meep15 Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 I'm graduating from undergrad in May, and will have until late August or Sept. before Grad School starts (assuming I get into a school ). Have the opportunity to travel for a week immediately after graduation to Israel. I recently got rejected from two internships, and am waiting to hear back from 1 more. Looking for more to apply to. Have also started to apply for several retail/restaurant jobs in my college town (SE Ohio), hometown (suburb of Cleveland), and where some of the grad schools I've applied to are (NYC). Depending on where I'm accepted, and what I choose, I'll also need to move. How much time should be dedicated to this process? What did/are you going to do for the summer before grad school begins?
likemythesis Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 As little as possible, hopefully. I've spent the last three summers crammed in a tiny kitchen, making chicken tenders and fries with 99 degree temps inside, so my desire to go back is nonexistent. Maybe I'll actually have the energy to work out, read a book, learn how to braid my own hair without looking dumb. The little things~ My father is pushing me to move to where I'm going to be for grad school maybe early July and just stay in someone's summer sublet. That way I can get used to the town and not have to decide on an apartment sight unseen. I'm not sure though. I was in state to undergrad so taking a leap of faith like that still sits uneasy with me, but maybe by July I'll be more than ready to leave.
fuzzylogician Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 I worked right up until the move. I don't recommend it. If you can, do fun things that are not related to school or studying. Travel to different places, hang out with friends, relax on a warm beach, read some fiction. Things will get very busy once school starts and you'll miss all these activities. If you've gone straight from high school to college and now on to graduate school, an internship in industry could be eye-opening. I think it's important to have experiences other than school at some point, so this may be a good time (or else, the summer after your 1st/2nd year because it's also a lot of work). As for moving to the new city, there are advantages and disadvantages. It's good to get to know the city and get settled in, and it helps to go apartment hunting when you're already there and have some familiarity with the city. However, if you're going to be all alone you may end up being lonely until the semester starts and you meet new friends. It doesn't actually take that long to get settled into a new place, in my opinion. A week should be enough, and two months sound like way too much time. CageFree 1
MsDarjeeling Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 The summer before I started my MA I worked, volunteered, saw family/friends, and started cutting my budget. Nothing super exciting, but I'm not the type to just sit around lol.
MadtownJacket Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 Good question. I was planning on leaving work on April 30th to spend all summer in Colorado, but my employer basically begged me to stay longer so I'm not sure what my plans are for the summer. I also may have an opportunity to get a summer research job with UNC, but that's not a guarantee. All I know is that I don't plan on working up until grad school starts. I need to relax and get bored so that I have motivation to study and whatnot.
NuclearFlea Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 I am wanting to travel after graduation but sadly none of my friends are graduating with me and they aren't the types to want to travel even if they were. I am thinking costa rica, or somewhere in Europe. I speak Spanish but I want to experience a new culture as well. Maybe scandanavia. Or maybe one of those English teaching gigs, but it has nothing to do with my field because I'm going into an engineering phd.
meep15 Posted February 22, 2014 Author Posted February 22, 2014 I worked right up until the move. I don't recommend it. If you can, do fun things that are not related to school or studying. Travel to different places, hang out with friends, relax on a warm beach, read some fiction. Things will get very busy once school starts and you'll miss all these activities. If you've gone straight from high school to college and now on to graduate school, an internship in industry could be eye-opening. I think it's important to have experiences other than school at some point, so this may be a good time (or else, the summer after your 1st/2nd year because it's also a lot of work). As for moving to the new city, there are advantages and disadvantages. It's good to get to know the city and get settled in, and it helps to go apartment hunting when you're already there and have some familiarity with the city. However, if you're going to be all alone you may end up being lonely until the semester starts and you meet new friends. It doesn't actually take that long to get settled into a new place, in my opinion. A week should be enough, and two months sound like way too much time. I am completing my BA within 3 years (thanks to high school AP credits), so I could go either way with a break. It would be nice to travel more than just a week, but finances could be an issue (especially since I don't drive at all). Depending on what my boyfriend can find (audio/music production), he'll come with me so it won't be as lonely. However, we're also fully prepared to do long-distance.
