… by Peter / from London / MA Economics and Mathematics / 2nd Year (UG)
Hey everyone! Studying Economics and Maths at the University of Edinburgh has been awesome. Meeting new people and making friends, trying new sports and joining societies which interest me: university has lived up to my expectations so far. But part of the package is studying for exams and the exam season really does catch you by surprise. So it’s time to study and I feel it would be useful to share my top locations to study.
Of course, everybody knows about the Main Library, George Square. To be fair, it’s a great place to study because not many places in Edinburgh offers 24/7 access, plenty computers, books and printers to use at your disposal. There’s 5 floors to choose from and if you enjoy studying with others, the library pods and bookable rooms are perfect for you. Whenever you want to pop out for a quick bite at the café, there are even lockers to store your books and laptops! However, this place can get VERY busy in the weeks approaching exams. There is a traffic light system online for you to assess whether it’s worth bracing the Scottish weather to go to the library but it doesn’t change the fact you could be searching for a spare table for a while.
So a solid alternative would be the Noreen Kenneth Murray Library on the Kings building campus, which is a shuttle bus away for most students. There are less people there but less space too. As a more compact prettier version of Main Library, its main advantages are the pretty building and being potential closer to your lecture theatres and labs.
Maths students are very fortunate to have our own study rooms in the form of: MathsBase (George Square) and MathsHub (Kings Building). So MathsBase is the room specifically for first years, where Maths students can revise. With MathsBase being located in George Square, it makes it very close for students and tutors and lecturers have scheduled time there in case you have any questions. There is lots of space which it makes it ideal for group study and solo study.
MathsHub is for when you enter Year 2, and is located at King’s Buildings. The difference is that we swap out the scheduled tutors and lecturers for a small kitchen and sofas (which in my mind is a fair trade). Great for Maths students but not so great for the night owls who want a study space with 24/7 access.
Now time for a shout out to two amazing places to study: David Hume Tower and home. I wrote most of this post in DHT, so it deserves a mention. It’s part of the George Square campus, so if you have time between lectures and don’t want to be in the library, order yourself a coffee, grab a table and start reading those textbooks.
For some, studying in the comfort in your own home will never be beaten. Your home has everything you need, food, water, tea and your bed (for those study naps). Importantly, you won’t have to brave the harsh weather, so win-win. But whatever you do, you cannot study and have Netflix on (I learnt the hard way).
I hope you enjoyed reading this, and can’t wait to post again!
Sayonara!