As I’m in the throes of midterm season at the moment, I’ve been thinking a lot about where to study. Having been at Yale for over a year now and having lived here during the summer, I’ve tried a plethora of spots both on-campus and off to try to find the perfect place to get work done. I’ve made this an organized pursuit, creating a spreadsheet that rates each location on how quiet it is, how nice the seating options are, aesthetic, distance from Morse, accessibility (i.e. number of hours open per day, number of days open per week), and how many options there are for more of a private space. This highly scientific approach has yielded a few places that I think are the best for studying.
Coming in at number five in my top five favorite places is Steep Café. Steep is a university-run cafe at the top of Science Hill. It has large glass walls, couches and tables, an outdoor patio, and a stunning view of campus. I love the amazing view, the fact that it’s open 24/7, and the variety of seating options available. This is also great for when I have classes on Science Hill and I want to find a space to sit down right after I leave class. It’s a little far from Morse, but it’s still one of my favorite spots.
My number four pick would be Tsai City, a study space and innovation center between the Schwarzman Center and Science Hill. The walls are completely made of glass and there are two floors worth of tables and couches to do work at. Tsai City was probably my favorite spot freshman year since it was really close to all my classes. Even though I go there less now, it’s still one of the best spots because of its beautiful aesthetic, proximity to almost everything on campus, and its variety of study spaces including a few private meeting rooms.
The number three spot goes to the Medical School Library, specifically the History Room. This one, which is a little further away and rarely used by undergraduates, is one of the quietest spots I have found on campus, and also one of the most beautiful. It is open every day of the week with a pretty wide range of hours. I started going here over the summer and I think it’s a great place to go if you want to be a little further away from the bustling center of campus but also want a super quiet and gorgeous place to study.
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Number two on my list is probably Starr Reference Room in Sterling. This is likely one of the most well-known spots on campus and I think it definitely lives up to the hype by being a gorgeous place to study. It is super close to Morse, really quiet, and the aesthetic is beyond beautiful. When I go there, I can’t help but get work done since it’s so quiet. While it can sometimes be a little crowded and it is a notorious tourist attraction, it has a pretty wide range of hours during the week and it has become my favorite spot to go if I really need to get work done.
Finally, my favorite study spot at the moment would have to be the student lounge in the Humanities Quadrangle. I only recently started doing work here. Not only is it really close to Morse and open until midnight every day, it is also super quiet and really pretty. I love that natural light that comes in through the windows and the comfortable couches and chairs all around the room. The HQ lounge has become one of my favorite spots, especially if I don’t want to be far from home.
While this list will inevitably change even in the next few months. What I’ve learned over the past year or so is that there is such a wide variety of study spots here on campus and off campus and it’s really fun to try out new ones and see what you like best.
