If you’ve been anywhere near a physics, chemistry or calculus class recently, chances are pretty good that you’ve seen a CramBetter study guide on someone’s iPad — or one of its distinctive videos playing on a nearby laptop screen. The 24/7 UCF tutoring service has seen rapid adoption, particularly among engineering majors and pre-meds.
CramBetter originally came to the University of Central Florida in the Fall of 2023, launching with support for just four math and science classes. Today, they offer support for 11 UCF courses, including various levels of physics, chemistry, and calculus — with plans to add more.
Company co-founder Steven Keys said the rapid uptake of CramBetter at UCF can be partially attributed to a teaching style that’s focused on what students actually want. “We have an incentive to teach more efficiently because our customers value their time,” says Keys. “The same material professors spend a week on in lecture can be condensed down into about an hour if you optimize the way it’s delivered. We’re really good at that…and we throw in a few jokes too, so you don’t fall asleep.”
Many students seem to agree with that assessment. “CramBetter has been really helpful for Physics 1 at UCF. I’ve been struggling in my class with a new professor, but with CramBetter, I was able to actually learn and grasp the topics from my class,” says Kyle Kosuda, an engineering major at the University of Central Florida. “The website has many videos and study guides that allow for a deep understanding of the concepts, but in a quick and digestible manner.”
CramBetter’s business model is also unique among other private UCF tutoring services. Instead of scheduling one-on-one tutoring sessions by the hour, students gain unlimited 24/7 access to CramBetter through a monthly subscription, which results in a dramatically lower price overall.
Memberships with CramBetter include a condensed study guide for every topic in a given UCF course. Each of these study guides corresponds to a set of short instructional videos, together known as a “Topic Review.”
In addition to each Topic Review, students have access to practice exam questions associated with that same topic, which are designed to mimic real UCF tests. If a student gets a practice question wrong, they can watch a detailed solution video and ask their tutor questions via CramBetter’s online platform.
The tutors who make these videos and answer student questions are hired under strict rules. Each tutor speaks English as their first language and holds a master’s degree or higher in their field. CramBetter tutors are also required to have a minimum of 8 years of teaching experience. These credentials set them apart from many other tutors, like those at the UCF SARC, who are typically undergraduates.
CramBetter’s head UCF tutors from left to right: Steven Keys and Marty Parks.
In addition to being one of the company’s co-founders, Keys himself is one of CramBetter’s tutors, specializing in physics. “I got my bachelor’s degree in physics from UF, and then I actually came here to UCF to get my master’s degree in science education. Teaching is my passion, and it’s pretty cool to get to help out students here at my own alma mater.”
CramBetter is a privately owned company that serves UCF students and can be accessed at CramBetter.com. It is not officially affiliated with the University of Central Florida, nor the UCF SARC (Student Academic Resource Center). CramBetter is also available at other colleges and universities.
