If you’ve got hard assignments at school to deal with, you’ll probably turn to a website such as CHEGG for help. They offer textbook solutions, online tutors and much more. Does it really work? Let’s finf out.

About Chegg

This versatile website offers help to students that feel overwhelmed and confused by course material. The company’s motto is “Study smarter – not harder,” and they absolutely stand behind it. Chegg is a versatile student helper that offers the following services.

Renting textbooks

Instead of spending money on buying textbooks that you’ll only use for 3 months and then throw away, now you can rent them for a partial amount of the book’s value.

Manuals with solved textbook problems

The website actually offers answered questions that you get for homework in high school or college. They even have a homework help app for iOS and Android, where you can snap a photo of the questions and someone answers it for you. You can choose between science, business, social studies, history, and math textbook solutions.

Using the Tutor help

You have access to online tutors that should answer any burning question in less than 30 minutes if needed. You can choose among a variety of experts and enthusiasts that will help you out. Their assistance is available through the App as well.

The Claim

Chegg boasts to be “the best kept secret of college success.” They promise an efficient textbook rental and reliable online help from tutors.

Another thing that Chegg promises are the answers to the toughest school assignments. Some people consider this study tool cheating, but what Chegg offers is a step by step learning process. They feel a student can achieve a lot more going through the material, with the answers provided.

Chegg also promises up to 90% savings on high school and college text books. Is this website really helping scholars, or is it doing them a bad favor by providing them the answers? Our team at Doesitwork researched Chegg, and its service for a week. Read on to discover what we found.

How does Chegg work?

The most used option available on Chegg is the 24/7 online help. Here you’ll find answers by entering a question or keyword in the search box. You get answers by experts in the field. Another handy option is the available GPA calculator.

The second most used option, Study help comes from the tutors that you can hire, literally any time of day or night. You can choose from an impressive number of 7000 tutors, with 1600 available in the middle of the night.

What does the subscription include?

Once a member you get access to solutions for over 9000 books. You can ask the experts (or enthusiasts) any question you need answered 7 days a week, any hour of the day. Their data base holds millions of homework answers, and they’re not shy to say so. These services were interesting to our team, especially the homework answers.

Some people debate that giving students textbook answers is highly unethical and wrong. They compare it to buying your diploma. Others see this website as a helpful tool for aiding the learning process.

How do you return books?

Once you rent a book, you’ll need to return it at the due date. Being returned counts from the moment you hand it in to UPS. They deliver it back for you. Some schools and libraries collaborate with Chegg, so if you live near one, that would be the designated area for returns.

If you’re late with your return (which happens a lot) they will either charge you an additional fee, or the full price of the book. You can ask for a refund within 7 days.

Sometimes you might need to extend your due date, and that is absolutely doable. All you have to do is contact Chegg by phone or chat and let them know. You can even choose to purchase the book you’ve rented. Just go to your account and select more next to the book you’re renting. You’ll be offered the option to buy it, and any rental fees will be deducted.

Costs

Chegg offers a week free trial that you can cancel in the course of those 7 days. For the Chegg study membership you’ll have to pay:

• 1 month subscription for $14.95
• 1 year subscription for $74.95

They have a great cancellation policy. You can cancel online at any time.

• Renting the books and student solution manuals will cost you 10 times less than buying it. So if a textbook is $200, you’ll be able to rent it for $20.
• If you wish to consult a tutor for anything, the price will be 7 cents per minute.

Orders over $85 get free shipping.

Satisfaction Guarantee Return Policy

The research team at Doesitwork thought Chegg’s return policy is actually quite fair. They will allow you to return a book you’ve ordered in 21 days, starting from the order date. They provide the refund, but you’ll have to pay for the shipping. A digital book can be returned in 2 weeks.

If you damage a book you’ve rented you’ll need to acquire the same copy and return it to them, or buy it from them. They will deduct any funds you’ve already paid for renting on your purchase.

Common questions about Chegg

• Is Chegg a reliable website? Judging by users experiences it can be considered pretty reliable. It has a plentitude of textbooks, materials, solutions, and the much needed help from online tutors.
• Is it safe? If we speak in terms of information available on the website, it is very safe. They claim their textbook solution manuals are written by PhD students, professors, alumni, or an expert in the field. Make sure you understand that even they can make a mistake from time to time.

On the other hand, Chegg is notorious for letting small mistakes slide for a long time unnoticed. They don’t have crowd sourced editing possibilities, so beware of incorrect information.

• Is it free? You get a one week free trial and that’s it. If you wish to continue using their service, you’ll need to pay the membership cost.
• Is it cheating and can I get in trouble if I’m caught using the website? This is one of the most common questions regarding this website. If you’re using the answers to study and understand the material at home, it is not cheating and you can rest easy.

On the other hand, if you’re using your smartphone to get the correct answer from Chegg while you’re shakily trying to copy it into the exam sheet – yes, it is cheating by all means. So if you get caught like that, you should get in trouble.

• What are the best alternatives and competitors for homework help? If you need help with your homework, you can check out Assignment Makers and Tutor. They are considered the best among the academic world.

The first one is especially good because you get a plagiarism report together with each assignment they provide. They’ve been serving students since 2008. The second company provides online tutoring for people that actually wish to learn the material, instead of paying someone else to do it for them.

Consumer Reviews

Some people compare this website to Course Hero, which is a similar study tool. Still, according to users that tried both platforms, Chegg is superior in terms of tutors. You get more available and better accredited ones.

Most of the people that used Chegg are happy with the results. When it comes to Chegg, it is the use of the textbook solutions that is debatable. They have a great service but unfortunately it’s often used for the wrong purposes.

What we like

• A helpful study tool that takes you through the material, step by step.
• Online tutors that are available 24/7 to answer all of your study questions
• Amazing opportunity to rent textbooks and save money, instead of buying them

What we don’t like

• The yearly membership plan is not student friendly
• Some people consider this website unethical
• Gives lazy students a way to procrastinate and cheat on their exam

Does Chegg work?

Chegg works for sure, it works so well that some colleges have banned their students from using it. It will give you the answers you’re looking for, and their tutors are decent. The only thing people need to learn is not to abuse it.

Some people have complained in study forums that Chegg is only used in negative ways, as a cheating tool. We strongly disagree. There are students that will get huge benefit out of this online tool daily, without abusing it.

The answers are there for you to study in your leisure time, not while taking the exam. People that get caught cheating give this company a bad name. Just imagine how beneficial this tool could really be, if we all used it the right way.

Check out CHEGG HERE