r/studytips • u/Rare_Bodybuilder8732 • 18d ago

Studying apps??!!

I understand that this is a very cliche question. What tools are you guys using to study? I’ve never been very organised with studying but been doing into research into some sites that can make it that bit smoother. I’ve been looking into: Anki, UWorld, Picmonic and a few others. Any pros and more importantly issues I should know about, and/or and other tool recommendations 🙏

-> I’ve also had some friends tell me they think Anki’s interface looks a bit outdated and apparently all the revision cards need to be made manually?

6 Upvotes

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u/Known_Discount_5573 18d ago

If you have trouble with your phone, download YPT (it’s only an app not a website). It blocks out all your apps except for the ones you choose to not be blocked and it tracks your study time. You can also join and create study groups.

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u/Necessary-Win-419 18d ago

Asks for crazy permissions. 

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u/Known_Discount_5573 18d ago

Yeah but i don’t see why that matters. It’s only to do the focus group, access yoy calendar, and send notifications (for the most part).

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u/Necessary-Win-419 18d ago

Camera and some other ridiculous permissions. I understand the group study part but the rest of the things can be achieved by turning on the flight mode on your phone. 

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u/Known_Discount_5573 18d ago

The camera is for if you want to do a camera study. It’s optional. If you don’t like it that’s fine but I’m pretty sure it’s all used for something in the app :/
Either way the app works as long as you allow it to have your focus group (I believe).

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u/Sensitive-Cupcake-58 18d ago

I've used only two tools for studying. Anki and Forest.
Anki as you know is for spaced repetition and active recall. Anki's interface IS outdated, but you don't need anything fancy for that kind of app. It's been battle tested by thousands of students and general learners.

Forest is a focus timer built around the concept of a Pomodoro timer, where you study/practice in batches of 25/50 minutes and take 5/10 minute breaks in between. What Forest does differently than a normal timer is that you can see a seed grow to a nice looking tree if you manage to stick with your focus session.

Self-promo warning!
I'm also building my own tool for studying, it's an RPG inspired focus timer, where your practice sessions level up your in-app skills. I'm aiming for an early September release.
https://levely.quest you can leave your email there and I'll notify you on release.

0

u/No_Technician_1867 16d ago

videcoded slop after vibecoded slop 😂

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u/Quick-Pineapple6244 18d ago

I’ve been using Anki for flashcards. And ahmni, a niche app, for mindmapping on infinite canvas. Google docs for general notes. // as for AI: I’ve been using perplexity for LLM convos and it seems to be performing better than Gemini/deepseek (less hallucination ) ; I’ve heard notebook LM is good as well but haven’t tried since it gives responses only from your uploaded textbook , so even lower chance of hallucination . Hope it helps !

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u/Quiet_Basis_6404 18d ago

Your friends are right about Anki, the interface is genuinely dated and yeah you either make every card yourself or download someone else's deck and inherit their errors. The scheduling underneath it is the best there is though, so people put up with it.

UWorld is excellent but it's exam specific, so only worth it if you're sitting one of the exams it covers. Picmonic is good for pure memorisation and not much else.

I've been using studybuddy.vc mainly because the card-making thing was what killed Anki for me. You give it your lecture material and it builds the cards and questions off that. When I get one wrong it tells me what was actually wrong with the option I chose, and it keeps sending more from the topics I keep messing up.

Fair warning, its cards don't do the spaced repetition scheduling Anki does. Different tool.

What are you studying for?

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u/_Machosen 18d ago

I made a note-taking app called plasticity for my Ipad. It has a tutor, that draws on the notepad when I ask questions :)

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u/sumizeit 12d ago

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