Finals week is approaching fast — once again, faster than most would prefer. It’s that stressful week full of late-night coffee refills, unprepared cramming for tests, calculations of the lowest potential grade you can receive on an exam without failing the class and then re-calculations. Camping out in the same place for hours at a time can get uncomfortable and mind-numbing, so it’s important to explore the spaces on campus that are fit for reading, writing or studying for a change of scenery and to keep motivations high. For me, staying at home to study can be almost too comfortable. After all, my desk is in dangerously close proximity to my bed, and I don’t want to be tempted to lay down and scroll on TikTok while I’m working on the final stretch of the semester. Therefore, I’ve developed a list of some of my favorite study spots on Virginia Tech’s campus which help me get — and stay — in the study zone.
- Deet’s Place
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Deet’s Place is one of my favorite study spots on campus because it has a casual, light environment, which is a nice contrast to the stress of finals week. As students, we spend our days moving from classroom to classroom, constantly surrounded by the bleakness of academia. In contrast to this, Deet’s Place offers a space in which I feel like I’m in the “real world,” somewhat removed from the pressures of my upcoming tests. There’s music playing, people quietly chatting, and coffee available only steps away from your seat. It’s intimate, warm and creates a feeling of normality.
- Torgersen bridge
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If you’re a student who needs complete silence to study effectively, Torgersen Bridge is the place for you. Every Hokie can probably agree that Torgersen Bridge is about the quietest place in the world — literally. It has high ceilings and low lighting, with desks aligned along the center and perimeter of the long space. In a way, it’s sort of intimidating. Studying there makes me feel more like a “scholar” than a student, and it’s the perfect place for when I seriously need to grind out some work.
- Newman library
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Newman Library is a classic. During finals week, you’ll see every floor of this building chock-full of students. Some quite literally camp out there, bringing pillows and blankets for rest between study sessions. Newman Library is a great study spot because it provides a variety of spaces to accommodate many modes of comfort, noise and services. The third and fifth floor are regarded as quiet floors where students can go to concentrate more intensely. The other floors are reserved for students who might study more collaboratively, with classrooms, white boards and different types of seating spread throughout the area. Newman Library also has a printing center, media center and other services which can aid in the various types of students’ final assignments, whether that be in the form of a project, paper, speech or old-fashioned Scantron exam.
- the drillfield
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Although the Drillfield is the site of numerous daily activities, it can also be used as a calming study spot, right at the heart of Virginia Tech’s campus. During a stressful week, your body will thank you for giving it some fresh air and sunlight — all you need is a blanket and maybe some Zyrtec. There’s a view of the Pylons on one side, Burruss Hall on another and the Hokie Stone-covered residential area across from that. Studying out there makes me feel proud of my school and reminds me why I’m even here taking my finals in the first place.
Although finals week is an infamously-stressful and largely-dreaded end of the semester, it’s also a time to feel proud of the hard work you’ve put into your studies. My advice would be to take a moment during this week and look around the space that you chose to study in. Every student in that space is in a similar boat as you — over-caffeinated, cramming for an exam, trying to remember that thing that their professor said at the beginning of the semester, and just trying to receive a respectable grade. We’re all in this together, and these communal spaces can be used not only as great study spots but as ways to connect with the student body and feel less alone.