Studying in college presents new challenges and opportunities for students. Most college students fail to graduate in their various courses due to different challenges – this trend has brought a new challenge to the education sector. The challenge of student retention can be solved by utilizing some online services that seek to address the challenges affecting the college student’s life. Using some tools in college will not only help retain students but also make them engaged and active in their studies. Weekly Essay looks at the top five online services that improve on a student’s stay and studies on campus.

College is also a chance to live independently. While most people see high school as the best years of one’s life, the truth is college is the redefining moment for every student’s life.

Look at the top online services for students.

  1. Grammarly

Grammarly tool assists students in their writing. The software checks spelling and grammar at a software and app level. Grammarly tool helps students improve their writing in all aspects- Whether it is a short assignment or a term paper the software always checks and correct grammar proficiently.

Besides, there are Grammarly apps for both desktop and Microsoft word. A student can also download an extension for their Google chrome. The software has a free version but if you need more features, you can always upgrade to premium at a fee.

Having Grammarly means having the whole grammar at your hands. The tool encourages students to improve their writing- Because it shows students mistakes while also showing why it is a mistake. Overall, the tool enhances student learning as it is more of a learning tool than a spell checker. With the premium version, students can also check for plagiarism.

  1. Copyscape

According to plagiarism.org research, more than 80% of college students have admitted to cheating one or more times. Plagiarism is one of the most serious academic crimes. According to Wikipedia, plagiarism detection is locating the instances of plagiarism in a piece of work. Sometimes plagiarism can occur, whether you are aware or not.  A plagiarized sentence or two could spell doom for a student’s academic career as it could lead to lower grades, facing academic probation or worse.

Copyscape is a free online plagiarism checker that also includes a premium version. The paid version offers premium searches and has many searching options. A Copyscape user can search for an unlimited number of texts per day. There is also an option to upload text to a private index so that you will compare the similarities between the texts that you have uploaded to the database.

  1. Google Calendar

Keeping up to date with academic events requires an effective tool- That is where Google calendar comes into place. The app is more effective than the regular reminders and planners helping you to save more time and organize yourself easily. The tool has many calendars in one place that you can use for almost any task- whether personal, business or holiday.

You can also customize the calendars and invite other Google users to share the calendars with you. The google calendar is integrated with Gmail and is available everywhere on the internet. Besides, you can also synchronize it with the calendars on your phone. You can also easily send a calendar invite directly from Gmail.

  1. Evernote

College students should make use of Evernote to organize their notes. Evernote is indispensable and is available for both phone and PC users. The app allows you to organizenotes faster on your laptop. This is made possible by the myriad of tools in the app. You can also scan your notes and make them searchable on the internet.

  1. Udemy

Udemy has over 40,000 courses and 20k instructors. The site also boasts of student membership in over 190 countries. Students can benefit from the courses offered on the platform. Besides, they can utilize the instructors and revision materials to what they already have in the classroom.

Learning in college is more active and fun if you have the right online services. Utilizing these services places you at an edge in your studies provided you are using them for educational purposes.