Good Quiet Place to Study?

[GoingForIt]

I am making a career change and am going to take exams 1 and 2 in May and I'm looking for ideas for types of places to go and study. Home is out of the question since I have 3 kids so it's louder than a hockey game most of the time. I'm not working so I don't have an office to hide in.
The two criteria I'm looking for are: long hours and free parking (and quiet, of course). Public libraries don't open until 9 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. and I'd like to get started around 6:30-7:00 a.m. and go until midnight whenever possible. There is a large university nearby but parking is impossible. The closest I've found is a smaller private college that has a library that opens at 7:30 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. Any suggestions as to other types of places to look? Thanks!

[New at pd]

Is there a Starbucks near you? I've had some good luck there (open early, minimal noise from people traffic.)

[Mardi]

I usually study after the kids are in bed at night. It's quiet enough then.

You could try an all-night restaurant (Perkins worked for me when I was in college) -- just remember to tip the waiter really well.. you're paying rent on the table, not 20% of that cup of coffee.

[GoingForIt]

Yes, there's a Starbucks not too far away - thanks! All night restaurants are something I considered since there's a Steak 'n Shake nearby. Thanks for the suggestions!

[Dr T Non-Fan]

You could try to get a parking pass for the large university. A little extra expense, but might be worth it. Night classes shouldn't fill the lots too much.

Check the library hours, though, as library expenses are one of the bigger cut departments. The private college sounds like a better bet. Check their rules about locals using up space. It might ask you to perchase a library card.

And remember that it will be closed (at least at night) for a week in March or April.

[Anonymous]

Some suggestions:

Diners
Cafes (not necessarily Starbucks!)
Friend's apartment who is not home a lot
Parks (in spring/summer!!)

And I would strongly suggest a hotel room at least the night before the exam, even though it might cost extra $$. I think it was probably the best thing I did the night before the past sitting to get away from my roommate and his noisy guests! Just to get peace of mind.

[Alya]

There is a large university nearby but parking is impossible.

Parking can be impossible during the day, but in the evening it should be easy to find an empty meter (in some schools you have to pay only till 8p.m., so if you start around that time it will be free for you)

Also you can try large bookstores, like B&N.

[GoingForIt]

Thanks for all your suggestions! The local private college library is working out well for first thing in the morning and then at lunch I've been going to our local public library which has a very nice quiet study room - only problem is when the high school across the street gets out at 3 it gets a little busy and louder. The problem with trying to study at home after the kids go to bed is that my wife might try to talk to me :smile:. Thanks!

[gloid]

On 2002-02-11 19:36, GoingForIt wrote:
The problem with trying to study at home after the kids go to bed is that my wife might try to talk to me :smile:. Thanks!

You don't want that!!!
I actually had the same problem with public libraries. The one I used was very quiet before 2-3 p.m., but the libraians ran it like a day care after that. It was just plain loud. Worst study spot I ever had, couldn't believe it. I have since found a quiet library on a college campus. They are great, great hours, no noise...

[Studyin' Machine]

Starbucks never works for me. Too many people talking. I actually had one lady upset that I was taking up a whole (tiny) table tell me to go to the library! My favorite is the tables in the back at Barnes & Noble. Usually nice and quiet.

[minnie SNOW dah]

My local public libraries are VERY loud and there's no study room. Luckily I have learned to study in less than perfect environments, some noise usually doesn't distract me much.
If you're studying 6 am to midnight, WHEN ARE YOU HELPING YOUR WIFE WITH THE KIDS AND HOUSEWORK?? Don't you think she needs some help and an occasional break?

[Minerva]

Give the guy a break - Assume he and his DW have come to an agreement with regard to the dispostion of time and tasks in order to bes achieve their mutual goals. Every family is different (and possibly dynamic as well). IMO, actuarial exam passing is a shared acoomplishment.

(And, rest assured, if he HASN'T reached an agreement with his DW, there will be h**** to pay! :grin: )

[Schroeder]

I have to agree with the earlier threads on the college campus. I used to start studying at 7:00 pm during the week and all day on weekends. This is when all of the faculty parking was open to the public. If I studied during the week, there was a pay lot for $0.50 per hour.

I studied in the student center. There were plenty of quite cubby holes, and there were food and drink spots around for study breaks. Also, it was always a nice diversion to gaze at the co-eds during the breaks. :wink:

[ACCtuary]

I've got two toddlers, but I still study at home. It's still the best. Send your wife to your mother in law or some othe relation often.

How old are your kids?

Mine can play quietly for about an hour in the next room. My oldest comes in and "studies" with me. Takes an old calculator and some obsolete study notes and scribbles on them.

Some days when my kids don't cooperate, I work late into the night and take a nap the next day while wife watches. It is a lot easier for me to take a nap in a noisy environment than to study in one.

Trade housework for kid free time - encourage her to take the kids somewhere for a weekend or a day.

How much time per day do you need, really? I find I can make do with 4 hours a day.

Once you get working it will be easier.

