What is your go-to study spot, especially during finals week?
“Some of my favorite moments have been during finals when my friends and I get up early and go to sit in the neuro lounge. Since finals are typically very stressful, it’s a more comforting way to get our work done with the support of each other.”
Lucy Friedberg ’22
“First Floor reading room in Chalmers, facing south. Important to face south so you don’t get distracted watching people come in and out.”
Henry Hirschfeld ’22
“If I really need to grind, I go to the 1st floor reading room in the library at a table by the windows. It gets a lot of natural light which helps me fight off the study blues and also I get to see people leaving the library looking all happy and free which inspires me to keep going. If I’m really feeling the stress of winter finals, the greenhouse is a warm place to do some reading! It gets the natural light and the green of the plants and keeps me warm as it gets cold (a benefit of being a STEM student). Or I just stay in my room and turn on my oil diffuser and brew a cup of tea!”
Cubbie Woollen ’22
“The place I feel most comfortable working is at home, but I live at the Pines and it’s not convenient to go back home between classes. I like Chalmers, but mask-wearing is hardly enforced there, and I don’t feel comfortable working there. I babysit sometimes, and I especially cannot afford to get sick if it means putting the (unvaccinated) kids I watch at risk!
So I’ve basically been in-between spaces to study on campus right now.”
Ceci Rodriguez ’22
“I enter Chalmers and check the front reading room. If it’s too crowded, I climb to the third floor, hanging a left towards the reading room. If that’s full, I climb the next set of stairs to the fourth floor, heading to the little Schwartz reading room who’s doors have a mind of their own. ”
Ben Hoffer ’24
“I like sitting on the 4th floor perch [in Chalmers] because I get to watch my friends’ comings and goings.”
A.J Gluck ’25
“I spend a lot of time in the Carver reading room because it’s open 24/7 which is great when you feel like messing up your sleep schedule and leaving the library at 3am. The high ceilings are nice and silent atmosphere, and I like to look out the tall windows too as a distraction.”
Tommy Hillmer ’25
“Honestly, I don’t have a single spot on campus where I focus more or get more work done actually, weirdly, quiet spaces are really difficult for me to work in. I tend to work better in spaces with lots of people working on things. So I usually work on New Side or at my friends’ play rehearsals.
Also the Bolton green room is an amazing space. Great couches, good light, sometimes I pop into the shop and see what they’re building and hang with Chris Ellsworth’s dog Cooper.”
Jack Cohen ’22
“For my usual weekly readings and writing responses, I enjoy sitting in the purple chairs overlooking the atrium. When I need to write essays, and focus for extended periods of time, I either find a more private room where I can sprawl out and think out loud or go to the third floor reading room to be in a quiet, well lit space.”
Jesse Leener ’23
“I’m incapable of studying by myself so I pretty much just study wherever my friends are at. Two of my favorite places to study are Old Kenyon and Unity House. It helps me to be with other people in a social setting. I can work well with noise and sometimes feel overwhelmed in settings like the library where everyone is studying in silence. I try not to spend too much time studying by myself in my room as I find it easy to get distracted.”
Ilan Magnani ’24