If you’re reading this right now it probably means we caught you in one of the few times today you decided it was safe to look away from those notes, text books or final projects and give your mind a break.

The period of exams and tears is upon us teeNATION; Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have certainly felt the effects as multiple users have seemingly gone dormant in attempts to cram months worth of knowledge into their heads in just a matter of weeks or days. But what if we told you guys you don’t have to leave all the apps behind? Check out these five apps or websites that will make your studying experience a whole lot more efficient.

1.       Coursera

Are you not quite understanding the angle your professor, lecturer or teacher was coming from on a certain topic? Is the textbook offering little to no help also? Then Coursera is the app for you! Coursera offers multiple online courses from 115+ of the top universities around the world. Search for the name of your course and get access to free notes, lecture and instructional videos. Coursera allows you the opportunity to try approaching the topic from a different angle with material from schools such as Princeton, Stanford and Yale. From music to computer science Coursera has your back.2.       Brainscape

This is one app that will certainly get you thinking. Brainscape boasts as being one of the best flashcard apps out there and it has every right to do so. This app doubles your learning speed by using a study system that personalizes the timing/speed of each flashcard repetition. All you have to do is rate your over-all knowledge of the course/topic from a scale of 1-5 and Brainscape determines the right time to quiz you. The flashcards are safe to use because they were developed by some of the world’s top experts, teachers, professors and even businesses. Brainscape also gives you the option of creating your own set of flashcards. There’s hope for you yet crammers!3.       EasyBib

For those stressing over final term projects instead of exams, this app is for you. Project deadlines are every bit of stressful as final exams are; help from anywhere is welcome when you’re trying to finish before the clock hits that time. The EasyBib app is aimed at helping you put on the finishing touches to your work by doing the bibliography for you. No more worrying if punctuations or dates or names are in the right place; Simply scan the book’s bar code with your phone’s camera and your bibliography pops up. Options are available to change the bibliography style to suit the requirements of your school.4.       Quizlet

This app is one that has steadily been breaking people into the habit of running towards studying instead of away from it. The Quizlet team aims to make studying more fun and a whole lot easier but just as effective; you may even forget you were studying! Users are able to chose from Quizlet’s own study material bank or upload their own information for their own use on the studying options provided. On the app users can expect flashcards, games of match where you race against the clock, fun memory games and automatic pronunciations in 18 languages. Images and audio are also present to help you make the best of your studying experience. There will be little to no falling asleep if you’re using this app.5.       Fetchnotes

Twitter and studying in the same sentence? Yeah, this app dared to go there. It allows you to organize your thoughts using hashtags!. Each hashtag gets its own portfolio, so as soon as you think of a new essay topic or angle, or an alternative way to look at a topic you’re studying all you have to do is type it out and attach a hashtag.  Many people say the app allows you to spend less time organizing and more time thinking, which is always a plus. Lists created can also e-shared.

So go on, give these apps a go and watch your grades skyrocket. Forget hitting those books, or well, in addition to hitting those books, get into the spirit of hitting those apps!