Summer Plans

[Guest Guest]

Now that you've been accepted and you've decided where to attend, what are you planning to do until your program begins? Will you be working to supplement your stipend (or pay for your tuition)? Will you get a head start on the material or review things you learned in undergrad? Will you take the summer off as your last opportunity to relax before years of hard work? Are you looking forward to this summer, or do you wish you were doing something else?

[Guest guest]

I have to finish my MSc thesis work, defend it in July, and then hand in the final copy. Oh, and there is still so much work to be done!

With a bit of luck I am having August off, and will try to have some holiday before starting school again in September. I'll try to go to Thailand then, and I hope it will be enough to relax a bit. Going back to school tired is probably not a good idea.

I am saving up for the trip in the meantime. Working 60 hr a week in the lab, doesn't give me much opportunity to go out and spend money, unless you consider the coffee consumed.

[shellybe]

I have to find a job to pay bills until I get my first stipend check in August or September. I have a great job now so I'm sad that I have to quit to move to the city my grad program is in and get a most likely crappy job. I hope I don't end up working at Mcdonalds but that's a definite possibility. i have 3 years experience in fast food, so it's not so bad really. definitely better than walmart--i used to work there too.

I'm also going to try to do lots of reading so I feel more comfortable about not majoring in what I'll be studying. I don't want to behind everyone else in my cohort right off the bat.

[meridionale]

I'm moving to the city at the end of May, and hopefully I can find a good part time job for the summer! I've already met some of the grad students, so I am looking forward to meeting more this summer.

[Capriccio]

I'm tutoring some high school guys and gals. It keeps me busy for the rest months before taking off to the US. 8) I decided to spend summer with my parents and girl friend, since once I get to the US, it can take years to meet them again. :? (Hopefully, I can visit them annually )

[Guest Debating]

I'll be going back to Europe to be a beach bum all summer long 8). And I'll be spending time with my family, who I haven't seen in over a year (I have no hopes to visit them annually, if it didn't work out during undergrad, I don't see it happening during grad school).

[Bianca]

I make money translating documents for UN organizations in my coutnry and they pay great money so I don't have to work my ass off these remaining months. plus I have some savings and full funding when I start my phd.

so, I'll be having fun all summer long!!! 10 days in Berlin, 2-3 weeks on a car tour around Turkey, one week in a city in Serbia that hosts one of the greatest music festivals in this part of Europe and a couple of short trips to Greece (which is only a 2hrs drive from where I live).

but first, today the sun is shining after 2 weeks of rain and I'm planing to party all weekend long

[Guest graduate student]

I am sort of impatient to start my program and get through it, and am not really looking forward to the summers in between. I've had enough free summers. If any of you are in grad school, do you usually work on your research through the summers? That is what I would prefer to do, though I am in the humanities, and I wonder if that is harder. I have known grad students who have taken summer jobs teaching high school, summer language programs etc for the extra money, but I would really like to work through the summers if possible. Anyone else feel the same way? What do you plan to do about it?

[Guest kn0519]

I'll be continuing with my internship over the summer that'll be helpful once I start my program since they're in the same field. Other than that, I'm going to continue to work full-time and save as much as I can so I can have a little something to take with me to grad school.

[basille]

It pretty much involves a couch and me gaining about 5 or 10 pounds through the ingestion of snacks and various calorie-laden beverages. I really need a break from anything intense. 8)

[duckrabbit]

Can't decide -- but it's exciting just reading about people's plans! Have fun, those of you who are taking time off, travelling, and sitting in front of TV!!!

I'm torn between my desire for money and my desire for relaxation and catching up on reading/preparing for the fall. Matters are complicated by the fact that I'd love to see my friends, but they are about 3000 miles away, so visiting them requires money I haven't got unless I work all summer (and if I work all summer, I won't have time to visit).

[PETRAL6]

I am too lazy too move twice over the summer.... did it last summer and not doing it again. So, I'm moving in June, finding a job and subletting the other room until my friend comes in August. I hope I find a job and a sublet-er or my brilliant plan is foiled. Silly how much I will go through to not have to move twice isn't it?

[pistolwink]

I'm going to England for a couple of weeks (I lived there for five months last year), then spending time with my family since I'll be moving away for at least 7 years and most likely many more. I might try to get some reading lists from my department since I'm coming from an undergraduate major different from the field I'm entering, but I doubt I'll actually do much work. I need a break between the mad work of this year and what's to come starting in the fall.

[Guest Debating]

Glad to see I won't be the only person slacking off this summer, I got worried for a minute

[Guest guest]

when I asked my advisor at the program I will be attending about what to do over the summer in order to prepare she said: 'TAKE A VACATION".

[Guest guest]

I'm going to Vegas, backpacking with my friends through Europe, family trip, then being a beach bum until I have to move to the east coast. After not taking any summers off throughout my undergrad, I figured it's time to take a break. I figured it'll be awhile until I actually get another summer off. Plus, I'm really sad to be leaving Cali so I'll be enjoying every last moment I have here.

[Guest guest]

I'm going for an internship related to my field/research for two months, and then I have all of August off to return to an old job for a bit, take walks, and watch a lot of stupid TV!

[rising_star]

Wow! Am I the only one thinking about doing a funded summer program to get up to speed in my discipline? Well, I haven't committed to it for sure but it is mighty appealing at this point.

[Guest guest]

I am sort of impatient to start my program and get through it, and am not really looking forward to the summers in between. I've had enough free summers. If any of you are in grad school, do you usually work on your research through the summers? That is what I would prefer to do, though I am in the humanities, and I wonder if that is harder. I have known grad students who have taken summer jobs teaching high school, summer language programs etc for the extra money, but I would really like to work through the summers if possible. Anyone else feel the same way? What do you plan to do about it?

I feel the same way, but I'm not sure what I'll do about it yet. I've always worked during the summers and I've always wished that I could take classes during the summers so I could finish sooner (couldn't because my scholarship wouldn't pay for summer courses). I hope that I can take classes for free during the summers in my program and even have an assistantship during the summers...but I'll have to wait to see how things are there. I'm going to visit my department in about 5 weeks and then I will ask a lot of questions! I guess if assistantships/courses aren't options, I will find a job a do a lot of reading/research.

[Guest d00d]

i'm getting high and traveling and having as good a time as possible before grad school.

[karenwog]

i'm working at my part time job still but taking 2 week vacations in May (nyc and boston), June (north carolina beach), and July(aspen) (all of these were planned over a year ago). then i'm moving in august and hoping that i can make it work with all loans!

[Fiddler_Crab]

I finished my undergrad a quarter early. Right now I am TAing biology. This summer I am taking time OFF!

[fizz]

I really only have a month between my late-June commencement and mid-August report date, so I imagine I won't be doing much. Probably heading back to my parents' house, maybe temping at dad's office (horrible nepotism over there... tsk tsk :? ).

[LanthyPhair]

I'm working up until two weeks before orientation...just like I've been doing for the last 10 years, since undergrad.

Being old sucks.

[orgirl]

I'm employed in my old university as a Research Assistant. It's hectic because we write papers and think of new things to do research on, but it will at least give me more research experience. I've also been reading up on a lot of books on my field to supplement my future research. I might think of taking a vacation to Europe soon, once I save enough money.