you the answer. 

With this in mind, Course Hero claims to help you achieve higher grades, by working more efficiently. The platform tries to streamline the process of creating study resources, so that you spend less time searching for study tools and more time studying. 

Features and Functionality

There are some great ways in which Course Hero offers support to students studying. Course Hero offers several key features:

• Document Library: Because of how the platform is set up, it offers access to a vast collection of study materials uploaded by students and educators. Whether it’s past exam questions, answers to textbook questions, or access to lecture slides, you’ll find resources from your course or similar on the website. 
• Q&A Section: Users can ask questions and receive answers from tutors or other students. There is also a chatbot that allows you to ask a question in the chat, and receive in-depth answers, explained clearly and concisely. 
• Textbook Solutions: Step-by-step explanations for textbook problems helps you to understand how the solutions have been reached. This was great for me, as textbooks I used often had answers that lacked step-by-step solutions and further explanation.. 
• AI Homework Help: An AI-powered tool to assist with homework questions. For example, you can snap a photo of your math homework, and it provides you with the solution. 
• Paraphrasing: You can select a portion of text, and have the website paraphrase the content for you. The content you select can be reworded in multiple ways.. 
• Summarizing: If you have a long and jargony bit of text, you can select a portion of the text to be summarized in a simple-to-understand way. This is a great way to summarize textbook pages and lecture notes. 
• Proofreader: The proofreading and spell-check function allows you to quickly check your document for spelling and grammar errors.  
• Practice Tests: Upload a document and have the AI bot generate a multi-choice practice test based on the content you feed into it. 
• Citation Generator: Automatic generation of citations and references in the style you select. Great for assignments such as research projects and proposals. 

My Experience with Course Hero

I’ve used many study resources in the past few years, including free and paid resources. Like all resources, I’ve found some things I love about Course Hero, and some things I’m unsure about.

Pros

Quality of Materials 

I was surprised to find I can access documents uploaded from the exact course I was doing. This helped me get a head start before tests, and gave me access to official documents from previous years that my classmates didn’t have access to. 

Time Saving

The biggest benefit I found from Course Hero was the amount of time it saved me making material to help me study before tests and exams. 

I found the summarize functions great to help me extract the high yield content from wordy lecture slides, for example. 

The other great tool that helped me save a lot of time during study season was the practice question tool, which generated a quiz based on my lecture slides. This saved me a lot of time creating quizzes, and freed up more time to test myself, instead of painstakingly making my own resources. 

Textbook Answers 

Another great tool I found on Course Hero were the textbook answers. The answers provided were clear, and actually explained why the answers were what they were. This helped me check my answers, and helped me understand the content, rather than rote learn it. 

Ease of Navigation 

Although the platform has a massive database of study topics, course notes and textbook material, it is all easy to navigate. In an age where we have access to so many resources, this can be such a huge stress relief. I found just being able to search my course code, or the topic I was studying, and having access to some key materials a great tool come exam time. 

Assignment Support 

Course Hero was a lifesaver when it came to writing assignments. It helped me to reword content that I struggled to paraphrase, as well as helping me to proofread and even insert citations into the text. This helped to minimize the time spent on the tedious parts of assignment writing, freeing up more time to research the topic. 

Cons

Cost 

Whilst there is a free basic model, the premier membership gives you access to tools such as unlimited paraphrasing, math problems solver and citation generator that requires a subscription. 

If you sign up on a year’s subscription, you will be charged $119.40.  

Concerns about academic integrity 

Teachers and professors will sometimes express their concerns when it comes to platforms such as Course Hero that provide answers to textbook questions, can solve math questions and offer paraphrasing services. 

To be honest, it’s pretty easy to plagiarize using Course Hero. 

The platform does allow people to find simple solutions to questions, and when relied on, can result in becoming too dependent on the answers it provides. It is better used as a tool to check answers and explain solutions, rather than simply letting it do your homework for you. 

Subscription and Customer Service Issues 

Once subscribed, the payments are made automatically. This can be problematic for people who forget to change payment options. 

Customer service was also a bit tricky to navigate in order to contact. 

Neutral observations 

Tutoring Services

Although I did not personally use the tutoring service, they are offered on the platform. 

The platform puts you in touch with real life tutors from around the world, with experience in the field you are studying in. They help you study by asking you helpful questions, explaining key concepts and testing you on your understanding. 

The tutors are also available to answer one off questions within the chat function. 

Content Variety 

There is some slight variability when it comes to content provided. Whilst larger courses offered access to a range of different resources, there are more limited resources available to smaller, more niche courses. Overall, there is quite a bit of variability from course to course. 

