It’s been said that April is “Save your GPA Month,” and Megan Oswald, a freshman in the College of Business Administration, said that assessment is scarily true.
“In April, you have a month until finals, and you have to make up for all the work you didn’t do,” Oswald said. “I’m very much a person that’s, like, ‘I have a few tests to make it up for (my grade),’ but now there’s only one test left, and that’s pretty scary.”
While Oswald may be in a panic for this last month of school, she said not all hope is lost when it comes to finding places and ways to get into the studying zone during this last month of the school year.
“I like to go to Starbucks or off campus to a different coffee shop because I like the vibe of it,” Oswald said. “It makes you feel motivated when you’re being all bougie. You’ve got your coffee and your colored pens…and you’re ready to get work done.”
Drew Busch, a junior in the College of Health Sciences, said going to more remote places helps him get the most work done.
“I try to avoid the library because it makes me stressed out because it’s full of people who are all high-stress and don’t go there often,” Busch said. “I like the hallway by MUSG and the Cramer basement. I go places that are out of the way and quiet.”
In the same vein, Madeline Goode, a senior in the College of Nursing, recommended hidden gems in the Alumni Memorial Union and Law Library for unbothered studying.
“I really like the second floor of the law library because as long as you get there before 4 p.m., you can stay there for the rest of the night,” Goode said. “There’s also the CLSI (Center for Leadership, Service and Involvement) area, which people don’t realize you can study in at any time.”
Perhaps the most expansive and accessible study space on campus is the Raynor-Memorial Libraries, full of multiple floors and different spaces prime for students studying subjects of all kinds. Judith Carter, a resource librarian at Raynor-Memorial Libraries, said even little-known places in the libraries become student go-tos during pressing times.
“During midterms and finals, there’s really no room anywhere (in the libraries),” Carter said. “Students are very good at finding spots in all the nooks and crannies.”
But on a typical day, Carter had her own recommendation for where students can find some peace and quiet in a unique study space.
“I love the third floor mezzanine of Memorial … it’s the area that overlooks the main reading room,” Carter said. “There used to be a book elevator there, and (the mezzanine) has two tiny little restrooms that are very cute and small. It’s neat to get a feel for what the old building looked like.”
Along with older spaces in the libraries, Phil Kim, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, spoke of another longstanding Marquette building that has provided a great studying environment since being retired as a residence hall: McCabe Apartments.
“To be alone, I study in McCabe,” Kim said, “Just in the lobby. It’s right across from Humphrey, and it’s open 24 hours, and I can stay there until four in the morning if I need to.”
Going just across the street can be a great choice for students like Kim, yet Kate McNicholas, a freshman in the College of Nursing, attested that sometimes the best studying is found in the hidden places of your own residence hall. Living in Abbottsford Hall, McNicholas’ trick is simply to go down a few flights of stairs to slip away from people and spaces she knows to get some work done.
“If I need to get out of my room, I just go to the basement of (Abbottsford),” McNicholas said. “It’s super sterile and weird, but if it I don’t want to leave my dorm, it definitely works.”
Getting into gear for the last few weeks of school, students have ample places to visit when looking for lesser-known places to study. Whether one is hoping to save their GPA or simply coast into the end of the year, these recommendations and personal favorites might just be the recipe for ending the semester strong.
