start grad school early?

[bardo-being]

Hello,

I am just wondering what are the opinion of people on the issue of when to start grad school. Like of people have been saying that I should consider starting my grad studies in the summer. is it really necessary? or is it just fine if i start during the usual time, during the fall quarter?

any suggestions are appreciated!

[Eigen]

I started early and really enjoyed it... But it's by no means neccessary- I was the only one in my cohort that did. It was nice to get used to the city and campus slowly, before classes and teaching started... And, it supported me for the summer!

[robot_hamster]

I think there are both pros and cons. If you start during the summer, then you will have time to become familiar with the campus (and city) and your adviser (and perhaps some other professors). You will have that advantage over the rest of your cohort because you got a little bit of a jump start. Also, if you have been out of school for awhile, it might be beneficial because things are much slower in the summer and it will most likely be less stressful. The cons would be the fact that you would be there all alone with no one else from your cohort. Also, you would be giving up your "last" summer. This would be especially true if you're going straight from undergrad to grad.

[ZeeMore21]

Are you in the sciences? I guess you would be able to start your program early if your are doing a science degree to get ahead with research but I am pretty sure that in other fields, you wouldn't be able to start your first year until classes start in the fall.

[sacklunch]

I started early in the summer to get ahead. Well worth it (in the humanities). Plus I wasn't bored during the summer .

[breakfast]

Nobody I know in my cohort started in the summer, and i know several professors who advised against it. It will really be your last "free" summer for a long long time. This summer I have to read for my MA exam and then do a bunch of research for the fall.

Go take a vacation or do something exciting/time-intensive, like camping or hiking or whatever. I do recommend moving to your new town/city early, though. That was a huge help, getting settled and learning my way about, but I still spent that time doing non-academic things, like taking in the sights in the region (moved to opposite coast), but really, don't start working early unless you're getting paid for it (like those who start early in the sciences sometimes do). You will be so swamped with work in the fall no matter how much you think you prepare now, that you will wish you just relaxed before it all began.

Edited June 12, 2011 by breakfast

[Arcadian]

I'm not...I'm enjoying a very chill summer before grad school. But I'm still reading a text book and research articles relevant to my field.

[Xanthan]

I've started early (just last week!) and it has allowed me to do a lab rotation at an offsite facility that's in another city than my program (so would be hard to do during the year). I'm getting paid, and my roommate is a second year student in my program, so I'm learning all the dirt on the profs in the school. It's a pretty good setup.

[ktel]

I did not start my MASc early, but I am doing a 4 month research project at my undergrad institution. Being on campus in the summer is lovely, and summer is a really nice pace to get started on any sort of project. I had considered starting my MASc early and moving to Toronto, but decided I wanted to spend one last summer in my hometown.

[SNPCracklePop]

Go ahead, jump in! The sooner you're in, the sooner you're out. While I didn't start classes the summer before, I did pick up a research assistant job in a potential advisor's lab. Gained lab experience without interfering classes in the way, got a feel of the campus, and the summer counted toward a required lab rotation. Go on, get started!