summer before grad school plans

[beaverish]

does anyone have any advice for how to spend the summer before grad school (masters)?

i'm in my last year of undergrad, feeling burnt out by thesis-writing and course work. i'm going to be attending a program in the fall that is allegedly pretty intense, as it's on the quarter rather than semester system and involves a thesis as well.

should i take it easy this summer? or should i use the opportunity to get some relevant work experience, or, say, volunteer doing something productive?

[nogone]

Make some money. It will come in handy very soon!

[Doubleshott]

From reading the majority of posts on here it would seem like there's a multitude of things one should do.

While I'm not applying for a year (im just finishing my senior year in the next few weeks) I have check list of things to do, obviously some of these you will already have done, but:

* Get published in as prestigious/relevant a place as possible

* Improve your other language skills (im going to try and finally become fluent in french by moving to france for a number of months, while working on my spanish too)

* Improve your GRE/ SOP (or in my case, start them)

*Try and improve your math if its relevant

Overall I just want to improve myself across the board.

All the while making some money, hopefully.

[palabared]

I think beaverish has already applied and is going to grad school in the Fall.

I'll be coming back from abroad and am excited to take it easy in California for a couple months. Perhaps earn a little spending money, but nothing too time consuming. I think it just depends, if you need more experience go intern or volunteer somewhere for a few months. That will look better on a resume once you're out of school than a job just to make money. But if your not that worried about more experience then hang out or make some bills.

From reading the majority of posts on here it would seem like there's a multitude of things one should do.

While I'm not applying for a year (im just finishing my senior year in the next few weeks) I have check list of things to do, obviously some of these you will already have done, but:

* Get published in as prestigious/relevant a place as possible

* Improve your other language skills (im going to try and finally become fluent in french by moving to france for a number of months, while working on my spanish too)

* Improve your GRE/ SOP (or in my case, start them)

*Try and improve your math if its relevant

Overall I just want to improve myself across the board.

All the while making some money, hopefully.

[Doubleshott]

obviously some of these you will already have done,

Edited April 27, 2011 by Doubleshott

[pushpin]

I've been out of school for a few years and I also recently returned from being abroad so I've been taking it easy. I plan on taking some classes at the local community college so (hopefully) I can get back into school-mode. (Hopefully I can get into a class... it feels like getting a class at a California CC might actually be harder than getting into grad school with all the budget cuts going on around here.)

OP, since you're in a completely different position coming straight from undergrad, take a break! It might help to be refreshed before starting grad studies.

Edited April 27, 2011 by pushpin

[palabared]

Yea I'm a little worried about going back to school after 4 years off from it! Are you taking courses that your grad school is requiring you take or just as refreshers in econ or something?

I've been out of school for a few years and I also recently returned from being abroad so I've been taking it easy. I plan on taking some classes at the local community college so (hopefully) I can get back into school-mode. (Hopefully I can get into a class... it feels like getting a class at a California CC might actually be harder than getting into grad school with all the budget cuts going on around here.)

OP, since you're in a completely different position coming straight from undergrad, take a break! It might help to be refreshed before starting grad studies.

[pushpin]

Yea I'm a little worried about going back to school after 4 years off from it! Are you taking courses that your grad school is requiring you take or just as refreshers in econ or something?

I have to take an intro to stats class for my grad program. Took it in undergrad but they're making us take it again if we haven't taken it in the past 3 years (Why are they making me feel soo old?) I'm also hoping to take something fun like photography or web design.

[HandsomeNerd]

i'm in my last year of undergrad, feeling burnt out by thesis-writing and course work.

this. so this.

[beaverish]

this. so this.

i'm dying as we speak. 1 week out from thesis being due. i can't imagine doing anything remotely intellectual this summer, i'm so desperate to rot my brain after this...

[HandsomeNerd]

i'm dying as we speak. 1 week out from thesis being due. i can't imagine doing anything remotely intellectual this summer, i'm so desperate to rot my brain after this...

at least you're on track to finish on time. i fell off the bus hard back in the fall, so i gotta finish during the summer. ugh

[secdef]

i'm dying as we speak. 1 week out from thesis being due. i can't imagine doing anything remotely intellectual this summer, i'm so desperate to rot my brain after this...

I hear that. My thesis was due in March, but graduation isn't until June. I've got neither the interest nor the will for any of my six classes; as long as I don't fail them they will have no effect whatsoever on my near-future plans.

As for this summer, during the height of grad school applications, I applied for 5-10 (I've lost track) internships for this summer. I have also been applying for jobs as I see them. None have yet to materialize, so I am looking forward to sitting around doing nothing––for the first time since this whole process began last summer.