My Go-To Study App

The one thing all of my teachers, mentors, and TAs always told me to do and I never did it was using active recall when studying. It wasn’t until summer before senior year of college that I began implementing it into my study routine and became a much more effective learner.

While I am not in classes any longer, I am learning Chinese (via private tutor). There is a lot of memorization involved, which is why I began using Anki. Quizlet is a great option too, but isn’t a robust enough app for me.

Anki is very similar to Quizlet but very customizable. You can basically add anything you want and as many sections to a card as you want (text, photos, videos, audio, etc.). The coolest thing about Anki is the algorithm. It uses the active recall method to test you.

You are shown a card and answer it. You rank whether it was easy, good, hard, or very hard. Based on your response, the app will sort your deck and decide when to show you the card again. It could be as soon as in a minute or as long as 2 years (I haven’t gotten a time longer than that yet). Every morning, I get a notification that I have flashcards due (usually no more than 20). I take a few minutes each day to go through my cards and then move on.

This has really helped me memorize characters and new words. You could do this on your own, of course. Sorting cards based on their difficulty and reviewing more difficult cards more often. I just enjoy the convenience of the Anki app because I always have my cards with me and they sort the entire deck for me (I have several hundred cards).

It’s a more pricey app ($25), but 100% worth it for me. It has totally changed my study habits and keeps me on top of my work. If you are a student and think it’s worth the investment, try the free version first and then commit. I can’t go back to Quizlet after this.