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Ultius is an online writing service that states it has been in business since 2010 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. In keeping with our mission of providing consumers of writing services with accurate and objective information about the many companies offering such services, we have prepared this Ultius.com review. It is based upon several criteria, which are listed as sub-headings below. We use a number of factors upon which we base our evaluations of writing services, including the website content, writing samples found on the site, Ultius testimonials also found on the site, customer support services, customer comments, and feedback found elsewhere on the web, and our experience as we ordered and received a product from the company. Our goal in writing this review is to help students and others decide if this service is reliable enough. The following represents a full Ultius review based on our findings.
Services and Features Available
Ultius provides a full listing of its products and services on its site. These include all types of academic writing for students from high school forward, continuing through doctorate level studies. Among its other writing products and services are editing, admissions essays, resumes, CVs, and cover letters, and business writing, limited to plans and proposals.
The company states that it uses only American writers, and we were unable to find any specific information about writers other than that they are screened carefully prior to becoming a writer for the company.
The customer service department is available by phone, email, and live chat 24/7. There is also a contact phone number available. We attempted to call at several different times throughout the day and night and received a recorded announcement to leave our name and phone number for a return call. Ultimately, we received a return call and asked questions about dissertation services. The rep was pleasant, but unable to answer all of the questions we posed. She indicated that a “specialist” would call us back. That call did not come.
The site features sample writings, a blog, and more detailed information regarding types of writing in footer pages located at the bottom of each site page. There are published policies, but they are difficult to find unless one accesses the site map through a link at the bottom of each page.
We also looked up some Ultius Reddit posts and saw some people asking questions such as “Is Ultius legit?” or “Is Ultius legal?” and there was an answer from a former writer stating it’s legit and legal. Although it seems that the company is not a scam and people are rarely going to deal with Ultius cheating, it seems that it doesn’t treat the writers too nicely – or at least it was that way 5 years ago when the review was posted.
After reviewing the website in total, we can state that Ultius is a legitimate company in this industry.
Pricing System and Discounts
Ultius prices are higher than average for the industry. Pricing begins at $18.00/page for a high school essay with a 20-day delivery time frame up to $74/page for doctoral-level writing. An 8-page research paper we received was priced out at $178.00. We searched the site for Ultius.com discounts but were unable to find any, nor were we able to locate Ultius promo codes for new or loyal customers. After a great deal of digging, we were able to determine that there may be an Ultius coupons code available to loyal customers and that these are evidently awarded by customer service. The criteria for earning such discounts is unclear.
One thing we discovered upon accessing the platform was that you could claim a 20% Ultius discount code if you introduced your email. So, there may be other similar discount codes available, which would be convenient for everyone making an Ultius writing submission.
Security Level
Of course, the protection of one’s personal and financial information is critical when confidentiality is needed and when credit cards are used to make payments. Ultius has a McAfee security certificate and states that its system is secured, also stating that personal information is encrypted. In terms of payment processes, the site uses a third-party processor with an up-to-date SSL certification. No customer financial information is ever viewed or held by the site itself. We are unaware of any legal issues regarding payments or financial data. We felt safe using our PayPal account to make payment.
Writer Expertise and Delivery
We were able to locate some information about the freelance writers who work for Ultius. The company states that they all have degrees from accredited universities and are assigned to projects based upon those degrees. The proof of writer expertise, of course, is in the quality of products produced, so we relied on both Ultius customer reviews and a review of the research paper we ordered.
From all reports we reviewed, it does appear as if the writers are communicative. Students are able to contact writers and receive a prompt response. Students who like a specific writer may request that writer on future orders. However, there is a 15% upcharge for this.
Some customers indicated that they were a bit disappointed that the writing style was a bit “elementary” for a style normally expected at the university level. As one customer put it, “There were so many simple sentences, it was almost like reading a 5th or 6th-grade report.” Other customers were generally pleased with the quality but did return some works that were not formatted in the style they had requested.
It could all depend on the type of writer one chooses when they order an Ultius essay. Ultius allows you to choose between three types of writers, respectively the Best Available, Graduate Writer, or Requested Writer. The best available involves the company looking for a writer that would be suitable to write your paper based on the information you provided. This option is free of charge.
Meanwhile, you have the Graduate Writer and Requested Writer options, and these come with additional costs. For instance, the Graduate Writer option will come with a +20% cost, whereas the Requested one would add 15% to the overall cost.
There used to be a lot of offers from people who wanted to buy verified accounts of writers. This could be one reason why some people might have received bad quality papers even from verified accounts.
The paper we received was reflective of some custom Ultius reviews about the simplicity of style. As well, we would like to have seen resources that were a bit more scholarly.
It’s also important to note that Ultius gives Ultius jobs to people who would like to become an Ultius freelance writer. This is great for those who are good at writing and would like to pursue Ultius careers. However, this also makes it a little riskier in case someone who doesn’t have the best skills ends up becoming a writer. It could end up affecting the quality of the essays. We did read a few Ultius Glassdoor reviews, which revealed that while some writers were overall happy to have worked with Ultius, others didn’t like the experience and give the site a bad review.
Additional Benefits
Like many other writing services, Ultius offers free title pages and bibliographies and does indicate that all writing is subjected to a plagiarism check prior to delivery. However, we could not find any guarantee related to Ultius plagiarism, but as long as there’s no plagiarism involved most times, this shouldn’t be an issue, especially since you will get the benefits of other guarantees. As well, it states that all writing is first delivered to its quality control department for review prior to being sent out to a customer. While writing quality and customer support can vary, the site can be trusted to deliver a product when an order is placed.
Conclusion
We find that Ultius does a good job of attempting to meet customer needs and specifications. We would also raise some concerns about the claim that all writers are native English-speaking. Some of the sample papers and footer pages reflect incorrect word usage and sentence structures, indicative of ESL writing. In addition to this, our experience and other reviews were mixed in the areas of writing and research. Overall, however, we give a Ultius.com rating of “Good.”
