Claude and ChatGPT for students: how to study, research and stay on the right side of the rules

Plan: Free to start. Plus, $20 a month, if you need more files per Project and more uploads. OpenAI ran a 2026 Back to School offer of four free Plus months for eligible US students.

Plan: Free ($0, limited usage) to start. Pro, $17 a month billed annually or $20 monthly, as of November 2026, if you hit the limits. Ask your university first: it may offer the Education plan to all students.

1. 1
   Notion MCPOfficialHostedOAuth

   Notion's own connector: keep notes, reading lists and deadlines in Notion and let the assistant read and edit them. No read-only mode, so approve changes.

   HostedRuns
2. 2
   Zotero MCPLocalNo sign-in

   Community server that searches your Zotero library, reads full text, pulls citations and adds highlights. Reads from the Zotero desktop app with no account by default.

   LocalRuns
3. 3
   arxiv-mcp-serverLocal

   Community server that searches arXiv, reads papers section by section and exports BibTeX. No account or key.

   LocalRuns
4. 4
   paper-search-mcpLocalNo sign-in

   Community server that searches more than 20 free scholarly sources. Tell the assistant not to use Sci-Hub if that is a problem, since the release can fall back to it.

   LocalRuns
5. 5
   Brightspace MCP ServerLocal

   Student-made server that reads your Brightspace courses, grades and due dates. It signs in with your school login, so check your school's rules first.

   LocalRuns
6. 6T
   teachSkill

   Skill that runs a topic as a multi-session course in your folder, with HTML lessons and notes that carry over between sessions.

   SkillRuns
7. 7
   markitdownOfficialLocalNo sign-in

   Turns PDFs, Word and PowerPoint files into text the assistant can read. Runs locally with no sign-in.

   LocalRuns

1. 1

   Connect Zotero

   Install it with the command in the install box on its page. By default it reads your library from the Zotero desktop app with no account.

   Uses Zotero MCP

2. 2

   Search your own library first

   This keeps the assistant to papers you actually saved.

   PromptCopy

   Search my library for papers on sleep and memory consolidation. List the five most relevant with authors, year and one line on the method, then give me BibTeX for each.

3. 3

   Fill gaps with arXiv

   Works for fields that post preprints on arXiv.

   PromptCopy

   Search arXiv for recent papers on the same topic that are not in my library. Summarize each in two sentences.

   Uses arxiv-mcp-server

4. 4

   Read the papers before you cite them

   Open every paper you cite. An assistant can summarize a paper wrongly or invent one.

Claude

1. 1

   Tell it the exam and ask for questions

   Tell Claude to teach rather than tell. Anthropic's university Education plan lists a learning mode that works like a tutor; on other plans, ask for that style in your prompt.

   PromptCopy

   I'm studying for my organic chemistry midterm on SN1 and SN2 reactions. Quiz me one question at a time. Do not give the answer until I try, then explain what I missed.

2. 2

   Add your own notes

   Attach your lecture slides or notes so the quiz matches your course. Claude reads PDFs up to 1,000 pages.

3. 3

   Find your weak spots

   Do this after 10 or more questions.

   PromptCopy

   Based on my wrong answers, list the three topics I should review first and give me two practice problems for each.

4. 4

   Check against your textbook

   If an explanation conflicts with your course material, trust the course material and ask your instructor.

ChatGPT

1. 1

   Create a Project for the course

   Add your syllabus and notes. Free allows 5 files per Project and Plus allows 25.

2. 2

   Ask for a plan

   Give your real exam date and the time you can study.

   PromptCopy

   Using my syllabus and notes, build a 4-week study plan before the final on 12 December. Put harder topics first, add one self-test per week, and keep each day under 90 minutes.

3. 3

   Use deep research for background

   Deep research returns a report with citations you can export. Open the sources.

   PromptCopy

   Research the main schools of thought on the causes of World War I. Give a cited report and mark which claims are disputed.

4. 4

   Turn off training for your notes

   In Settings > Data controls, turn off Improve the model for everyone if you do not want your chats used for training.

Our advice: start on the free plan of either assistant. Claude is worth trying if you want it to quiz you, ChatGPT if you want Projects for a whole course. Add Zotero or arXiv for papers, and open every source you cite.