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In recent years, generative artificial intelligence services have achieved near-ubiquitous uptake among college students, supposedly heralding the next wave in education. But at this seemingly unlikely time, a new study aid powered by human teachers is exploding in popularity across university campuses, particularly among premedical and engineering undergraduates.

In August of 2023, nine months after the public debut of ChatGPT, CramBetter opened its doors — initially offering tutoring at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and the University of South Florida (USF). Today, the service has spread to students at more than 100 colleges and universities in the United States.

Human-Powered College Physics, Chemistry and Math Tutoring

CramBetter describes itself as a “24/7 online study tool” and offers round-the-clock tutoring for college-level STEM courses including physics, chemistry, and calculus. Rather than serving up AI-generated content, all of CramBetter’s materials are delivered by expert tutors who each hold a minimum of a master’s degree in their field and speak English natively.

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CramBetter’s tutors record concise video lessons on each topic for a given university course’s curriculum. “Our goal is to get students better grades in less time,” said Steven Keys, co-founder of the company. “We’re not here to put you to sleep like a typical lecture. When you watch a CramBetter video, you’re only getting the most important stuff for the test — and maybe a couple of jokes thrown in there just to make sure you stay awake.”

The CramBetter Online Study Toolkit

As students watch a set of short-and-sweet “Topic Review” videos, they also fill in a tailor-made CramBetter Study Guide which syncs up to the video contents and highlights the most important formulas, concepts, and shortcuts. Students are able to print these Study Guides or interact with them using a stylus on a tablet. A great deal of research, including a recent paper by Frontiers in Psychology, indicates that hand-writing notes in this way significantly increases student engagement.

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After completing a Topic Review, students are invited to take a CramBetter Practice Exam to determine their readiness for in-class assessments. If a student gets one of the questions wrong, they can instantly watch a video solution recorded by one of CramBetter’s tutors, and even ask that tutor questions personally via the platform’s web interface.

CramBetter vs. AI Study Apps and Traditional College Tutoring

AI study tools are ubiquitous, but aren’t necessarily effective. Critics warn that ChatGPT is overwhelmingly being used by college students as a cheating tool for at-home assignments, which tends to leave them unprepared for tests and in-class quizzes.

“A lot of students are using ChatGPT to do their homework for them, which might be worth 5% of their course grade,” said Keys. “Our tutors are focused on getting students to actually learn the material so they can pass their exams, which represent more like 50-80% of their grade.”

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In an age where students are accustomed to answers from chatbots and AI-powered study websites, CramBetter offers a human touch, which its founders believe makes all the difference. But how does CramBetter’s online approach stack up against traditional one-on-one private tutoring?

According to Tutor Cruncher, traditional college tutoring ranges in price from $60 to $110 per hour and is often supplied by fellow undergraduate students. By contrast, CramBetter has a subscription model, providing unlimited tutoring from instructors with advanced degrees at a monthly rate of just $40 per course.

“We hire expert tutors who used to charge $200 or more per hour for private sessions independently,” said Keys. “They’re able to make more money through CramBetter while charging customers less, because our unique web platform allows them to help many students at a time instead of just a handful of rich clients. It’s a more scalable and accessible business model.”

And it appears to be working. As of November 2025, CramBetter has provided physics, chemistry, and math tutoring to thousands of students across more than 100 US colleges and universities, and its growth shows no signs of slowing down.

Interested readers can visit the CramBetter website for more information on its college tutoring services