The best place to study is very dependent on the person who is studying and sometimes the material being studied. You have 3 traditional places to study: library, coffee shop, or home. Each have some draw backs and benefits.
Coffee shops
The number one reason to study at coffee shops is that the coffee will never run out, but your bank account might. The drinks are highly caffeinated and available in minutes. Some like the ambient coffee shop noise, but I need noise canceling headphones and binaural beats to block out sound. Studying at a coffee shop can become costly after a while and certain topics should not be studied in public. For example, anatomy of cadavers, trauma photos, blood, or exposed genitals are not socially acceptable…Who would have thought? So, to avoid strange looks (it will happen, trust me), avoid studying some of those topics at a coffee shop.
Library
This is the typical place where people go to study. Depending on the school, it can be open 24/7 or have select hours. My school allows us 24/7 badge access with security guards roaming around for safety. The resources in the library are often limitless with books and online access to certain resources that you cannot obtain off campus. There are some drawbacks to studying at the library. Depending how far you live, it takes time to drive, park, and find a desk, cubical, or room which doesn’t seem bad, but repeat that 5-10 times a week for 12-14 weeks and the time adds up. You cannot control the temperature, so you have to prepare for both temperature extremes. You also can’t get as comfortable as you were if you were home, but it may be easier to use the restroom without worrying about your personal items being stolen as they could be in a coffee shop.
Home
This is a hit or miss study spot. Studying at home can be very challenging depending on the home dynamics, which are more than likely out of your control. For example, children, parents, roommates, or significant others are home, no room to study, or do not have the proper seating or desk to comfortably study for hours. For me, I have finally dedicated a room strictly to studying. This allows me to walk through a door which signifies that it’s study time. I created a work space over time that slowly evolved into what I needed. I bought a used Herman Miller chair which allows me to sit for hours without fatigue, raised my laptop up to my eye level to avoid looking down at my laptop, wireless keyboard and mouse to use while laptop is raise up, and a flexible light with 3 color and 3 powers modes for reading certain books that have a reflective coating over the pages. Coffee, food, and even a puppy are all easily accessible at any giving time.
