As we roll into 2024, college students are in a unique position to capitalize on the AI revolution to help with their studies and beyond – all thanks to General Purpose Transformers or what you likely know as GPTs.
Using the incredible ChatGPT as a scaffold, OpenAI introduced the capability for tech wizards and business pros to create and share their own custom-built GPT. These GPTs aren’t simply updates to the ChatGPT framework, but they signify the technological shift that will completely transform the way students learn, acquire skills, and more.
In this article, we will explore some of our favorite GPTs for college students you can start using today.
As mentioned, GPT stands for General PurposeTransformer, and they’re unique plugins for the ChatGPT framework. They allow students to make ChatGPT their own personalized AI that can help you simplify daily tasks, gain access to specialized knowledge, and improve comprehension of complex subjects. In essence, it empowers students to get the most out of the educational experience and excel like never before, while making the learning experience both easier and more effective.
The real power of GPTs lay in their versatility. Of course, the main benefit of GPTs is how they can improve the overall learning experience.
When you add the plugins to your ChatGPT, you essentially create your own personalized study buddy. They can help explain intricate subjects, help you work through complex topics, and even add extra context for study materials given by your professor.
They can help you with your writing, extract vital info from text and present it in an easy-to-understand format, conduct thorough research, answer specific questions to deepen your understanding, and even create visualizations for complex concepts. When all combined, it leads to higher academic performance and an overall better educational journey.
GPTs go beyond helping you with your studies.They can also help you nail your dream job. GPTs can give you unique insights on any industry so you can spot emerging trends and suss out unique career path opportunities.
They also assist in getting the skills needed to set yourself apart from the competition, especially in the tech field. The best example is coding, where there are plenty of GPTs built by experts to help you learn any programming language. What’s great is the GPT is your personal tutor, so if there’s something you don’t understand, you can ask the AI right then and there to break it down for you.
Then when it's time to go out for the job,GPTs can even help you there with resume building/reviewing and even interview prep. All in all, GPTs are powerful tools that can help students both in the academic and professional world to optimize their education and bolster their skill set for the job market.
Now, for the fun part, let’s explore some of the best GPTs for college students available right now.
No longer waste time scrolling through studies and peer-reviewed papers to find the one you need with ScholarAI.It’s perfect for working on essays and research papers. All you need to do is simply enter in the topic you want to research, and the ScholarAI GPT will return all of the relevant peer-reviewed studies it can find on the subject.
Now, when you need reliable sources for your papers, you have quick access to a vast library of scientific literature right at your fingertip. It’ll give you the research name, the abstract, the author(s), and a link so you can delve deeper.
While mathematics is the bane of many students(heck, even ChatGPT struggles at times), the WolframGPT makes the process of solving complex equations, understanding math concepts, and applying mathematics to the real-world a whole lot easier.
It gives you access to the powerful WolframAlpha and Wolfram Language programs. So whether you need help with algebra, trigonometry, or calculus, the Wolfram plugin is your personalized tutor to help solve algorithms and provide clarity for complicated math ideas like the Goldbach Conjecture.
Ever feel your eyes glaze over trying to find something specific in a multi-page PDF? Well, those days are over with AskYourPDF. It’s a powerful GPT that lets you upload any PDF and use ChatGPT to find, extract, and summarize the text.
And as the name implies, you can even askChatPDF specific questions to get the answer you need. How it works is you upload the PDF to the AskYourPDF site, then take the code given to you and pop it into ChatGPT. It will work its magic and you have all the info you need at your fingertips.
Yes, it’s a bit of hassle having to upload thePDF on a separate site but it will transform the way you work with PDFs.
If you need to analyze and summarize more thanPDFs, then Link Reader could be just what you’re looking for. Link Reader is a powerful GPT that lets you simply drop in a link, and it will summarize whatever is for you. It can be web pages, PowerPoints, pictures, Word docs, and more. It will even give you a consensus on the mood of whatever link you posted.
Created by one of the leading free coding services, Khan Academy, Code Tutor helps students work through coding problems and improve their programming skills. As the blurb states, it won’t write the code for you but it will give you challengers, tutorials, and answer questions to help you be a better programmer. With the vast library of educational material provided by Khan Academy, it makes it one of the most powerful GPTs for beginners and those looking to take their coding skills to the next level.
AlphaNotes lets you turn any web page orYouTube video into your own personalized study material. You can use it when getting ready for exams or when you want to delve deeper into a subject in a simplified, concise way. It’s especially helpful when you have large sources or long videos that need the main concepts to be more digestible. You just simply have to paste your link and ask the GPT to create your study guide or help you prepare for an exam, and the plugin will get to work.
If you’re a visual learner, you will love Show Me. It takes complex ideas and creates visualizations to deepen your understanding on the subject. It can create a variety of diagrams like flowcharts, mind maps, and more that highlight key points, data, and relevant info. For example, if you have trouble understanding how physics concepts relate to each other, Show Me can create a concept map to show you how the ideas are connected.
Although many GPT plugins are free, advanced features are typically locked behind a paywall in the GPT Store and require you to have ChatGPT Plus. However, the utility and effectiveness of them make them well worth the money. There are many more GPTs available, so you can truly make ChatGPT your own to fit your academic and professional goals. By taking full advantage of the AI revolution, you can make yourself a better student, achieve academic success, and make yourself a force to be reckoned with in the job market!