The Five Best Study Spots at Bradley University
With the fall semester coming to a close, and narrowed down the 5 best study spots on campus, and which one takes home first place.
The weather is changing, it’s getting dark earlier, and the looming idea of finals is hanging over the heads of Bradley students. With the semester's end in sight, it’s time to hunker down and start studying. As four students who are also in the home stretch, we took it upon ourselves to find the best study spots on Bradley’s campus. We ranked the following spots based on six different criteria: noise level, comfortability, amenities, accessibility, amount of people, and resources/study materials. Each of the individual study spot’s criteria was ranked one through five (one being the lowest), then added together to determine their final score. Eight other students were also asked to rank the study spots from best to worst.
Cullom-Davis Library
The Cullom-Davis Library has always been a staple study spot for the students of Bradley. The Library features three floors full of comfortable seating, including couches, study pods, standard tables, and study rooms. Each floor has a different noise level, depending on the type of studying one is looking for. For complete silence, the basement floor is a great option. For whispering and group collaboration, the second and first floors are the place. The library also offers two vending machines for food and drink while studying, which makes it a great place for late-night study sessions. Speaking of late nights, the library has the best accessibility because it is open to all students from 8:00 am - 12:00 am, Sunday through Thursday, and 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Friday and Saturday. The are plenty of resources as well, from books, resource help, desk tops, and plenty of whiteboards. The only downside to the library is the amount of people who study there, especially during finals. But the amount of people only solidifies the fact that it’s the best study spot on campus.
BECC
Bradley’s newest building, the Business and Engineering Convergence Center (BECC), consistently ranked high, in both our mathematical ranking and those based on the opinion of the students we interviewed. This is due, in part, to the wide variety of options the BECC offers to Bradley students. The private study rooms offer a higher level of comfortability and privacy, reducing the noise level. The BECC is equipped with multiple options for food and beverages while one is spending their time studying. In addition to these amenities, the new technology in this building gives students many resources that can be used to better their studying habits. This includes but is not limited to, the ability to connect your computer to the televisions and the whiteboards that are readily available for students' usage. The BECC scored lowest in the categories amount of people and noise level. This is largely due to the sheer number of classes that take place in this building, which cannot be altered. Another reason for these low scores is how popular this building is as a study spot, which further solidifies its high ranking.
Westlake Hall
Westlake is one of the more underrated study spots on Bradley’s campus. Westlake features many different areas that allow students to study effectively and comfortably. The building is located on the Olin Quad and is right next to Bradley Hall. One of the main attractions that Westlake features is the large staircase with many different pillows and cushions to sit on or use in any way that the student sees fit. Another great aspect of Westlake is the basement which has many tables and chairs for students to gather and work on projects or any individual assignment. At later hours of the day, the building gets more quiet and can be a spot to get away from the noise. Due to the library being close by Westlake doesn’t get as much love but it definitely should be a spot for students to check out as finals approach.Â
GCC Lobby
The GCC Lobby is not a popular study place around campus and most students rarely frequent the building. There is consistent foot traffic coming in and out of the doors making the noise level quite high which makes studying quite difficult. This ties into the comfortability aspect because there aren’t many places to actually sit down and study as the space is limited. In terms of amenities, there isn’t a lot that the GCC Lobby offers. They have a vending machine and water fountains but after that, there isn’t much else. However, one positive is that it is open later at night. The GCC locks at 10 PM and does calm down the later it gets. The GCC, overall, does benefit from the amount of resources that are available. Students can check out cameras and different audio equipment on the second floor.
Student Center
The Student Center consistently receives high rankings, showing its popularity among the student body. However, the noise levels during passing periods can be quite loud due to the amount of people getting food. The lack of comfort in the student center contributed to its low ranking on people's lists. The constant movement of people entering and eating makes it difficult for others to concentrate solely on their studies. There are rooms in the basement however that you can go down and get privacy when studying to help limit the noise and distractions. The accessibility of these rooms is noteworthy, as they are open to everyone who can enter the student center. All the food options within the student center remain available until 11, after this time the rooms become accessible to anyone with a student ID. The Student Center was ranked low by most people when talking about the amount of people and study material. The only study resource provided to students is a printer. If students choose the Student Center as their study spot, they are expected to bring all necessary materials to assist them in completing assignments and studying.
The Rest
When choosing which options we would offer to those we interviewed, we considered a plethora of options. Some honorable mentions include the following. We brought up the historic Bradley Hall as an additional option, however; the lack of seating options posed a huge threat to their chance at a high ranking. Additionally, Bradley Hall lacks resources and comfortability. This paired with the high noise level and amount of people brought us to the realization that it is not one of the best study spots on campus. We also considered Olin Quad, however the ability to study here relies solely on the weather. This leaves too much up to chance for it to be considered a reliable study spot. Finally, we considered that many students prefer to study in their dorm rooms or homes, but there is just too much variety depending on the building, roommate, and living habits. This helped us to decide that a dorm room is not one of the best study spots.