Student submission: 4 secret study spots on campus
Environment plays a crucial role in study success. If the library is too mainstream for you, consider the following alternatives:
- The basement of Old Main
It used to be the Honors Study Lounge, so it must be good luck. Couches line the walls with outlets conveniently near most of them. Round tables fill the center of the room, making it ideal for a last-minute group study session. The room adjacent to it has a coffee machine, microwave and vending machine. There’s also a dope patio just outside.
How to get there: Enter the east doors of Old Main, take an immediate left, go down the creepy stairs, take a right and then another right.
Advantages: It’s relatively unknown to most students…. Maybe this article will change that.
Disadvantages: The microwave is sketch. It’s easy to fall asleep on the couches. No printer.
- Outside the registrar’s office
This is a great place for short-term studying. The chairs are soft, and you can change at an outlets before heading to your next class. There’s a bathroom right by you, and generally there’s not much foot traffic in the area. If you need to print something, the Taggart Student Center computer lab is just downstairs.
How to get there: Enter the TSC from the west side. Instead of going up the main staircase, take the hidden stairs below them, stop at the second floor, pass the drinking fountain, then you’re there.
Advantages: Close to many main buildings and more importantly, close to food.
Disadvantages: Small capacity. Seats eight-ish.
- The third floor of the TSC
FYI, this is not the place to come if you need silence to study. If you don’t mind the sound of ping pong and foosball, try studying here — even if you can’t handle it, you’ll probably make some friends. In the early morning, though, it’s empty and quiet. There’s a nice view of the TSC patio, as well.
How to get there: Enter the TSC from the east doors, walk towards the Marketplace, but go upstairs instead.
Advantages: Great spot if you need to take frequent study breaks.
Disadvantages: It’s hard not to take a study break.
- Top floor of the Engineering Building.
Sure, it’s on the far end of campus. And yeah, you have to climb eight flights of stairs. But guys — 25-cent donuts. And movies. And couches. And the computer lab is supposedly the fastest on campus.
How to get there: Walk east for 12 days. If you reach the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, you’ve gone too far. There’s only one staircase in the Engineering Building — climb it until you collapse. You have arrived.
Advantages: All of them
Disadvantages: Cardio
Whatever college you’re in, there are likely hidden study spots in your buildings, so find something that works for you. But whatever you do, don’t study in bed.
— Brenna Kelly is a broadcast journalism major. She once ate breakfast with Stan Albrecht. She legit had a panic attack when he announced his retirement. Don’t leave, Stan.