SJ.Koeh

Definitely going with the above comments, get a mac! Unless you have a nice desktop at home that can run software quickly/has more storage than anyone could fill(and you won't be missing it while on campus), get an iPad/surface. Surfaces also run software (iPads can only run apps), but it definitely slows down everything to run something like R or SPSS on it. If you know someone extra-techy, get them to turn a mac-mini into a server for you (or just buy a server if you can afford it). It is well worth the trouble! I love coming home and knowing that I never HAVE to manually back up my computer. It automatically 'syncs' every night. I back it up to an external hard drive as well once a week, but really could rely on the server if needed.

I just started the first year of my PhD program, and kept tabs on this thread quite a bit while I was applying to graduate school/this past summer. I took a year off between undergrad and graduate school, and worked at a pretty mindless job for a year, so I was quite excited to start school in August. Lots of people say "just take it easy"... "easy" is not really a speed of mine so this was very challenging. I wish I would've had someone tell me something specific I could do, to help myself out in a few months. Here's some of those things! - In Political Science (what my PhD will be in), R is the industry standard for data analysis. My BS is in Psych, and I know SPSS well. Learn the foundations/basics of what is common for your industry while you have free time. - Learn some other programming languages while you're at it (Java) so that you can run your own experiments when you're ready. - Get a handful of the most recent journal editions that are standards in your field. Many libraries have access to BrowZine - use it. Good luck!