ExtraEssay Overview
ExtraEssay has a 3.8-star rating based on less than 150 reviews, which indicates that most customers are generally happy with their purchases. Satisfied reviewers often highlight the high paper quality, skilled and experienced experts, and praise the platform for fast turnaround times. ExtraEssay is ranked 26th among essay writing websites.
So, without much hesitation, we decided to dive in and order a 4-page case study on illegal immigration in Sweden to see how good the platform actually is. As usual, we'll also take a look at other aspects of the platform ‒ ease of use, customer support, quality, meeting deadlines, extra features, and more. So, if you want to know how ExtraEssay's team of "selected experts" fared with our paper, keep reading.
Our Final Impressions of ExtraEssay
While we can highlight some positive sides of ExtraEssay, quite a few things seemed weird and illogical to us.
On the one hand, the platform is very transparent; on the other hand ‒ there's no basic information about its experts and writers. ExtraEssay claims to be popular among students from top universities like NYC and USC, yet the site has less than 200 reviews on review platforms in total.
The allegedly positive reviews from news outlets praising ExtraEssay also seem weird. You can't copy the text of these reviews to verify their original sources. But it's not that hard to manually search for them, and you know what? Nowhere are these reviews mentioned, except for the ExtraEssay site itself.
All these shady moments, along with mixed reviews over the past year and the so-so quality of the paper we received, overshadow the positives for us. Even the friendliest support agents, low prices, and a sleek design won't change much in this case.
There's one thing for sure: we can't recommend ExtraEssay to our readers and suggest looking for another academic assistance service.
What Is ExtraEssay, and How Does It Stack Up?
ExtraEssay is a relatively old academic help platform that has been around since 2013. It mainly focuses on writing tasks (pretty much any type of academic paper), as well as helping out with homework or other similar tasks.
The first thing that you'll notice is the great design. Sure, we say this a lot in our reviews, but let's be honest ‒ the look and feel of a platform do affect our first impression. And speaking of design and user experience, ExtraEssay has definitely nailed it.
But a good design isn't the only thing that's important ‒ no matter how user-friendly the service is, we all need solid papers, right? And unfortunately, ExtraEssay let us down here.
Our case study wasn’t terrible, but it was bland. It felt like a brief and shallow summary of information taken from the first few pages of Google, with no charts or diagrams, minimal analysis, and vague conclusions.
One more thing we found weird was the language used ‒ it was full of jargon, which our author didn’t bother to explain much. That was disappointing, but it is what it is.
Customer Support at ExtraEssay
You might have no need to contact support to learn something about the platform since the website is self-explanatory. But, for our Extra Essay review, of course, we had to test the quality of customer support. So, before placing our order, we reached out to ExtraEssay's support team with a bunch of questions.
As expected from any modern academic help service, users have three ways to contact support: via email, phone, and live chat on the website. We tried all three and got quick responses every time (which was surprising because email queries usually get straight-up ignored or take days to get a reply).
The support agents were polite and did their best to answer all of our questions in detail. However, it wasn't a wow factor for us ‒ after all, this is the basic level of customer service ‒ this is how it should be everywhere.
No doubt, working with customers is not an easy task, and hiring the right people for the job is crucial. From what we experienced, support agents at ExtraEssay seemed knowledgeable and professional. If only the platform put the same effort into finding experts to write papers.
Who Are ExtraEssay Writers?
While the main page brags about the platform's thorough approach to the selection of experts, the website doesn't even have a dedicated page where you can learn more about their qualifications and experience. Charts and diagrams showing how candidates are tested are nice, but what's the point of all that if we still don't really know who we're dealing with?
When you place an order, you can choose from three types of writers: basic, top, and premium. Categorizing writers like that seems weird to us – what's the actual difference between premium and standard? Does this mean that if you don't pay extra, you get a "lesser" writer? Unfortunately, ExtraEssay isn't the only service that uses this kind of approach.
We think all experts should be of the same high level, with roughly the same experience and skills. And if there's any categorization, it should be based on their areas of expertise. Besides, it would be great to learn a bit more about the writers' pool before you place an order.
How Expensive Is ExtraEssay?
