Second Cup (McGill College Street)

It has been a while since the last time I posted a studying area on this blog, and I realized that March is ending very soon and I need to get my 4 posts / month done. So here it goes. 

Second Cup on McGill college Street. It is literally 47seconds walk from McGill's Roddick gate. This place seems like it has 5 entrance doors around the building, but only one door will open from outside and this one is facing the McGill College street. When you first step inside, this cafe looks pretty small, having only about 8 tables. But this place has a huge terrace if you go in the building further.  If you walk even further, there is a smaller area where tall tables are put around the wall and one big square table that is ideal for group study.

Once again, this is not a good place to study if you have any kind of ADHD. I wouldn’t suggest this place to any male student, because there are many fine ladies here. This is one of the reason why I decided to close my textbook and write this blog. Anyways, the price for the food and drinks here are basically the same as any other Second Cup in Canada. Second Cup is considered one of the high-priced café in Canada. If you are broke, I would recommend you to drink a tea, about 2.15$ including tax. As you drink, keep the tea bag and you can always refill the cup with hot water for free. This is a trustworthy trick, I worked at Second Cup last year.

Two cons that I can think of at the moment are the fact that this second cup is not 24h and the slowness of the WIFI network.

 Mitch's Rating (out of 5):

Esthetic : 4

Quietness: 2.5

Studying Environment: 3.5

Opening hours: 3

Availability of sneaking food inside: 5

Availability of snacks around the study area: 5

AA (Architecture & Arts) Library

AA (Architecture & Arts) Library

This library is not well known by McGill community and I'm writing this post so that students can be spread out to other study areas and to leave some spaces for me to study at my favorite Cybertheque. 

This area is located on the third floor of RedPath building. There is only one secret passage that brings you to this area. When you get in to the Redpath building, you walk straight to the Fish Bowl study area. When you reach this point, you will see a passage next to the men's bathroom. You take the stairs to the third floor and you are right there!

This is a very quiet study area and it is definitely not a good place to group study. Most of tables have plugs for any electronic use.  

If it's your first time going to the AA library, be aware that there are excessive amount of Hippie students in this area. When my friend and I stepped in to this library, we almost felt that we were not welcomed here unless we had those huge vintage glasses on. 

If you like studying while bonding with the floor, they have couches for that.

The opening hours of the AA library is the same as Fishbowl and Cybertheque.

Mitch's Rating (out of 5):


Esthetic : 4


Quietness: 4.5


Studying Environment: 4


Opening hours: 4 , 5 during  Final exam period

Availability of sneaking food inside: 2


Availability of snacks around the study area: 3

Presse Cafe (Du Parc and Milton)

Presse Cafe Du Parc and Milton

Presse Cafe is located on the intersection of Du parc and Milton street, on the east side of the campus. I know it is a bit far away from school (actually only about 4 minutes walk) but I promise this location will be the furthest place away from the campus that I will post on the blog.

Presse Cafe Location

This affordable cafe is one of the most favorite cages around the campus (there are only about 5 cafes...) They sell some nice food, from authentic sandwiches to a variety choice of cakes. The price might be a little more expensive then the Second Cup cafe right across the street, but I can tell you that the quality of the food is much better here.

Area 1 of Presse Cafe

I come to this place whenever I get sick of studying in the library. It really is a big change of studying atmosphere and makes it a good break from hardcore studying (or playing tetris) at one of the McGill libraries. They always put classical songs at Presse Cafe that apparently makes your mind clear which should help you to concentrate... This is a great place to do a group work, because you can legally talk in this area.

Area 2 of Presse Cafe

Anyways, tables and bathrooms are usually neat and unlike the Second Cup across the street, no stinky hobos come to Presse.

there are about 50 tables and these tables are big enough to support my 18 inch laptop, books and even my arms (refer to the picture below).

If ever you have a bigger laptop (which I really doubt), there are bigger tables in the center of Presse cafe.

The only cons I could really think of this place right now is that it closes at 1am everyday. I would recommend this place for those students who want to study-chill.

