The Best Student Resources on the Internet

The vast majority of students at postsecondary institutions around the world are likely not fully aware of the range of student resources they have at their disposal, both on and off campus. While it is easy to Google queries and find answers to questions on the fly, crafty students understand that there are a wealth of resources on the internet which can, and should be consulted on a regular basis to make university life more manageable and enjoyable.

Chances are, too, that if you are a university student you, like most people, are not immune to spending counterproductively large amounts of time on places like Reddit. Luckily, Reddit is not an inherent waste of time. It’s how you use and browse the site that makes all the difference. Below are some of the best subreddits you can subscribe to if you are a university student.

Personal finance

One of the biggest knowledge gaps in the world that can heavily dictate individual success, across cultures, is the financial literacy gap. Most people, if they are not completely financially illiterate, don’t really know enough to competently manage their personal finances. It’s not their fault. Most societies fail to make it a priority at either the secondary, or postsecondary level. The financial literacy gap, however, isn’t just a matter of forgone knowledge, it can translate into thousands of dollars for university students.

If you are in the process of curating your Reddit home page, consider checking out the personal finance subreddit. Personal finance is subscribed to by over 13.5 million people, and contains troves of knowledge about how to make personal financial decisions, big and small. Many of the people commenting and responding to questions are experienced financial services professionals, or people who have already had to ask and answer the same questions in the past. It is a great resource to check up on daily, or even just when you have a finance question you need answered.

Eat cheap and healthy

Another great student resource on Reddit is the subreddit “Eat Cheap and Healthy.” Part of academic success comes down to how well you look after your mind and body. You can only push yourself so hard on substandard fuel and sleep before your body starts refusing to cooperate.

If you know what you are eating is trash and, furthermore, if you are spending too much money on hollow calories (fast food is actually surprisingly expensive), check out this subreddit for meal tips. It might completely revolutionize how you think about eating and shopping while studying.

Many people, especially students, are under the impression that university is about sacrificing your eating and dietary standards for four years for the sake of your education. The old familiar trope of university students eating packaged ramen noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is still a popular one. But you can actually eat quite healthily on a budget if you know how to shop and what to make. This subreddit has great information and tips for doing so, and provides a lot of inspiration.

Your school’s main or student resources subreddit

Reddit has now become the third most popular website in the United States after Google (number 1, obviously), and YouTube. Reddit has real pop-cultural, political, and social influence, meaning that is has become an important part of most businesses and institutions’ online presence. If you go to a big, well-recognized university, and even at many smaller ones, there is a good chance they have their own reddit page.

These are another category of good subreddits for students, and often act as supplementary student resources for people wanting to know what is going on around campus. They often contain threads about deals, or offers to be found on campus that might otherwise be poorly advertised, as well as information about events, rallies, protests etc. that are of consequence to student life on campus.

It could also function as a way to meet like-minded people. If you find someone talking about something you find interesting, or are having a conversation with a fellow-student and it is engaging and seems to be going well, you can even send them a private message and ask if they’d like to meet for a coffee, or a beer, etc.

Your area of study’s subreddit(2)

Another great student resource to be found on reddit are subreddits that have to do with your area of study. The subreddit “Engineering,” for instance has 210,000 subscribers. The “Political Science” subreddit has 10,800 subscribers, the “Philosophy” subreddit has 13.5 million subscribers, and the “Ask History” subreddit has 22,900 subscribers. These are just a few examples of discipline-specific subreddits.

These kinds of subs are great places to ask people questions (often scholars, or experts), get pointed in the right direction before you start an essay, or find information and inspiration if you are stuck on a topic. Additionally, there are writing services out there that can help you plan, or edit a paper if you feel it needs some extra love and care. If you don’t already have a profile on Reddit, they are anonymous and free to make, and allow you to interact with millions of people from around the world who are a wealth of new information and inspiration. Reddit is definitely one of the most helpful student resources out there.

Whether you use Reddit on a regular basis for news and entertainment, or are completely new to the platform, there are so many great subreddits to add to your list of subscriptions that are truly helpful and beneficial to university students. Instead of spending all your time on Reddit consuming gossip and media that doesn’t improve your knowledge, or make your life better and easier, think about ways to leverage the website’s immense potential to your advantage. Keep the above subreddits for university students in mind, and for all other academic and writing-related matters, reach out to Homework Help Global 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.

References:

Farrington, R. (2014). “The financial literacy gap costs college graduates thousands.” Forbes. Retrieved from:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertfarrington/2014/07/16/the-financial-literacy-gap-costs-college-graduates-thousands/#7930ac694fb2

Desreumaux, G. (2018). “Sorry Facebook, Reddit is now the Third Most Popular Site in the U.S.” Wersm. Retrieved from: https://wersm.com/sorry-facebook-reddit-is-now-the-third-most-popular-site-in-the-us/