If we ignore a bunch of extra paid services, the prices on the platform are a bit above average. For a standard 1-page college-level essay with a 7-day deadline, you'll have to pay $14.10. Though there are cheaper options out there, ExtraEssay's pricing is still reasonable.
However, if you feel like spending all of your money in one sitting, it's quite possible to do that here, too. You can pay an extra $15 for a plagiarism report, another $10 to give your order high priority, or hire a premium expert, which costs an extra $10 per page. And our absolute favorite ‒ for another $12, you can get an editor to proofread your paper.
While we can understand the need to pay for plagiarism reports (and still, a lot of competitors offer them for free), but, come on, proofreading? Shouldn't it be included in the initial price?
At least you can save some money by using promo codes, and they aren't the only way to save a bit on ExtraEssay. The platform also offers a loyalty program ‒ you can get 10% off your order amount in points, which are collected on your credit balance. That's a cool feature, but we feel like you need to order A LOT to actually benefit from it.
Revisions and Refunds
The platform's revision and refund policies are clearly outlined in its Terms & Conditions. You can request a revision within 14 days after the deadline for papers up to 20 pages and within 30 days for anything longer. In rare cases, like if your paper is fully plagiarized, the revision period can be extended to 180 days. All that would work under one condition: you shouldn't accept the work as final.
Revisions are free and unlimited, but only if your corrections are relevant to your order instructions. If you want to make changes that weren't included in the initial order, the revision will be denied.
The same time frames also apply to refunds. If your order isn't completed on time, you're guaranteed a full refund. For other cases, the platform reviews each situation individually and even may ask for proof of poor quality, as far as for written negative feedback from your professor.
The refund amount is determined by the platform's Quality Assurance team based on the amount of low-quality content they would find in your paper. Let's agree, this is where it gets kind of subjective, but it is the platform's policy.
But again, all of this is clearly laid in the Terms & Conditions. So our, team gives ExtraEssay big thumbs up for transparency.
Deadlines at ExtraEssay
Right in the order form, under the deadline selection menu, there's a bold claim: "98% of orders are delivered way before the deadline. "The website often reassures you of the speedy delivery.
Apparently, we happened to be in the remaining 2%. Although the delay was minor and non-critical, and our paper was delivered just 20 minutes past the deadline, it doesn't quite match their claim of such a high percentage of on-time deliveries.
What we liked was that certain types of work have specific allowed time frames. For example, you can choose a one-hour deadline for a regular essay, but if you're ordering a dissertation, the minimum deadline is 48 hours.
However, there is no limit on the volume of your paper, and you can still order a 20-page research paper with just a one-hour deadline. We don't know how exactly ExtraEssay handles such situations and if they notify clients that it's impossible. But this little detail in the order form definitely should be fixed.
ExtraEssay and Plagiarism
The platform has strict rules against plagiarism, and this is evident not just in the statements on the website. As we've mentioned, in the event you get a paper with a lot of plagiarized content, ExtraEssay guarantees a 100% refund. The period for requesting a refund or revision is extended to six months in that case, which, we believe, says a lot.
But the best indicator of commitment to keeping their papers original for us was our own paper. Despite the fact we didn't like its overall quality, we had zero concerns about its uniqueness. Our case study passed several plagiarism detectors (including a paid one) and consistently showed a high percentage of originality.
The plagiarism report, unfortunately, isn't free, which is a bummer. So, when ordering from ExtraEssay, think in advance about which tool you'll use to check the result yourself.
Pros and Cons of ExtraEssay
As it often happens, despite the clear advantages, we found the platform has more downsides. The lack of Extra Essay reviews and missing information about the experts are just part of the issue. The main problem is the quality of the papers.
Considering that the platform has been around for over 10 years, it's likely that the attractive design, transparency, and responsive support keep drawing people in. However, we can't recommend this platform if you need a truly high-quality paper above the high school level.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Extra Essay legit?
Is ExtraEssay real or fake?
How expensive is ExtraEssay?
Does ExtraEssay scam people?
Is ExtraEssay illegal?
What's the quickest turnaround time on ExtraEssay?
*Screenshots used for review and criticism purposes fall under the 'fair use' doctrine of the United States Copyright Law.
We've received your feedback!