Plans for the Summer?

[Monochrome Spring]

In an ideal situation, this summer I'll start field work in Costa Rica, picking out plots and identifying which species I'll research.

 

In a semi-ideal situation, I'll spend the summer traveling Central America, scuba diving, hiking, and reading.

 

In a less-ideal situation, without any admits, I'll still spend the summer hiking and reading, but I'll also be applying to the Peace Corps to work in environmental education in Central and South America.

 

Regardless of what happens, I'm happy with any of those scenarios.

[lbp2488]

Quit my job and travel! 

 

Same plan here. Oh god, I want to travel almost as badly as I want to go to grad school next year. I've been working in a job that is not a good fit for me since I graduated in 2010, and I have built up such a longing to be back in an academic environment and for the opportunity to travel more than 2 weeks a year! I've I don't get in anywhere, I will think seriously about my options and leave this job anyway.

[doobiebrothers]

teach arabic in morocco, inshallah. if i get accepted, move to my fave city in late august and prepare for the years ahead. If i get rejected, either move to israel to do an MA in jewish theology or stay in morocco and teach englsh

[efs001]

I graduated in 2012 and have been working so I'll probably quit my job in June (if I get in to grad school).  I plan on traveling around the country and visiting my friends.  If I get rejected, I'll just keep on working.

[pearcema]

Quit my job and travel! 

 

Same!  My boyfriend and I are planning the stereotypical backpack across Europe trip the first half of the summer.  We'll move the second half of the summer and get settled in.  

[somanyphage]

no matter the outcome of my applications, i will be celebrating the fact that i have have completed my undergrad degree with 170 credits and have worked simultaneously in two labs. finally having a much needed vacation

[Aenrichus]

Mini retirement. Starting in April, I will be island hopping. Okinawa, Langkawi, Maldives, Hainan. One month each, before returning to the States in August. I hope to finish writing a novel, get into better shape, and improve my cooking skills. If I am accepted, I will read academic articles on the beach. If I am not, I will try to launch my own company from the beach.

 

Either way, beach.

[gellert]

I'll finish my current contract at my research job, and then I think I'll go on a trip to Israel.  Maybe take an entire week off for my little sister's graduation (5 hr flight away) as well, instead of just a weekend.  

 

I'll only have a "summer" of 20 days, though, between the end date of my current job and the start of grad school, if I attend my top choice (which I've been accepted to, so, uh, yeah).

[TheGirlWhoLived]

I've decided I'm going to backpack Europe. Planning the trip has been super frustrating though, and it's been super hard to get other people to commit when everyone is in school or starting 'real life.' If anyone is interested in traveling, let me know 

[gingin6789]

I expect to be doing more of the same of what I'm doing now.  I'm basically my grandmother's caretaker here at home, and I get about 10 hours per week at my part-time retail job.

 

I'm an awkward December graduate, so I have this chunk of 8 months or so before I go back to school.

 

If I get rejected from all three places?  I did mention in the "If I don't get accepted, I'll ... " thread that I'll likely retake the GRE and try to find a better job before reapplying for 2015.

[glm]

In an ideal situation, this summer I'll start field work in Costa Rica, picking out plots and identifying which species I'll research.

 

In a semi-ideal situation, I'll spend the summer traveling Central America, scuba diving, hiking, and reading.

 

In a less-ideal situation, without any admits, I'll still spend the summer hiking and reading, but I'll also be applying to the Peace Corps to work in environmental education in Central and South America.

 

Regardless of what happens, I'm happy with any of those scenarios.

 

All these options sound wonderful. What region in Costa Rica would you be doing field work?

[Monochrome Spring]

All these options sound wonderful. What region in Costa Rica would you be doing field work?

Guanacaste and La Selva. I'm looking at doing plant community ecology across dry and wet forest types, so these make for an ideal location.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I found a sports bar in Alaska that hires workers for the summer. You get paid and housing and food is free. It's tempting. It's 4 months long. I could save up about 4k to move in September for grad school.

[AwesomeBird]

Live.

[skyentist]

Trying to go to the Stans (Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, etc.) My parents think I will captured by the Taliban. But at least I have a better chance of surviving being captured and brutally tortured by the Taliban than I do making it through a engineering PhD program.

[maelia8]

I'll be in Germany until my job contract ends on June 30th, so after that, it's back to the US to spend a month with my family in Oregon (I've been living, working, and traveling overseas for the past two years, so going home is my idea of a good vacation right now). 

 

My program starts on August 20th, so I'm probably going to have to spend the six weeks before that going through all that crap I have stored at my parents' place because I promised that after this move I'll have nothing at their house anymore (looking forward to going through my 2,000 books and getting rid of almost all of them … ugh). My university is six hours away from my hometown, so I'll probably go down there a couple of times to look at apartments and try to find a place to move into by August 1st or 15th. 

 

If there's time, I want to read over my thesis and some of my favorite secondary sources again to "get back in the mood" (I'm two years out of undergrad), keep up on learning French (my secondary grad school language), and do some hiking and rafting (because Oregon is an awesome place to do this).

[AwesomeBird]

I found a sports bar in Alaska that hires workers for the summer. You get paid and housing and food is free. It's tempting. It's 4 months long. I could save up about 4k to move in September for grad school.

I wanna go..

[restill]

I've been accepted for a PhD at the school that I'm currently finishing my MSc. I'm in geology, so I'll be teaching field school out in the western U.S. this summer! I'm pretty excited.

 

I've also been waitlisted at another school that's closer to home, so if I get in there...well, I'll still be celebrating at field camp.

 

If I was not accepted to either school, I would have dropped everything, moved to California or Hawaii to learn to surf. I'm ALMOST sad this is no longer going to happen.

[secfh18]

I think I'm going to spend the summer training for that marathon I've always wanted to run! Being rejected from everywhere I applied to last year gave me some insight that my applications weren't that great since I was too involved with school, working in a lab, and varsity athletics. So I spent last summer working my ass off (80+ hour weeks at 3 different jobs) so I could spend this last year volunteering in a lab, taking some courses as a non-degree student, and working on applications! Looking back, I'm so happy I was rejected last year- not only was I completely worn down by undergrad, but I also gained huge insight into my interests this year and made some great contacts! I am in a much better place this year, and feel much more comfortable beginning in a 3 year program!

 

And since I've worked every day since I turned 16, I think I will take a much needed break before becoming a slave to grad school. I see days at the beach, reading for pleasure as much as I can, and binge watching netflix in my future. Maybe I'll get a little crazy and take a vacation with my family somewhere tropical. I don't plan on moving to my uni town until august- want to savor my time left with my family and SO before moving halfway across the country!

 

And to all those who didn't/won't get in this year- talking from experience, don't give up; it will happen if you keep trying!

[Huntsman]

After working internships my final 3 summers of college, and another one this spring. I decided to take the summer off, and bought a ticket to Europe and am just gonna see what happens. I'll be there about 7 weeks, and I cannot wait to go! With grad school starting next fall this might be my last good chance to just up and go somewhere for a really extended vacation, which is something I have always wanted to do. We are only young once, and there is more to life then just work and school. I hope everyone takes some time to take advatage of the awesome freedom that we have as students before "real life" begins!