We all have one thing in common across years and majors in college: studying. But where to study can be quite the adventure. You find one spot that works for a week, then a campus tour goes by and it’s so traumatizing you can never sit there again. You settle down in the library, and they turn on the heat and you’ve never sweat so much in your life. Sometimes it’s nice to have a little guidance of the pros and cons of the hidden study gems.
The bridge between Stokes North and South
This may be a spot with no tables and a single plug between them, but if you have work that doesn’t involve a computer those seats are the most comfortable at BC.
Bonus: The window ledges across from them are perfect foot rests or a place to set down your coffee.
Drawback: It gets cold with so many windows, so if you’re not one to have an extra layer you might want to huddle down somewhere else.
Bapst Library
Widely known as the library straight outta Harry Potter, it’s also associated with really intense studying and graduate students. There are plenty of cubicles with their own adorable lamp, which allows for more privacy than the big wide tables in O’Neill.
Bonus: Bapst has its own printer, so no need to wait in a mile-long line to print out your work. “It’s a good place when I really need quiet or if I really have to focus on something without distraction, because it’s completely silent. You feel like you’re in a really academic, intellectual sort of a place,” said Jennifer Heine, a senior at Boston College.
Drawback: Some of the adorable lamps don’t work so you might need a few tries to make sure you’re in a prime location.
First floor of MacElroy
They spruced this gem up so there are poufy seats and lots of tables to go around. Not the most scholarly setting, but if you need to sit somewhere in a pinch or a hold a group meeting, it’s a prime location.
Bonus: Food is as close as Eagle’s Nest, and Mac dining hall is only a staircase away.
Drawback: Between classes it gets crowded as the torrent of freshmen go to and from Upper campus and Mac.
Benches beside the million dollar stairs
If you’re an outdoorsy person, hit up the benches halfway down the million dollar stairs. Good for reading, talking or staring into space at the lovely foliage. You get surprising privacy considering the thousands of people that go up and down the stairs, since no one has any reason to walk by those weird alcoves.
Bonus: You get to soak up those rare rays.
Drawback: Sometimes you settle down and don’t consider shade versus direct sunlight with what you’re wearing. You might have to explain an awkward October sun burn.
Booths in Lower Dining Hall
We usually associate dining halls with lots of noise, lots of people and nowhere to sit. But in the off hours it gets quiet with just enough background noise to let you have a mellow conversation with a study buddy and not disturb anyone. The booths in Lower are enormous, so you can spread out some books and have ample room to do so.
Bonus: Like the first floor of Mac, there’s always food within arms’ reach.
Drawback: You might get distracted when friends wander by to get snacks and coffee.
The ERC
Little known to anyone but Lynch students is the Education Resource Center. Though there are a lot of Lynch kids there, everyone is welcome. “I go there because it’s cozy and the noise level is perfect for me. It’s neither too loud nor too quiet,” said Fatima Zaidi, a Boston College senior. “The best part of the ERC is that the majority of my fellow Lynch friends study there as well, so it’s a great place to get a lot of work done with them or just to chat with them.”
Bonus: Stacks on stacks on stacks of children’s books to read for the ultimate source of procrastination.
Drawback: “If I get too distracted by my friends and have a lot of work that needs to get done, then I have to move to a cubicle in O’Neill,” said Zaidi.
Empty classrooms
These are actually perfect if you can catch one. A lot of space, outlets galore and just the right among of daylight (or moonlight). You have access to whiteboards and chalkboards to write out ideas, plus projectors and HDMI cables. Obviously classrooms are only available when classes slow down, so usually after 4 p.m.
Bonus: If you bring study buddies, you won’t get embarrassed by crowds of onlookers when you inevitably break out into song as a study break.
Drawback: You may be kicked out by a professor. But they’ll respect you for your dedication to your studies, as much as they’re annoyed they have to wait for you to leave.
