Preparation for Graduate Study

[Rose White]

Hello everyone!

Unforunately, I did not make it into any PhD programs this go around, but I have chosen to accept an offer of admission for a MA in History with a GA offer, tuition remission and stipend which I could not be more excited about! My only concern, I graduated in May 2010 last year and have taken the last year off to work. In my meeting with the graduate program director yesterday, we were discussing what areas of history I wanted to focus on specifically and I was able to answer eloquently, but after being out of the discipline for a year, I've forgotten some terminology! I'm also worried because I've grown accustomed to having no homework/extra work outside of what I do at the office.

My question is, what are the things I can do over the summer to get back into a "school" mindset? Should I be reading journal articles? Fake writing papers? Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!

[Ludwig von Dracula]

I'd say it's all up to you. You may wish to enjoy this summer of freedom, because it may be the last one for quite some time!

But it's certainly not a bad idea to sharpen your brain. Reading some works that are key to your field might be a good idea--you'll be more prepared for the theoretical discussions that will inevitably arise. Looking at some journals to get a sense of current debates can only be a good thing, even if you don't feel like you have all the background knowledge necessary for a complete understanding. You can always come back to the articles and skim them in a few months, and you'll probably be surprised at how many more connections arise.

I personally wouldn't write fake papers unless it was something that I was genuinely interested in and which might be useful as the foundation for an actual paper (for class or publication) later on. I'm sure you'll get used to homework again quickly enough, especially if you've only been out of school for a year. Up to you, of course.

[poco_puffs]

I agree with Ludwig on the fake papers thing. Read journals, read some criticism/books/big hitters in your field. Even if you don't have the syllabi for your upcoming classes, maybe "read toward" those topics or broader areas of thought. This might involve emailing professors at your current or upcoming school for suggestions on books, authors or particular journals. Make a reading list for yourself and hang onto it.

Rather than spending your time writing "fake papers," perhaps start modeling some thesis statements or outlines of papers that you could see yourself writing at some point, but without going through the process of writing things out. I know that when I read a lot of journal articles in a really concentrated time frame that my language faculties start percolating towards some more academic language-- sometimes I would just have a sentence pop into my head that sounded nice, or an idea that really deserved a great sentence. The point is that you'll spend plenty of time doing strictly formatted and deadlined writing in these upcoming years, so enjoy the freedom you have to explore ideas and styles. Build bibliographies for certain topic areas, or annotated bibliographies even!

This is all stuff that is easy to pick up and put down, and it might even come in handy later when you're trying to put together ideas for papers, your thesis, or your reading lists for orals/quals.

[Riotbeard]

You will be fine. A year is not that long, and plenty of people take much longer breaks between undergrad and grad. You will learn a lot in Grad school that you did not know as an undergrad. It is unlikely that you won't learn knew terms, etc. for the rest of your career.

[michpc]

From experience, regarding papers, the first writing assignment will be a little like pulling teeth, but once you get to the second you'll be back in the groove, so I wouldn't sweat it too much. If you want, ask your adviser if there's anything they think you can do to prepare before the start of the semester, and have fun this summer, like others said. I worked for 4 1/2 years with little vacation time, so I'm looking forward to enjoying myself this summer and RELAXING (you can bet my tan will be much deeper than the last several years!) because I know as soon as school starts I'll be back to working full time, but this time in school.

[far_to_go]

I took a year and a half "off" (i.e. not in school but working three jobs) before starting my Ph.D. program. One thing that proved to be immensely helpful in gearing back up for grad school was reading through the published work of several key people within my Ph.D. program. It really gave me a feel for the profs and how they think before I even met them in person.

Other than that, I definitely recommend resting as much as you can... while you have the chance...

[poco_puffs]

I suppose I should clarify my advice: I don't think you HAVE to do any of those things to be prepared. I totally agree with the others about resting and enjoying your time-- that is, if you can. I was a stir-crazy mess in the time between schools, and my lack of direction eventually led to me spending several months and several hundred hours watching entire multi-season runs of TV shows on Netflix and Hulu. Do not go down that road if you can help it.

Looking back at what I *did* do, however, and what I wish I would have spent my time doing, I think I would have leaned towards those activities I described earlier. If you're stir-crazy, I say go for it, but don't feel like you have to learn everything you'll learn in grad school before you ever get there.

[Mal83]

I graduated back in 2007, spent a little over 2 years in the Peace Corps, which I think served to enhance my academic understanding because I was living what I had been learning as an International Studies major. But I've been done with that for a year and a half now and have since been working at a preschool...not much in the way of intellectual growth there obviously. So I too am a little worried about what it'll be like to be hit with it all the first semester, forget the first writing assignment, I'm worried about that first time I'll be told to read a book by the next class. I've always been a bit of a slow reader and now that I haven't had to read long dry texts in a while I think it will make for a pretty big headache...literally and figuratively. I've always pretty much kept up with my reading of The Economist, the best periodical for world affairs, but I haven't read a 20 page journal article or 50 page book chapter in a long time. And yeah the writing is a little scary too, academic writing was always flowing as an undergrad but even as I was trying to put together my statement of purpose for my apps I felt a little blocked, slow, and sluggish at first. I eventually put one together that I'm quite proud of, but it was a bit harder than anticipated. I can't say that I'm so worried about it that I will start to read text books and give myself assignments in the time remaining before school starts this Fall, but I think once I'm done with my job and have a little more time on my hands in between packing and apartment hunting I'll start reading the more academic journals out there in my field. I think that will help get the juices flowing again and when it comes time to put in on paper I won't have to reach so far into the deep recesses of my undergrad education.

[Rose White]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I especially like the advice on relaxing, but also reading books/journal articles related to my field and perhaps writing thesis statements/outlines or certain sentences. To be honest, I am going a little stir-crazy. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to leave my position as a grant administrator until sometime in July, as there is a conference I'm required to attend as part of the grant we received. If not, I would be definitely be leaving at the end of the semester and just work the eleven hours a week at my other job (that I will be keeping!). I'm also going to be clearing out my room here at home (I'll be living with my parents through the two years and have decided to embark on redesigning my room/getting new furniture that does not remind me of my childhood). Sounds like I'll definitely have a lot going on this summer! Thanks again and feel free to keep the advice coming.

[KineticKid]

Hello everyone!

Unforunately, I did not make it into any PhD programs this go around, but I have chosen to accept an offer of admission for a MA in History with a GA offer, tuition remission and stipend which I could not be more excited about! My only concern, I graduated in May 2010 last year and have taken the last year off to work. In my meeting with the graduate program director yesterday, we were discussing what areas of history I wanted to focus on specifically and I was able to answer eloquently, but after being out of the discipline for a year, I've forgotten some terminology! I'm also worried because I've grown accustomed to having no homework/extra work outside of what I do at the office.

My question is, what are the things I can do over the summer to get back into a "school" mindset? Should I be reading journal articles? Fake writing papers? Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!

I've been out of school for 5 years now...and I'm heading into graduate-level PHYSICS this fall! Yikes!

I plan on spending the summer brushing up on math and physics in preparation for fall classes and Comps in 1.5 years. No work for me (yes, I admit it's a luxury to not work this summer). Just study, study, study.