What Your Midterms Study Spot Says About You

If you’ve poked your head into a library this week or tried and failed to schedule a meal with a friend, then you’re well aware that midterms are afoot. Midterms cause members of the Harvard species retreat to their natural habitats (aka their favorite study spots), so what does your choice of study spot say about you?

Tatte/Starbucks

You’re writing new novel — congrats! Whether you’re a humanities concentrator writing a 100-page thesis or a STEM concentrator grinding out two (2) complete paragraphs, there’s something about the smell of overpriced coffee and saturated fat that’s sweet for writing.

Dorm Room

You’re working on a complicated assignment that demands your every brain cell (even the ones in the back singing “Mo Bamba”). You’re pretty used to working alone though, and rumor has it your suitemates haven’t seen you since you came back from break.

Library

Notebooks out, laptop charging, tears flowing — that desk at Lamont is all yours. You’re working on that final project that’s due in four hours, and need a non-distracting place. Aside from the occasional dramatic glare outside the window, there’s nothing that you can do in that drab wooden cubicle except for work.

Common room

You’re doing “work,” but the kind of work where it’s okay if you take four hours to do one question. Talking to people coming in and out of the building/room is your forte, and there’s nothing more refreshing then having some literal and figurative tea with friends after a long day.

Smith Campus Center

You’re doing light to medium work, something like a doable pset or readings for class. The Smith Campus Center’s confusing vibe (Were they going for minimalism? A plant aesthetic? But with the color orange?) isn’t the best place for thinking of ways to cure cancer, though. The unique chair choices are mainly ideal for lightweight reading, like “The Communist Manifesto.”

Wherever you choose to do your midterm studying, good luck securing a spot and make sure to bring a laptop charger. Welcome to the rest of the semester, folks.