Are you ready? Ready to make good on your New Year’s resolution to study hard, bring your GPA up from a 2.0, or at least attempt to take school a little more seriously? Whip out your cell phone, scroll down your phone book to a favorite classmate, and push send. Now tell this person they’re super special and ask if they want to take a little walk around North campus. It’s okay if they don’t seem too thrilled by the idea, or even if they tell you to go to hell. Your faithful friends at Generation have you covered. We’ve done the hard work of getting someone to come along and then actually taking the hike around campus to find that perfect study spot.
LIBRARIES
You’ve sat at the tables in the not-so-quiet study area on Capen’s first floor. You’ve dreamed that someday you’d mosey into that infamous place, march yourself down the stairs and find an open seat in the leisure reading section. This just in – Capen is not the only library on North Campus. UB is actually blessed with many good study areas in the libraries. If you’re looking for a cozy, yet creepy alternative, Lockwood has a plethora of study desks and the fifth floor tends to be extremely quiet. Hang up your coat, take off your shoes and settle in for hours of focused study. If the deathly silence of a morgue is more your style, the Music library, accessible through the first floor of Baird, has earned a reputation for being the quietest library on campus. Contrary to popular belief, any student at the University at Buffalo can use the Law Library for study or research. The study “well” of sorts on the third floor has a great view of the second floor below, just enough of a distraction to keep you somewhat sane. Take the elevator to the sixth floor if you’re one of those plant types that loves to bask in sunlight. Each desk located at the end of every stack sits next to its very own window. Now let’s not be stupid folks, respect the quiet of all our libraries and take group study elsewhere…maybe cafes?
CAFES
There’s always Starbucks and Starbucks is always packed. Signature Café on the first floor of Park Hall is an interesting place to go. We found the Corner café in NSC to have VERY limited seating, while Capen café tended to be distractingly loud in-between classes when it seemed that the entire student body was on the move. The winner by far for the café-style study place, and we mean this one is bringing home that prized blue ribbon: Bert’s Deli in Talbert. It’s the perfect combination of food, legroom, and noise to get you in the mood for serious learning. Bring your jacket; the only complaint is that it tends to be chilly in there!
RANDOM HALLS AND MYSTERIOUS NOOKS
The third floor of the Student Union seemed like the obvious answer in this category, however we found the seats to be not so comfy. The attached tables were too low to write on, and the white noise from below was far too distracting. We voted the Flag Room to be short on seating, but a good place to meet for group projects/study (if you don’t mind the possibility of having to camp out on the floor). If combining classic rock and writing on your lap suit your fancy, check out the second floor lobby of the Commons (up the stairs from Starbucks). We’ll admit we haven’t actually ever tried this one, but it was suggested you take advantage of jogging track hours in Alumni to get some reading in. People claim there is no better place to read a horrid text book than the seats while people jog by. However, Baldy is the shining star of random study places. The second floor is ideal (although noisy from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.) for group or personal study. Carefully situated between Law and Lockwood Libraries, the hall has a café open for breakfast and lunch complete with new tables. It also sits just around the corner from The Math and Writing Place. Check out the other floors of Baldy to find your own random nook.
Ask at any of the libraries for a schedule; Law and Music have somewhat different hours from Capen. Go early or go late, off hours are great. Yes, that’s one horrible little rhyme, but it’s true. Many of these study areas are dead in the evening so check them out. If all else fails, ask some friends, or do the unthinkable – skip a class and look around for your own perfect study spot.
