UBC Blog Squad

So here’s the question – where’s the best place to study on campus? As we all know, there are certain places to study at UBC if you really want to get things done.

Personally I prefer the third floor of Koerner, because it’s open until 10pm most days and it has individual desks with a light and plugs for your laptop. It’s also a silent study floor, so if you are actually looking to work this is a good place to go. It gets really busy around midterms/exam time though, and I’ve found that peak hours are around 1-4pm in the afternoon.

I’ve also heard good things about Wood, but I’ve never been there because it’s a bit out of my way. However I have studied in the basement of the University Center, and that’s really nice. There’s a pond in the back, vending machines and tables – but the best part is that it’s always empty! A drawback is that it’s fairly out of the way for most people.

Another good one is the Law Library. Again, it’s a silent study area and it has really nice natural lighting. It depends on the time you go, but I’ve never been in the position where I couldn’t find a seat to sit. I imagine that it gets pretty busy around exam time though.

So those are some of the good ones, but what places should you avoid? I’d recommend skipping IKE, because that place is always super crowded. Obviously, no one actually goes there to study unless you’re in first year and you don’t know where else to go. It’s definitely a place to see and be seen – a lot of people use it as a social gathering place so it’s really noisy.

Another place I don’t really like is floor -1 of Koerner. It’s a group study area that’s always really busy, and it’s difficult to find a seat no matter the time of day. I also prefer an area that has some privacy, and the large tables can’t really give you that. I find it difficult to focus and get things done down there.

Finally, The Womb (above the Aquatic Center). Who goes there to study? Only go there if you plan on taking a nap, otherwise you’ll probably waste a lot of time unintentionally sleeping.

Did I miss anything?

Sitting in the library of IKBLC before my second physics tutorial of the day I overheard some panicked student talking about Acids and Bases. “We have to get this done, we only have two horus to complete it”. They were staring at their computer screens intently, deciding on which questions to tackle first “All of our heads are better than one”. Vaguely something clicked in my head…. Were they doing the Chem 123 Acid/Base Online Assessment? I was pretty sure it wasn’t due for another week, so I opened up VISTA….
Nope, due tomorrow at 11:59 PM. Fantastic! Anyways, got home late after helping choreograph for the Totem Park Musical and I am now looking forward to a long night of staring at acids and bases and trying to remember how to do an ICE table. Woohoo!

P.s. If you also happen to be doing the same thing as me right now I would reccommend listening to 8Tracks, gets me through every late night!