This is what your favourite Glasgow Uni study spot says about you

If it’s above level seven of the library, are you okay?

6 months ago

As students, we all develop routines and habits with our studying, and nothing is more central to this than the place we carry out the activity. At Glasgow Uni we are lucky enough to have a wide variety of locations available to us, and each of our favourite spots undoubtedly says something about us as people. After all, we Glasgow Uni students do love to be stereotyped.

The James McCune Smith Learning Hub

Unveiled in 2021, the James McCune Smith Learning Hub, affectionately known as the Jimmy or JMS for short, serves as a vibrant centre of Glasgow Uni’s student activity. You thrive when amongst this hubbub (no pun intended) and likely study in a group.

Another thing the JMS serves as is a great place to get your steps up. The lovers of the building are those who enjoy a hot girl walk, as finding a seat after 10 in the morning requires several laps of the building. You secretly enjoy this though, as it allows you to procrastinate that essay you’ve been putting off and bask in the aesthetic design (I’m not talking about those creepy wire statues by the way).

If you’re not a first year then you’re probably a STEM student, as they seem to appear in swarms from the massive lecture theatres, which of course, no other subject can get access to because you always seem to be there. #justiceforthehumanities.

Library levels two to six

Those who study on the lower levels of the library are here for a good time… not a hard time. You’re the social butterflies of your friend group(s), and the library is less of a study spot and more of an opportunity to host a meet and greet for everyone you know on campus. You may not be the most dedicated to your studies but you are dedicated to knowing what soup is on the menu at the level three cafe. Your easy going nature might frustrate the people around you who are trying to study, but hey – you know your rights – this isn’t a red zone study area!

Library levels seven to 11

The library absolutely must be split into two different categories, as those who sit on the upper levels are a different breed from those below. If you’ve ventured beyond the buzz of levels two and three you’re either a model student or desperately trying to meet a deadline. You require complete sensory deprivation – no sound, no friends distracting you, and no contact with the outside world. If anyone dares open a packet of crisps, there you instinctively find yourself glaring at the back of their head with distaste.

The McMillan Reading Room

Ah yes, the Reading Room. From outside the only thing giving it more appeal than the Boyd Orr is its magnificent roundness, but upon venturing through the doors you find yourself in a lovely open space. If you like studying here, you often romanticise student life at UofG by leaning deeply into the dark academia aesthetic and obsessing over the Secret History for at least six months. After all, only those who worship the classic ways of education are willing to sit in those god-awful seats for hours on end.

Furthermore, you definitely plan out your uni fits in a way that makes seem effortlessly cool and mysterious. Anyone who has ventured past the steps where people go out for a smoke break knows that it looks like something out of a niche indie fashion magazine. Nevertheless, you set the bar high for the rest of us slobs, so keep up the good work.

Subject libraries

You’re not like other girls, you’re indoctrinated into the cult that is your subject. The subject exclusive libraries that are dotted around campus include those for law, medicine, dentistry, and vet-med, so you definitely have a massive superiority complex about your degree subject. But my goodness, do you own it, as there’s no chance you’ll be fighting for a spot in the JMS amongst the peasants when you know there’s a guaranteed seat in the shrine to your subject.

A café

With upwards of 20 cafés on Byres Road alone, the West End has more than enough options, with particular favourites of Glasgow uni students including Offshore, Tinderbox, and Kember and Jones. If you study at one of these establishments you’re probably an expert in the art of people-watching and multitasking, as there’s no way you could get any work done without those skills.

The only downside of your location is that some cafés require you to continue purchasing drinks if you’re going to stay longer than two hours. Because of this, I know damn well your hands are shaking whilst reading this from the amount of coffee you’ve consumed today. But given your choice of spot, I’m also guessing that coffee drinking is your main personality trait too.