New year. New classes. New study spots. Whether you’re a first-year searching for a quiet corner on campus to make your own, or a super-senior looking to shake things up, explore the most iconic, forgotten, and depressing places to work on campus.
No other study spot treads the line between studying and social hour more than Cabot’s 2nd floor at 10 p.m. Yes, you get your noise-canceling headphones kids curled up in the cubicles on the side, who on a rare occasion can be caught with a pillow for all-nighter naps. But mostly, Cabot’s 2nd floor is for seeing at least a dozen people you know and completing thirty minutes of work over two hours—the perfect social study nightcap to a long day. For a different side of Cabot’s 2nd floor, go in the afternoon, sit by the window as the afternoon glow seeps into the space, and you can work on anything in peace.
A great spot for student org events and also casual studying. Ticknor is ideal for when you have extra time before or after a class held in Boylston—nothing special but good when you want a change in scenery or are already in the building. The room is often near empty, so you usually have your pick of comfortable chairs.
If you want somewhere to spend your BoardPlus and need a quick snack or caffeine break before class, Buckminster Peet’s is for you. The mildly uncomfortable hard wooden chairs force efficiency—it’s a great place for a pit stop and a short work stint but less optimal for larger projects.
“If you’re like me and can’t study without some background noise and need a more relaxed vibe than a library, the Smith Center is the spot,” described Betsey Bennett ’24. With three main sections, the Smith Center building offers something for everyone. The first two levels feature various tables, chairs, and couches. If you’re lucky enough to get a spot during peak hours, settle in and soak up the natural light seeping through the big windows. Toward the back of the second floor, you’ll find the Collaborative Commons, equipped with study rooms, large tables and couch areas perfect for group study sessions. The best for last: Smith’s 10th floor, which requires student ID swipes for entry, features open-concept rooms off the main hallway, including one with high tops and a pool table. The sunset view is spectacular, but be careful: it’s easier than it seems to nod off while p-setting in the oversized couches and chairs.
Life Alive came to Harvard Square last spring and brought with it phenomenal (albeit overpriced) food, and a cozy basement study spot. Life Alive welcomes students and Cambridge residents alike, creating coffee shop energy but with real food and later hours (until 10 p.m.!). For longer studying sessions, the lower level is the place to be. Stake out a table, order some food or drinks, and nestle up in their chairs or booths.
Near the Business School, less popular, and full of amenities, the I-Lab feels like it’s reserved for the future Mark Zuckerbergs of the world. To an extent, this sentiment holds. However, all Harvard students can access the space. The I-Lab just requests that students work on projects or ventures instead of school. Once inside, you can use their free coffee and soda machine and pick from various comfortable perches or desks. One of the walls lists start-ups seeking assistance, making it great for students interested in joining a start-up, not just current founders. If you’re curious about the entrepreneurial world or know someone involved, the I-Lab is definitely worth the trek to the Allston campus.
A mile walk or quick shuttle ride from the Yard takes you to an often forgotten study spot: the Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) in the Allston campus. “I only went to the SEC twice, but I made complete day trips out of both,” said Jaden Bharrara ’25. “It’s the perfect place to hunker down and work for a long time. It’s enormous, so you’ll always be able to find a small or large space to work in. The views are super nice from the top floors. There are kitchen stations with fridges and ovens, and there are ping-pong tables for when the procrastination kicks in. A fantastic finals-cramming spot.”
The evergreen wallpaper, dark wood finishes, and stained glass windows hidden in the second floor of the Music Building give the Loeb Music Library a traditional academic atmosphere in an intimate setting. There are two main tables and a couple of chairs and couches for working. This room is one of my favorite places to go when I want to hide away and do some work but don’t want to hole up in Lamont.
I hated Lamont until I discovered the Woodberry Poetry Room. Unlike the rest of Lamont’s yellow lighting and depressed wooden chairs, Lamont’s poetry room is cozy with blue furniture accents. Books line the walls and collect on the coffee tables, reminiscent of a kindergarten school room more than a library. The two four-person tables near the back come with charging outlets and lamps, perfect for everyone to spread out and read, write, or work on a problem set. Unfortunately, the room closes at 10 p.m. each night and doesn’t open at all on Sundays. Sometimes the deadline is exactly what I need to avoid procrastination, but other times it forces an early retreat to my dorm or another part of Lamont Library, often Farnsworth.
Lamont’s Henry Weston Farnsworth Room:
Tucked in the back corner of the third floor, it’s easy to miss Farnsworth. There are only a few desks inside and a couple of couches and chairs, creating a cozy, living room feel that distinguishes it from the main parts of Lamont. Whenever I need to finish a paper on Sunday night, I turn to Farnsworth: 24-hour access, relaxing, quiet.
Lamont’s reputation holds: “Lamonsters” might be depressed, but they’re also often productive. As one of Harvard’s only 24-hour libraries, Lamont attracts the most stressed and determined students in the late hours of the night. I’m a fan of the Farnsworth and Poetry rooms, two of the more comforting spots in Lamont, but the one night I really needed to crank out a paper, I ventured to the first floor study alcoves instead. That night, I left Lamont with a backache from the uncomfortable chairs and a deep sense of despair, but I wrote half of my paper. Luckily, I wasn’t alone. No matter how many items remain on your to-do list, you and Lamont’s other residents are all ready to settle in and disengage. Ella Deans ’25 described the library : “If I need to read some theory or case study, or if I am grossly behind on a paper I need to bang out, I’ll head to the depths of Lamont. It feels like being locked away but in a nice, productivity-inducing way.”
Cabot basement is to STEM kids what the Widener Stacks are to humanities kids: a cry for help. Don’t get me wrong, the group study rooms’ whiteboard walls provide useful study organization and visualization for anything from working on p-sets to outlining final essay concepts. But the lack of natural light and eerie fluorescent lights make 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. indistinguishable. My friend and I spent hours and days in the main study room for one final last fall, affectionately calling it our “war room.” I avoid returning.
Widener’s Loker Reading Room
Widener’s famous reading room screams iconic Harvard and traditional academia. The white and blue ceilings, dark wood counters and great lighting create the perfect atmosphere for pensive but not dispirited studying. Long tables equipped with lamps and charging outlets line the room with smaller tables and larger chairs in two smaller sections on either end. While I’m a big Widener proponent now, I admit it terrified me at the start of my first year. I feared dropping a pencil would warrant the death sentence from the future and current Einsteins I imagined frequented that space. I’ve since learned I was wrong. Students go both alone and with friends, mind their business, and enjoy the beautiful atmosphere. Although I don’t recommend dropping your Hydroflask in Widener (dozens of eyes have never settled on me so fast with so much frustration), I do recommend the Loker Reading Room.
From Lamonsters to Cabot socialites, there’s a spot for everyone on campus. In a few days, we get to rediscover them.
Hannah Davis ’25 (hannahdavis@college.harvard.edu) is constantly rotating between these places and looking for new ones
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