Dartbeat's guide to finals: Study spaces
With finals approaching, prime library study spaces become competitive. The cubicles on 3rd floor Berry are full by noon, and don't even think about walking in at 8 p.m. and getting a balcony table in the periodicals room.
With the extended amounts of studying you’ll be doing this finals season, you need to get creative when you're competing with about 3,000 other students who all are feeling the same urgency to buckle down and work. Here are some spots you may not have considered yet.
Collis Common Ground — this term's renovations have limited study space options in Collis, but Common Ground still remains a good option during non-meal hours. During afternoons on the weekends, it can be virtually silent.
Top floor of the Class of 1953 Commons — lots of table space, natural lighting, and all-you-can-eat food makes this a great study space if you don't need complete silence. Swipe in at the beginning of the day, and get two (or three!) meals for the price of one.
Hinman Forum in the Rockefeller Center — this one can be a hit or miss. If it hasn't been taken over by an event or a group project, you can study in peace with high ceilings.
Tower Room — this is probably one of the last places to fill up in the library. If you can take the heat (literally), the tower room probably has seats and is, like, so classically Ivy League.
Orozco Mural Room — another library space that does not fill up. It's kind of like a less grim version of the 1902 Room that closes at midnight.
Paddock Music Library — located in the basement of the Hopkins Center for the Arts across from the jewelry studio, most of campus doesn't realize this library exists, which makes up for its small capacity. Be warned, night owls — Paddock closes at 10 p.m.
Residence Hall study rooms — this may seem too obvious, depending on where you live this may be less intuitive for some than others. McLaughlin has great study areas. Butterfield? Not so much. Use other people's study rooms. The Fahey/McLane lounges and other random study rooms are great for this.
Feldberg Library — just feet from the River cluster, Feldberg is often overlooked by undergrads, making it a solid "off-the-beaten-path" study space.
Hopefully at least one of these places isn't too popular. Happy studying!