What will you do with your Summer?

[sansao]

I've been thoroughly researching the schools from which I'm still waiting on responses. It's actually quite calming, and gives me a way to weigh my options if I have to make a decision that is otherwise equally weighted. It's been interesting to look at all the course offerings and read through the grad manuals early.

I plan on following this up with wherever I get accepted (assuming that happens). I have a lot of literature from all the professors I talked to, and there's more on their websites. I'm thinking I'll probably use the Summer as a research and review period - thoroughly reading everyone's literature, reviewing and previewing subjects of interest.

What's everybody's Summer plans if you get accepted? Work, review, vacation, all of the above? Is anyone planning on trying for a Summer internship or fellowship? Anyone going to try to move to the area early and try to get somewhat established before the Fall term starts?

Just curious.

[We regret to inform you]

I'll be finishing up my masters thesis. After that's done, i'll go back to my hometown and spend a month or two at my parents place until i move. While i'm there i'll probably exercise a lot and play some video games i've been meaning to get into. I probably won't bother doing anything school related. I'd prefer to give my brain a rest before i start it all up again.

[sansao]

I thought about taking time off and maybe working and saving up some extra $$$. I might still do that too, but I feel like I need to have somewhat of a clue when I get to my first year. Plus my undergrad classes are scattered over several years, so it would be good to review and synthesize everything. There's also some math and geology concepts that I didn't get to study during undergrad that I feel would be very useful to have on hand in grad school - partial differential equations, some upper level geoscience courses, and a more rigorous development of classical physics. That's a lot to work on though, so how far I get with it may be a little questionable, haha.

[shaxmaty1848]

• Work a crap job on purpose (detox academia)
  
• focus on foreign languages
  
• read whatever I want
  
• lots of laying in the sun drinking mimosas
  

[bgreenster]

I'm a bartender right now, so I guess I'll do that until maybe July... in July I'm heading down to Ecuador and getting married/traveling for a few weeks, then I'll move to wherever I'm going to school. I plan on lots of relaxing, and probably taking a class based on which school I go to. I need to do some language studying, but my priority will be to enjoy summer before all that coursework in the fall! It's crazy because the only thing I want is to go to grad school, yet I am not looking forward to being back in school Ain't that life...

[shaxmaty1848]

It's crazy because the only thing I want is to go to grad school, yet I am not looking forward to being back in school Ain't that life...

I feel that way too. But I think it's more of I'm sick of being in undergrad and I'm really ready for something new and different. I definitely need the summer to reflect and spend time with myself as a person and not as a student though. It will be time well wasted!

[bgreenster]

I feel that way too. But I think it's more of I'm sick of being in undergrad and I'm really ready for something new and different. I definitely need the summer to reflect and spend time with myself as a person and not as a student though. It will be time well wasted!

Yeah, it's true. I've been out of school for 6 years, but I have never wanted to go back to it. I love academia/discussions and all that, but I just don't miss not getting any sleep, constantly having something due, and not having time for personal stuff. Oh well, it'll be worth it for my career AND I'll be getting to learn a lot of cool things that I'm legit interested in... We just need to have an awesome summer!

[MissH]

Working at my current job...

[GreenePony]

Packing up (my graduation party is doubling as a packing party), moving wherever, find a job, work on a pet project script, sew a lot.

If we have a dog by then, teach it how to do a sic 'em.

[LLajax]

I've been avoiding making a summer plan (eh, I guess I've reached the limit of my responsible-person-ness after apps and everything). I'm still trying to figure out what I should be doing over the summer: I know I'll do some combination of working (somebody has to pay the bills, and my lease goes until the end of August), going home home (ack, but only briefly, or I'll go nuts), moving to a new town (how soon can I move! sign me up!), brushing up on/learning languages so I don't disappoint anyone when I get there, and reading up on art history outside of my field (wait- there's art outside of the Middle Ages?! ). I wish I could laze around my enw apartment in my new town for the whole summer, but I don't see that happening, since you know, I don't have a new apartment yet, and I need some way to earn money (if only those work-from-home schemes worked!)

[Ameonna]

Brush up on my Calculus, learn more about programming in R, determine which of my worldly positions are worth traveling long-distance with, and find an apartment for the Fall. Hopefully, there will be a lot of unplanned fun, as well!

[Semester Photon]

Similar to Ameonna. I will be moving, brushing up on my computer programming (especially pseudo-coding), and reviewing math. (I'm a math major that graduated a couple years ago. What I will focus on reviewing will depend on which program I choose to go to as they are all a little different, but likely I will be, at least, reviewing analysis, abstract algebra, and dynamical systems.)

