With so much of Dartmouth life to take advantage of, setting aside time to study can be a challenge for the students who call Hanover their second home. Once students find the time to devote to their courses, locating a place conducive to perfect mental efficiency can be an equally formidable task.
However, by the end of freshman year, many students have found their study spot, or spots, of choice. Barring construction or gross overcrowding during finals, many Dartmouth students are creatures of habit.
Defining the "ideal" study spot is not an easy task. Dartmouth students are different, and their preferred locations are far-flung in characteristics, if not physical proximity. The Dartmouth campus and Hanover are host to many locations that students turn into personal study carrels. With eight libraries, numerous empty classrooms and unlimited outdoors, there is a place for everyone.
So what do students want in a study spot? A comfortable place that's not too hot, not too cold and not too loud or quiet. Someplace they will not fall asleep. Someplace with access to computers. Someplace where they can be alone with their own thoughts. Someplace that no one else knows about. Someplace they are not revealing to anyone.
Erica Brandling-Bennett '98, for example, spends much of her time in the middle room of the Tower Room in Baker Library. "It's quiet. I can concentrate and there aren't many distractions," she said of her intellectual haven.
Wendy Fleske '98 spends most of her study time in the Tower Room as well. However, occasionally she can be found across the Green in the "Top of the Hop," which is located on the upper floor of the Hopkins Center.
"It's not as quiet as the Tower Room," she said, "but it's a nice change and the chairs are comfy ... sometimes I read there." The Top of the Hop is also air conditioned, a major bonus during the hotter months.
Comfortable chairs are a lure to students, but they can also be seen as a distraction. One chemistry major commented on Kresge Library: "They have comfortable chairs, but you fall asleep there too ... that's bad."
Mark Hoagland '98 cited Thayer Engineering School as a good undiscovered location, especially the common area in Feldberg Library. "There are lots of little classrooms and study lofts ... even a hidden public printer that no one knows about. They even have BlitzMail computers."
Candace Cornell '98, said she prefers to be less pinned in when she is at work. When she has to, she retreats to a dormitory study room; otherwise, "I study in my chair outside," she stated.
The Bema, the Green, Tuck Mall and the lawn in front of Dartmouth Hall are all prime locations. Melissa Woo '98 agrees that studying in the great outdoors can be beneficial. She said she occasionally hides in Nathan's Garden, a local attraction.
For some people, not having access to BlitzMail makes them more efficient. The temptation to cyber-chat instead of studying is just too great. In spite of BlitzMail, Ron Gregush '97 favors his own room, although, "it was quite a challenge studying in my room in [Chi Heorot fraternity] during Homecoming last year," he admits.
Not everyone has a set location. Christal Costello '98 moves around. "People tend to study where they have stuff to do," she hypothesized. "If I have to work in the library, I study before and after work in the library ... I don't go walking halfway across campus because there's a good study spot in a little niche."
