Starting grad school before the fall semester

[HyacinthMacaw]

Hey folks,

I'm posting in this forum because I'd like to elicit comments from current grad students rather than prospective ones.

I'm incredibly psyched about attending a particular program that has offered me admission. Indeed, if I could start working and move there tomorrow, I would do it in a heartbeat. The problem is that I have to wait until the fall semester starts! That's 5 months!

I can't even read up on the literature in the interim because I am not a registered student anywhere and lack access to online library resources.

I suspect that money from my fellowship cannot be dispensed until the fall. Moreover, the program offers only limited summer funding, and I doubt I would qualify.

So does anyone know how I might be able to start working in June, say, despite these obstacles? I plan on discussing this with the graduate director (who also happens to be my primary advisor), but I have yet to send in my acceptance of the program's offer. There's little doubt that I'll matriculate there, but I don't want to commit before I've received all decisions, and this may not happen until mid-April. That said, irrespective of which program I attend, I would like to start doing research (or honestly, just reading more than abstracts, since that's all I have access to for now) as soon as possible. It's not like if I have a summer job lined up for me or anything like that or an extended summer vacation planned. I live with my mother and father and am unemployed. I don't believe I'm qualified for a summer job, anyway.

Many thanks for all your help! I wish you all the best.

[Sparky]

1. I suspect that as soon as you get your e-mail address for your new school, which *should* happen sometime this spring, you will have online access to journal databases. (Actually, you'll probably get your e-mail address as soon as you officially accept the offer. That was how it worked for me, anyway.)

2. I took my first class in my MA program the summer before I technically started. My RAship paid for the tuition, even though I wasn't doing any RA work yet. (I did not, however, earn an additional stipend).

3. I didn't take a class last summer, i.e. between MA and PhD, but my current school *also* allows students to start early. The way summer funding here works is, the standard aid package covers 2 summers' worth of tuition remission + additional stipend (TA-free), and you can use those in any two summers.

4. Yes, contact your DGS, and also talk to the summer session people at the registrar's office, as they'll know what's up with the process for getting your aid to kick in early.

Edited March 23, 2011 by Sparky

[breakfast]

I wouldn't underestimate the value of your last summer before graduate school. You will never again have that much free time to do anything that isn't related to your field or research. Unless your adviser specifically gives you things to do over the summer, I would just relax and go hiking or camping or whatever leisure activity you enjoy, since you will have so many constraints on your time once you enter your program.You say you don't have a summer vacation planned? Plan one.

Edited March 23, 2011 by breakfast

[Eigen]

I was able to start about a month and a half early. One of the prospective PIs I was thinking about working with offered to pay my stipend for the month before school started. It was nice to get into the lab, get things set up, get settled in the city, etc.

I don't think I would have wanted to work all summer, but a little bit early is nice.

As for journal articles- you might contact a current student in the department, and see if you can get them to send you the articles you need. I know I send prospective students articles related to our work on request.

[FingersCrossedX]

I can't even read up on the literature in the interim because I am not a registered student anywhere and lack access to online library resources.

Check your local public library. They often have access to online journals. Not the extent that a university library provides but databases you can search. Usually you only have to log in on their site with your library card and you have access to at least one academic journal database. My hometown and current libraries both have them.

[nhyn]

talk to your POI. In our lab here there's a student that was working & scanning (neuroscience) over the summer, as her research in grad school is very similar to the one she was doing in undergrad so she already got a head start. I'm not sure whether she got paid (because she wasn't an RA or anything; neuro programs do rotations so you don't "belong to" or get paid by a specific lab) or not - this is something you can discuss with your POI. Maybe they can give you stipend for at least living costs or something.

[neuropsychosocial]

1. I suspect that as soon as you get your e-mail address for your new school, which *should* happen sometime this spring, you will have online access to journal databases. (Actually, you'll probably get your e-mail address as soon as you officially accept the offer. That was how it worked for me, anyway.)

One school gave me an email address as soon as I applied. The school that I intend to attend gave me one as soon as I was admitted, so that I could "explore" the school portal. Unfortunately, a) I HATE HATE HATE HATE the specific email address that I got under the school's system I am not eligible to be "upgraded" to the google apps version until I accept.

[rising_star]

I suspect that money from my fellowship cannot be dispensed until the fall. Moreover, the program offers only limited summer funding, and I doubt I would qualify.

So does anyone know how I might be able to start working in June, say, despite these obstacles? I plan on discussing this with the graduate director (who also happens to be my primary advisor), but I have yet to send in my acceptance of the program's offer. There's little doubt that I'll matriculate there, but I don't want to commit before I've received all decisions, and this may not happen until mid-April. That said, irrespective of which program I attend, I would like to start doing research (or honestly, just reading more than abstracts, since that's all I have access to for now) as soon as possible. It's not like if I have a summer job lined up for me or anything like that or an extended summer vacation planned. I live with my mother and father and am unemployed. I don't believe I'm qualified for a summer job, anyway.

Many thanks for all your help! I wish you all the best.

You won't know if you're qualified for a summer job unless you ask. BUT, I think it is always a bad idea to work for free, particularly given all of the expenses associated with relocating for graduate school. You don't want to be carrying extra credit card debt for 3+ months until your fall pay and/or loans come in.

Also, as someone that did start grad school in the summer (for my MA and I started 2 days after I got my BA), I don't recommend it. While it was nice to get to know the area, there weren't many grad students around in the summer and I really wanted to be able to relax and have fun for the last time in a while.

Also, if you know you're going to commit, why not withdraw your other applications? It would be courteous of you to do so, both to those departments and to other applicants.

I wouldn't underestimate the value of your last summer before graduate school. You will never again have that much free time to do anything that isn't related to your field or research. Unless your adviser specifically gives you things to do over the summer, I would just relax and go hiking or camping or whatever leisure activity you enjoy, since you will have so many constraints on your time once you enter your program.You say you don't have a summer vacation planned? Plan one.

Agreed wholeheartedly.

[Eigen]

The number of grad students that will be around is very dependent on the discipline- for me, all of the non-first year grad students were here, so I got to know all of them.

But yeah, I wouldn't work for free- maybe a reduced salary, but...

[HyacinthMacaw]

Thanks for all the comments, folks! I'm definitely going to deliberate on this some more. I agree that access to the library database shouldn't be a problem as long as I've got an online ID. This will allow me to keep up with the literature even if I move in a few weeks rather than a few months before the fall semester. Thanks again!

[qbtacoma]

Do you have a state school nearby? I was able to get a library card from the local state university for a very small yearly fee, and if you feel it would be worth it for the sixty dollars or whatever then you should do that. I don't have access to some things like ILL, but I have access to journals, can check out up to 50 books, etc.