jbraun02

Hi all-- I would love to hear some other students' advice, thoughts, and suggestions about my grad school situation! I feel like my grad school application process was a bit of a whirlwind-- it took a while for the ball to get rolling, but once it did, everything accelerated very quickly. I interviewed for a wildlife master's program at UTK in December and honestly did not feel to great about it. But at the beginning of January, I got a very exciting acceptance phone call (woohoo!). I'm really stoked about the project I will be working on and I was honestly thrilled when my advisor asked if I could start in the summer. I assumed that starting in the summer meant I would start at the beginning of the summer term, take a class or two, and start on the project. I drove up for a visit the other week just to touch base and clarify a few things. During our chat, my advisor asked how soon I could start and I over eagerly told him the beginning of April (that's when I will be making the move to the Knoxville area). He seemed really thrilled about that and I can't wait to start. But... during the long drive home, I started to get a little concerned-- I won't be starting at the same time as other new students, I won't have any classes to help guide me (I guess that could be a good thing too-- I can focus solely on research), I have been out of school for two years so I feel a bit out of my academic game... the list goes on. So, any words of advice as I start my grad school adventure in, well, about three weeks (ahhhhh!)? Is this mild anxiety justified or am I just getting worked up? Are there things I need to be doing right now to get ready? Anyone else starting at a random time? Any general suggestions about starting grad life?