Olin Correspondent: The Top 4 Study Spots at Olin

Being a student, a lot of your time is (or at least should be) spent studying. Luckily for Olin students, there are plenty of great spots to study, each with their own slightly different “personality.” Whether you want a social spot to talk to friends and occasionally glance at your readings, or a spot where breathing quietly is encouraged, WashU has the study spot for you.

Here are four of Olin students’ favorite spots…

Kopolow Business Library, Simon Hall

This library, located on the second floor of business building Simon Hall, is a great place to get done that 20-page case reading you have been putting off all weekend (a completely hypothetical example, of course). A quiet place with different types of seating (chairs, couches, benches) allows for all types of work to get done here from reading to research. This library also gets quieter when you walk up to the third floor which has single-person cubicle-style desks interspersed between shelves of books for what I can only assume is top secret homework?

One unique offering of this library is the Bloomberg terminals located in the back of library. Open to all Olin students, these terminals are a great way to uncover your inner stockbroker and practice typing in all those ticker symbols you know. Also available to students in the library are study rooms that can be reserved for group meetings, phone calls, or anyone who enjoys being surrounded by whiteboards.

For me, no noise is more distracting than background noise, so I do not frequent this library as much as others – but that also may be because I am a second semester senior…

Bauer/Knight Hall

Yes, I took this picture, and yes this is what it really looks like. These tables, surrounded by natural light from the open glass ceiling above, are frequented by all WashU students not just Olin students. Not pictured is a Starbucks and café with made-to-order food, making this place even more popular. Empty tables are usually hard to come by (despite what this picture shows) as many people stake out early to grab their favorite table.

Don’t want to set an alarm in the single digits? No problem, just reserve one of the many study rooms located on all three floors of Bauer and Knight Hall. These rooms, only able to be reserved by Olin students, vary in size, location and room temperature (good thing each room has its own thermostat!). Many of these rooms also house large screen monitors perfect for projecting size 6 font excel spreadsheets or that must share YouTube video.

My favorite part about Bauer Hall is the natural lighting. It not only makes the space more photogenic (thanks, sun!), but also less harsh on your eyes when staring at a computer screen all day.

However, it is important to note, if you need a quiet study spot, this is not the place for you. Bauer is always buzzing with conversations, the sound of espresso machines, and clicking keyboards. Only when it’s raining is all the noise drown out by the calming sound of raindrops hitting the glass ceiling above.

BSBA Lounge, Simon Hall

This list would not be complete if I didn’t mention the BSBA lounge located on the ground floor of Simon. This lounge, remodeled only a few years before I started at WashU, is probably (based on my gut feeling and zero research) the study spot with the highest concentration of business students. Whether it be group meetings, informal gatherings of students in business fraternities, or the stack of Wall Street Journals available to read, this space just screams business.

The entrance is completely covered in glass making it easy to spot an open table or a friend you can say hi to (so you can sit at their table). The glass also opens up the space making Simon feel less like a Hall and more like an interconnected space for work and learning.

The way the BSBA lounge is laid out, the further back you walk the quieter the space gets making it perfect for all types of homework. The lounge also has large windows in the back allowing you to feel like you are outside enjoying the weather even if you are inside doing homework. It is also right across from another study spot…which leads me to the last place on this list.

Einstein’s, Simon Hall

The final place on this list is where this blog post was born and where I spend a majority of my time doing work. The conveniently located seating around an Einstein Bro’s bagel shop (that, sadly, does not accept meal points) is the perfect place to do work and not get dirty looks for unwrapping loud snacks like Clif bars or a bag of Sun Chips. With close proximity to food, a printer, bathrooms, and a water fountain, it’s easy to lose track of time and spend an entire day sitting at one of these tables. Also, its close proximity to the BSBA office means you are bound to run into an advisor or dean at least once while sitting here (which inevitably happened while writing this blog post).

Often shortened to “Steins” over text, this place is a common meeting place for group meetings or quick chats in the ten minutes between classes. Since many business students go from class in Simon, to, well, class in Simon, Einstein’s is always flooded with people chatting or trying to beat the clock and get a bagel and coffee before the clock strikes ten after.

Those of you who have visited WashU and the Olin Business School would you agree with this list? Which of these spots would you frequent? Let’s talk about it in the comments below!

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