Finals are rolling up faster than anyone thought they would. One minute we’re back from Spring Break, and the next everyone is working on thinning out piles and piles of work. Getting into the working mood is difficult, though, if you’re not in an environment that fits your needs. If you’re trying to cram for a very important final, your setup and preparation are key. That’s why you need to decide where you’ll be studying this finals week—and fast before everyone gets to it.
1. Your Room
Pros:
Your room may be the first location you think of when looking for places to hit the books. After all, your room is a (somewhat) private area and a controlled environment where you can raise and lower your music, eat snacks, and more. It’s difficult to find a relatively empty area on campus, and others’ presence might stress you out—especially when you need silence.
You have an accessible bathroom and have space to take well-needed breaks. You don’t have to move your books around, connect your laptop to the WiFi every time you open it (is that just a me thing?), and you don’t have to deal with the Illinois weather, which is enough reason to stay inside.
Cons:
Studying in your room may be a good idea at first until you get distracted by the things around you. Because your room is fit to your needs and interests, it’ll be much easier to get lost in books, video games and random trinkets.
If your roommate isn’t the best person to study with, your room may also not be the best place to hunker down in. If your roommate has a person over, plays loud music, or even has a different schedule than you, that might be difficult to work with. Luckily, there are other options.
2. Lounge
Pros:
If your roommate is in your shared room, the lounge is just a short stroll down the hall. Each one is fitted with sofas and chairs, and a decently sized whiteboard you could use to study. It provides a different studying environment than the same chair at the desk in your room. There are outlets to connect your laptop and phone at, and you can bring snacks and drinks with you to enjoy. The lounge has all the pros of a dorm room, with an added whiteboard.
Cons
The lounge has the same pros as a dorm room, but also the same cons. Yes, there is a bathroom down the hall, and yes, the room is slightly bigger than the average dorm room. But you might run into others who had the same idea as you. Someone might already be in the room, and depending on how you prefer to study, this may deter you. There might also be some issues with the lounge, such as the lights being broken or the seats being worn out and uncomfortable.
3. Cullom-Davis Library
Pros:
So you’re tired of being in your room, and you can’t go to the lounge. The very next thing that comes to mind is probably the library.
Because of its size, you have a better chance of finding a spot that’s not taken and a decent distant away from others (if you need privacy to study). There’s also those cool private seats and a plethora of outlets. There’s more than one floor so students are spread out, and there are private rooms to do work in. And if you need it, tutoring can be found in the third floor and printers are scattered throughout. Although depending on what dorm you live in, you could find a printer there, too. Books and resources are available to check out any time and help you progress through your studies.
Cons:
Overall, the library seems like a good place to study at. Unless you like to snack while studying. There is a designated space for those who bring snacks and drinks with them, though, and the area is relatively nice. Windows let in light from outside and give a sort of cafe feel to the area.
Another con could be how quickly the library fills up, especially during finals week. Yes, the library changes it hours to accommodate for finals week, and the area may be large, but if enough students decide to rush to the libary for crunch time, the area could fill up quickly. And because of all of the areas pros, there’s little reason to not study there. You might want to come up with a backup plan.
4. BECC
Pros:
Many people have high praises for Bradley’s (relatively) new building, the Business and Engineering Convergence Center. Like the Cullom-Davis library, the BECC has multiple floors all with several rooms students could bunker down to study in. Also similarly to the library, students can reserve a room and not have to worry about other people taking it. But…
Cons:
The BECC is not the best place to study at, in my opinion. To begin, you need an ID to get into the building, and if you’re not a STEM or business major, you can’t get in even if you do scan it. As a journalism major whose tried to get into BECC, I’ve had to wait each time for a friend of mine to let me into the building.
The interior of the building is beautiful, and there are many rooms to study in. But they fill up quickly, arguably faster than the library fills up. And while I’m not sure about the vending machines in the library, I’ve tried to buy snacks from the vending machines in BECC and have been unsuccessful each time.
This has also never happened to me before, but if you leave your belongings in a room after a certain hour, you are not allowed back in. The ID scanners stop working and you have to either call security for help or wait until the next day. That risk in itself is enough to scare me away from studying there.
5. student center
Pros:
I have been mentioning snacks and eating this entire article—the Student Center is the place to go if you want to eat and study (if you still have Dining Dollard/Quick Cash left). The Student Center has rooms in the basement where students can go get some work done, and if you need a break you can go eat. It’s a change from the usual dorm room or lounge, and is relatively empty in the early hours of the day.
Cons:
The Student Center, while having its little nooks and crannies, is not the best place to study at because of how active it is. If you’re working on a project or a casual assignment with some friends, the Student Center is a good place get stuff done at. But if you’re hoping to digest a very difficult topic in a calm environment, the Student Center is not the place to go—unless you have headphones.
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In the end, it’s up to you to decide where you’re going to study. Figuring out your preferences and learning style is the first step to finding the right place for you. Once that last test is done with, summer awaits! Let’s end this semester with a bang.