Looking to add some variety to your study habits? Try finding a new study spot. As finals week approaches, students around campus share their opinions on the best places to study on campus. 

Junior Caitlin Filip said she prefers to study outside when the weather permits, but she also enjoys studying in the Howard Music Hall lobby. According to Filip, the ongoing music lessons provide a pleasant atmosphere for studying. 

“Part of the reason I like it — and this is maybe exposing my status as a junior — but the couches are really comfortable, so if you need to take a quick nap between study breaks, it’s ideal,” Filip said.  

Sophomore Zelda Gilbert said Kendall 232 is the best study spot on campus. 

“I think it’s pretty obviously the Classics room,” Gilbert said. “The lighting is right so that you don’t fall asleep and the spacing is right so that you can have a bunch of people in there without it feeling crowded or too sterile, which is what you get when you go to classrooms on the fourth floor of Kendall. And it’s warm enough that you’re not freezing and cold enough that you don’t fall asleep. And there’s food.” 

Gilbert said the Heritage Room is too comfortable for her to be productive. 

“While it’s nice to be in, it’s nice for sleeping in, not particularly for studying,” Gilbert said. 

Freshman Ellery Toman said she enjoys reading aloud outside when the weather permits. Toman said she likes to study in the Heritage Room because it is less distracting than other areas of the library. Students have nicknamed the library’s three levels Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell after Dante’s “Divine Comedy.” 

“I don’t fall asleep there any more than I fall asleep anywhere else,” Toman said. “I love studying in the Heritage Room because it’s quiet and it’s truly quiet, not like Heaven and Purgatory. And the dark atmosphere and the beautiful decorations make me more excited to focus on studying.”

According to Filip, she enjoys studying with company occasionally, but not all the time. 

“Studying with other people can be fun if you’re doing low-key work and you can talk with them in between breaks,” Filip said. “It can also be good to provide ambient conversational noise when you need to focus or when you just need the vibe of people around you while you’re doing something very intense.” 

Gilbert said studying in a group can be enjoyable but it comes with downsides. 

“It’s extremely fun,” Gilbert said. “It’ll probably expand your brain, but it might not up your grade.”

Filip said that she prefers to write essays on the second floor of Mossey Library. 

“Purg. Definitely Purg,” Filip said. “Table in the stacks — there’s something peaceful and secure about being between the bookshelves.”

Gilbert said writing essays in Purgatory and Hell was useful for high-pressure papers, but she did not find it helpful for producing good work. 

“Writing papers in Hell works if you have three pages left and two hours,” Gilbert said. “It doesn’t really work if you want a good essay. It’s good for study breaks though. It wakes you up.”

According to Toman, the Heritage Room works perfectly well for her essays. But she said there is a limit to how much work one should do. 

“Don’t study too much,” Toman said. “It’s not worth it.”