Is Course Hero Legit? 

Yes, Course Hero is legit. 

It is one of those platforms that’s worth every cent you put into it. If you purchase a subscription, and never use the service, it’s probably not for you. However, if you commit to trying out all its features, it’s great! It’ll help you with assignments, revision, and is fabulous when it comes to finding resources to help you knuckle down during exams. 

For me, it was most helpful when it came down to revising for tests and exams. I found the resources such as the quiz generator and summarizer great for saving me precious time filtering through loads of content I was given in class. 

However, I did not get a chance to interact with the tutors much, and did not find much benefit from this feature, but have plans to do so in the future. 

I have heard from other people that the subscription process can be a bit confusing, and that there were little notifications when automatic payments were billed. However, I did not find this a challenge, and set a reminder on my phone when the payments were to come out the day before they were due. 

And when it came to concerns around academic integrity, I did find this took some discipline to manage. Whilst it was tempting to have the platform do my assignments and homework for me, I tried to only use it to explain answers, rather than rely on it too heavily.  

Overall, it was a great resource, that with a small monthly investment, helped me streamline my studying. It allowed me to spend more time learning, and less time filtering through a ward of text. It also gave me access to resources ahead of time that my classmates didn’t have for weeks. 

Pricing and Value

Basic Option 

The Basic membership options allow you to access study documents for free. You’ll also have access to a few, limited study tools, and be able to ask tutors questions at an additional price. 

• Basic memberships are free. 

Premier Membership 

The premier membership gives you access to resources, such as study tools that can transform your documents into study resources, along with tutor support and textbook solutions. 

• Premier memberships cost $24.95 /month 

Premier Plus Membership 

The premier plus membership gives you access to unlimited paraphrasing, citation generations, math problem-solving and all other resources available through the premier membership. 

• The premier plus membership costs $29.95 /month 

Tips for maximizing your subscription benefits

Course Hero really is worth it if you utilize it. It’s a great investment if you are ready to use it for a wide range of study needs. Things you can use it for include:

• Proofreading assignments 
• Adding in citations to research assignments 
• Solving textbook problem and using the explanations to learn from your mistakes 
• Use it to create study resources, such as flashcards 
• Use it to review course blocks 
• Interact with tutors that are experienced in your field of study 

Course Hero is an all-inclusive platform. It streamlines services offered by a number of separate apps, all in one place. If you have subscriptions to grammar checkers, paraphrases and quiz apps, you can confidently terminate those subscriptions, to make the most out of your Course Hero subscription. 

There are also some ways you can save, such as using discount codes. For example UNIDAYS often runs a discount in conjunction with Course Hero. 

Alternatives to Course Hero 

Whether Course Hero is for you or not, there are many study resources out there. 

Free websites 

Some other free websites include Khan Academy and OpenStax. These resources are mostly targeted to school students, and give you access to resources in subjects such as math, history and science. 

Library Resources 

Libraries are great resources when it comes to finding study material. Although it’s a bit more old school, and may take you a little longer, you can find great books and online study material through library websites. 

Study Groups and classmates 

Taking part in study groups, and meeting up with classmates is a fun way to get some study done, and discuss class materials with others. This is particularly great if you are an interactive learner, and helps you memorize the content better. 

Professors, Tutors and Teachers 

Directly contacting your professors, tutors and teachers for support can be one of your best options if you are struggling in class. They can help point you to key resources, and explain topics you may be struggling to understand. Oftentimes if you are stuck, it can take a teacher to identify what exactly you’re struggling with, in order to get you on the right path. They can also give you some hints as to what the best ways to study are.

Bottom Line 

Whilst these are all great resources, I found that Course Hero was able to deliver all the benefits that these resources have in one easy to find place. They allowed for the interactive aspects of study groups, the expert advice of tutors and the resource access that libraries offer, all in one place. 

Conclusion 

Overall my experience with Course Hero was a positive one. I found that for the amount of resources I had access to, it was a great value.

Course Hero offered me access to course notes, tutor material and textbook resources in one simple-to-use website. Some other handy features I found were paraphrasing tools, citation generators, and automatic revision test questions. These tools saved me a lot of time when it came to the nitty-gritty of study and freed up more time to actually learn the content and commit it to memory. 

I would recommend the website to other students who are spending a lot of time sifting through hordes of resources in order to find the best for their study needs. It would also be great if you’re anything like me and trying to find ways to study more efficiently

The free membership is a great place to start if you’re looking for a sample of what to expect with the full memberships.