[Hillary Emick]

We're spending most of the summer on our cross country move/epic road trip adventure. We've got a 5 week itinerary including visits to friends and family and a stop at the Grand Canyon. We are leaving the last week in June and arriving at our destination August 1st, unless I can negotiate with family housing to move in slightly earlier. Orientation as a TA starts August 2 and my kids start school August 10. We have several stops that are an average of 6 hours driving time between each. This breaks the drive up into nice manageable chunks and gives us the chance to see far flung places and people.

[Spriteling]

Avoiding doing anything related to maths or physics for the four months I'll have of summer holidays. I was extremely close to burning out after last summer (where I spend the whole time doing full-time research) so I know that I really need to take a break and have some time to destress and prepare myself for the coming four years.

I plan on visiting my girlfriend, going to South Africa, spending time with my family, and reading lots and lots of books!

[coffeeplease]

I'm planning to learn French, go to the gym regularly, and read by the pool.

Of course, I've been telling myself I'll work out every day for months now...hopefully this time it will take.

[abc123xtc]

I might be taking summer courses online to catch up with my program. I minored in sociology in college, and I'm going to grad school for sociology. There are a few classes I didn't take in undergrad that I might have to make up before attending graduate school in the fall.

[shaxmaty1848]

I'm planning to learn French, go to the gym regularly, and read by the pool.

This! I'll see you there...

[Frostfire]

I'll either be moving or working/looking for work. It all depends how the applications go.

[coonskee]

I'm quitting my current lab in June/July (can't decide which yet - need to balance how much I need money with how much I want a break!), and going to spend the summer casually reading through some POIs' research (the program I'm going to attend does rotations), plus doing a lot of non-science-related reading, since I know I won't have a whole lot of time to do so once I'm living in a lab.

[laviola]

Praying that I can find a job NOW so I can save up for the summer, because I actually spend July and some of August in LA with my family. My first choice is in Vancouver, which is actually close-ish to LA, so if I got in, I'd go before mid July to get settled and figure out housing. The rest of my summer and these next few months are being spent trying to save up for it.

I'm also definitely gonna try to do an internship while there, I know some people who can get me something. Otherwise, just doing some fiction reading, writing, video development (all stuff that actually contributes to my hopeful degree), as well as getting into shape. I was really in shape before I left to LA a month ago but came back and now I've regressed, so that's also a top priority.

Also, if I'm lucky enough, I'll get some opportunity at a media station here in Canada. I know a couple of major journalists, so I need to try to set that up.

[verdalantreas]

Depends on the funding and admits situation. If I get full funding at one of my top choices, apart from a few weeks at home, I will be spending at least a month on some remote island doing absolutely nothing at all, apart from socializing, reading and enjoying nature.

Also I'll probably be moving into whatever city I will be going to, at least 2 weeks in advance, so I can settle in, without the hurry.

Until then, I'll probably keep working in my current job, and if I get no funding, or want to go for another round, count out the summer holiday, and it will all be work, and work, and work

Edited February 27, 2012 by verdalantreas

[koolherc]

brush up on my foreign langs. do some taiqi or gongfu. hopefully find a non-profit teaching type job. read books. paint

Edited February 27, 2012 by koolherc

[alicejcw]

Hopefully I can do a lot of nothing for a week or two after graduation, maybe take a road trip with my boyfriend to Northern California to visit friends and family. Whether or not I get in anywhere I'm planning to be a live-in nanny for my sister in Colorado - take care of my awesome nieces, do some hiking and camping, go to Telluride Bluegrass Festival, help out in my sister and brother-in-law's scooter shop, etc. Maybe take an online course or two if I want to knock out some more prerequisites. This plan would be particularly awesome if I get into Boulder because then I'd already be in the state to go scope out places to live, familiarize myself with the area, etc.

Unfortunately I don't hear from my programs for at least another couple of weeks, and I HATE not being able to plan waaaay ahead of time for every little detail. Six months before the beginning of the school year? Of course it's not too early for me to stalk Craigslist for apartments!

[guttata]

I've got a job kayaking around saltmarshes working on birds for US Fish and Wildlife. A little nervous about the dates - unless I get into the school that's on quarters, I'll have a week or two at most to drive home from the job (14hrs), pack, and move to the grad school (anywhere from 8-32 hrs away)!

But it's a nice diversion - no pressure data collection, fun stuff that I mostly know how to do but will keep my skill set fresh for my own research.

[Julianne Pigoon]

Go to the beach about 1,000 times before we pick up and move somewhere without one. I'll have to wait on applications still to see where that'll be, but most likely there will not be an ocean.

Spend time with my partner and children not feeling like there must be SOMETHING I should be doing. Read for pleasure and interest. Bake, sew, draw, bicycle. Birthday month of reckoning (me--3rd of August, son--4th of August, stepdaughter--9th of August).