You know what makes studying for the GMAT/GRE more challenging than usual? Not having a quiet study space. From September 2015 – January 2016, I would work from the morning until 5:00pm-6:00pm and then l’d study until 9:30pm-11:00pm nearly every week day. By the time I’d get home, it’d be 10:30pm-12:45am. Super late!

To honor the locations that served as my beloved study spots for months, I have pulled together an extraordinary list of cool study spots in New York City. It’s ok, you can use [some of] them too.

Whole Foods Market – Upper East Side, Manhattan

 

Whole Foods Market – Union Square, Manhattan 

 

Whole Foods Market – Midtown East, Manhattan

 

The Library at Weill Cornell Medical College in the Upper East Side of Manhattan

 

Starbucks – Too many locations to name 

 

That pizzeria in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York

 

Caffe Bene in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York

 

Red Pipe Cafe in Forest Hills, Queens, New York

 

Panorama Cafe in Jamaica, Queens, New York

 

Odradeks Coffee House in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York

 

Sip This Cafe in Valley Stream, New York (I studied there during their open mic nights, trivia nights, poetry nights, and plain ol’ regular nights)

 

Ground Central Cafe in Midtown Manhattan

Queens Public Library – Central branch in Jamaica Queens, NY (Quiet Room, to be exact)

And last, but not least because it was my favorite…drumroll please!    

Korean Study Room in downtown Manhattan. Eight times out of ten, I’d have this entire study room all to myself into the wee hours of the night. I got a lot of studying done here. Oh, the memories…

Yes, readers. Every single location listed above was my study/resume tweak/essay writing/application prep spot. That adds up to a lot of hours, dollars and calories. But, who’s counting?!?

In the words of world-renowned pop artist Beyonce Knowles [UC Haas School of Business essay Q/A]:

“…I dream it, I work hard, I grind til I own it…I go hard…get what’s mine…I’m a star”

We all should.