Another thing - trying to get in the quality study time for two exams may indeed be unrealistic.

You'll do your best, but you won't compare to a single person with gobs of study time.

I found it best to agree with your wife on a firm study schedule - let her know you'll plan to study during these hours uninterrupted, and otherwise you're all hers. There'll be less resentment that way. Of course, I know you'll work those hours out together rather than unilaterally dictating them.

Prior, I was studying during their naptime, but that random variable had far too much variance.

Good luck.




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: AntiEverything on 2002-02-13 13:12 ]</font>

[GoingForIt]

Wow! Such a response! First off, Minnie - I cook about 50% of the dinners, do 90% of the dishes and wash about 80% of the laundry (she folds because I've failed miserably at figuring out how she wants it done). The 6 a.m. to midnight time window I mentioned was just to cover all my bases.

My wife and I do have an agreement about me studying now M-F 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (almost like a real job). So far, after two weeks, it's working rather well. She understands the commitment involved and what the payback will be. I haven't yet shared with her what one recruiter told me a couple of weeks ago when I was doing my research about the career change, that to pass the two exams in May I should spend every waking minute between now and then studying.

I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that I can't study at home and need to make a clean break to focus on the task at hand. For example, this morning, with my kids (K, 1st and 3rd grades) in school and my wife at school helping out - Led Zeppelin II and IV (darn those new Cadillac commercials with "Rock and Roll" playing - I can't get it out of my head it's such a great song) seemed much more appealing than Calculus.

It's interesting that someone mentioned that public libraries are sort of like a daycare - I was just talking about that with my wife (see - we do communicate :smile:) at dinner last night and wondered if our library allows the kids to hang out there because it keeps them off the streets and out of the pool halls. The quiet room at the library does minimize most of the noise.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: GoingForIt on 2002-02-14 10:48 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: GoingForIt on 2002-02-14 11:10 ]</font>

[Exam Slave]

1. A pool hall is a great place to learn geometry.
2. I don't agree with the recruiter. If you knew nothing about math, stats, finance, interest, or M/M-econ, then yes, you should spend every waking hour and about half of your dreams studying.

Geting it on the family schedule, and getting "buy-off" from the rest of the team members, is very key to the success of the project.

[Ducky]

Build yourself a small shack in the backyard & lock yourself in as needed. Don't stay too long or you'll end up building letter bombs like Kazinski(sp?). :razz:

[GoingForIt]

LOL about the pool hall! Yes, I thought the recruiter was being a bit extreme about the studying hours since I do have tons of calculus and stats under my belt from school and just need to get refreshed on them. Exam 2 stuff is somewhat new to me but I'm allocating alot of hours in March and April to it.

I like the shack idea (I do share an alma mater with the Unibomber) but unfortunately our subdivision doesn't allow outbuildings except for a doghouse which I end up in enough while in the house...

[Ducky]

I can relate to the doghouse thing man. Good luck in May. :smile:

[rawl316]

I used to study outside somewhere, but then sometime along the line, I decided, this is my house! So what I did was I told my wife and kids to shut up and leave me alone for 4 hours. Every word I heard from them meant a night of sleeping outside. They apparently thought i was joking so I had to slap them around a little bit. It didn't help, so I finally hogtied them and taped their mouths shut. After doing that, I didn't hear a peep from them and had no problems studying. It's become a habit now to just do that. It's very easy to study when there is no noise.

[ASA_Woman]

rawl316: I'm assuming you won't be getting any nice presents from them for your upcoming birthday?

[BigMactuary,]

I agree with C2W!

[Minerva]

LOL c2W / rawl316!!!

Part of if is a matter of personality / style. Personally, I was NEVER successful studying at home, even when everyone else was asleep or out of the house - I would FIND things to distract myself with. So, lots of good suggstions here - find something that works and stick with it.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Minerva on 2002-02-15 11:31 ]</font>

[BigMactuary,]

This may sound crazy but I have actually tried studying in my Dad's 1971 Volkswagon Beetle. It worked for me alright. These days I study in coffee shops.

[Hagbard Celine]

I agree with Minerva.

I can study at home for an hour or two, but if I try to put a day in at home, it amounts to half a day or so.

Take a "short" break every 1/2 hour or so and the break becomes as long as the 1/2 hour study session.

I'm usually able to buckle down if I know I'm only going to study for an hour or two though.

I usually prefer to study somewhere where there is some activity like a library or a coffee shop or something. I like to look up and watch the people for 30 seconds to let my brain recharge. It helps to keep the momentum going. The problem is when I can start to differentiate between the conversations that are going on around me. When the general noise becomes specific noise...that's when I become unable to concentrate.

[LosingInterest]

The parking at the public university should definitely be easier at night. Usually the faculty gets the good close spots and those should become available to the public after hours (@ 5:00 pm). If possible try talking to someone from the university.

I like variety so I frequent the campus libraries as well as book stores and coffee shops, but these have already been mentioned. Furthermore, it looks like you've figured things out for yourself. Goodluck on the exams.