Mitch's Rating (out of 5):


Esthetic : 4


Quietness: 2.5


Studying Environment: 3


Opening hours: 3


Availability of sneaking food inside: 5


Availability of snacks around the study area: 5

Law Library

Law Library

McGill Law library is located near the intersection of Peel and Dr.Penfield street. This library is not very well known among McGill students. Many students will be hating me for revealing this "secret" location, but I do not care, I need my points in my blog assignment from Information System class. 

First thing I would like to say is this library is not only for law students. I'm presently writing this blog in this library and I'm an Engineering student. You will first be intimidated when you first walk in to this building, because it makes you feel like you are in Hogwarts. It has a very high ceiling which makes an echo of whatever you say in the library. You better think before what you say to your friend, because what ever you say will be heard by every single student in this library, even in the bathroom, which means everything you do in the bathroom will be heard from outside.

Main Floor 

The law library has 6 floors of desks and chairs and I've never seen this place full until now. I am going to be honest with you guys, I've never been to a floor higher than 2nd floor, because I'm a smoker and I need my access to outside to be short in distance. 

Second Floor

The extreme quietness underlines the beauty of this library. This library is definitely recommended for those living in the west side of campus and for those students who think they have ADHD.

Mitch's Rating (out of 5):


Esthetic : 5


Quietness: 5


Studying Environment: 5


Opening hours: 5


Availability of sneaking food inside: 4


Availability of snacks around the study area: 1.5 (Convenience store located under Elgin Plaza)

Neatness of the bathroom : 5

"Fish Bowl" Study Area

Redpath "Fish Bowl" Study Area

Fish Bowl Study Area Location

The first thing you thought by clicking this post is probably: "What the heck is a "Fish Bowl" study area?", because I did to. Fish bowl is located in the same building as the Cybertheque, except one floor above. I have no idea when did this weird name first appeared within McGill community, but I know that we call it this way because this study area is surrounded by windows and glass walls, which apparently makes it look like a fish bowl...

The Fish bowl area is located on the first floor of Redpath building, right beside the hallway that connects the Redpath building to McClennon library. Usually, students that are more serious in their studies go to this place, because there are less people talking to each other. In fact, you can even feel the aura of seriousness as you step in to Fish bowl.  However, this study area does not have a door and can get annoying to hear everything what people say while crossing this hall way. There aren't any group study tables and I would suggest you to not make one. You will know why when you actually get there.  There are lots of single tables and some of them have walls between two tables so that people beside you can't see you creeping other people on Facebook.




I wouldn't suggest this area to those who get easily distracted, because there are quite a few students passing in the hall way, as well as outside, right next to those windows.


Mitch's Rating (out of 5):


Esthetic : 2


Quietness: 3


Studying Environment: 4.5


Opening hours: 4   and 5 (during Finals)


Availability of sneaking food inside: 3.5


Availability of snacks around the study area: 5

Neatness of the bathroom: 0.5

Red Path - Cybertheque

Red Path - Cybertheque 

Cybertheque library is one of the most popular library at McGill. It is located in the underground level of the Redpath building, which is connected to the McClennen library. The exact location is shown in the map above and marked by a red star. This library also has 4 group study rooms located in the center of the cybertheque, surrounded by glass walls. However, noise is not well insulated by the glass walls, therefore talking loudly in the group study area is not recommended (unless you really like it to be stared awkwardly by other students in the study area. Moreover, a huge screen is connected to a computer in each group study area, that could be used to prepare for a presentation, or to watch NHL/Soccer games in the library, which happens quite often.

Group Study area "Pod"

Other than individual study area and group study area, there is also a mid-sized tables at the right far end of the Cybertheque. During the final exam periods, this area is often used to sleep for those "all-nighting" students (on the bench, on desks and even on the floor).

Mid-sized Tables (A.K.A. Sleeping Area)

The first thing you will notice when you step in to this library is the amount of Asian students studying in this area. It almost feels like you are in the University of Beijing or something. In fact, more than 70% of the study area is occupied by Asians and this number won't cease to increase. They study, eat, meet new friends and take a nap in this area.

Individual Study Area filled with Asians

Mitch's Rating (out of 5):


Esthetic : 4 


Quietness: 3.5 


Studying Environment: 2.5 


Opening hours: 4   and 5 (during Finals)


Availability of sneaking food inside: 4 


Availability of snacks around the study area: 5 


Neatness of the bathroom: 1