vityaz Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 I'm starting grad school in September, and I currently only work weekends and can take time off whenever needed. I'm in a pretty good financial situation right now so I'm going to be doing a lot of travelling. Several weeks in Europe plus some shorter trips I've been wanting to do for a while.
spectastic Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 see the before grad school bucklist thread. set some goals for yourself that you want to accomplish while you're still in your 20s, and get after it. I'm going to leave myself a good chunk of time to travel before I move. Europe is the #1 place I've always wanted to visit. If I can find a good friend who's planning his vacation similarly, then that'd be even better. Money is money, there's plenty of that later in life. While it's important to save, and get started on that 401k, I consider this period of time to be one that's worth cherishing
kyjin Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 The summer between my MA and PhD I relaxed and enjoyed a small break for a couple months. Visited friends, saw family, went to some concerts, etc. It was a wonderful way to detox after finishing my thesis and not worrying too much about my cross-country move. I ended up moving a couple months before my program started, but only because I was doing a language program at the University. Luckily, I was given housing for that program, so used that as a base of operations to find an apartment and what-not. By the time it ended, I had an apartment, and then spent a couple weeks with my mother visiting to help me get the apartment setup, get a car, figure out the area, and relax! TL;DR: Try to relax as much as you can. You're going to need it Imaginary and meep15 2
PhDerp Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 I took on an extra job to save up for this summer, and... I'm going to Europe!! And my SO gets to come with me because he just happens to have a weird schedule where he can take ~2 weeks off by only calling out for 3 days of work. I kind of love his job. (I've been overseas once to London for a few days to visit my sister, but she just took me to bars and wouldn't let me hang out with anyone my age, when none of her friends wanted to talk to me... Not to be a brat, but I didn't appreciate the visit so much. And my dad was hospitalized while we were there. Not a phenomenal trip. ...So I'm not counting that trip, and calling this my first time traveling overseas instead! ) When I get back, I'm either gonna to a 2-mo internship in the Boston area (I want to see it more before I leave MA), and if I don't find any I like, I'll just keep working at my research lab. Then in August, either just chilling and getting things together, or if possible, making a cross-country road trip to get to my school. I have worked my butt off for years... Either full-time summer work, or multiple jobs while being a full-time student. I want to put some vacation in my summer this year!
ihatepencils Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 My one admit so far needs me to go to a 2 week TA workshop before classes start....so I should be moved in late July if I go there! I'm taking a week trip to canada for a music festival and hopefully a road trip somewhere in the summer too. The rest of it will be spending time with my beloved home town before I have to say goodbye!
LittleDarlings Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 Work and make money and date cute guys:) and hopefully go to a ton of country concerts with a cutie. That's my summer goals even though I think working will make that so hard:/
juilletmercredi Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 How much time you need to move depends on how much stuff you have to move, but generally, I would say moving doesn't take more than a weekend. It also depends on how much you have to unpack and whether you have to buy new furniture, and whether you want to get it all done before you begin or are willing to spread it out. When I first moved to NYC I had two suitcases, that was it. I bought furniture after I got there (about a month after, because my program paid me late). I did nothing the summer before grad school started. I was coming straight from undergrad, too, so I saved up some money during the school year and lived in my parents' house for the first time since I moved out. I read a lot of books, slept a lot, saw some friends, etc.
toasterazzi Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 I'll be working, getting married and moving...mostly in that order lol.
meep15 Posted February 24, 2014 Author Posted February 24, 2014 How much time you need to move depends on how much stuff you have to move, but generally, I would say moving doesn't take more than a weekend. It also depends on how much you have to unpack and whether you have to buy new furniture, and whether you want to get it all done before you begin or are willing to spread it out. When I first moved to NYC I had two suitcases, that was it. I bought furniture after I got there (about a month after, because my program paid me late). I did nothing the summer before grad school started. I was coming straight from undergrad, too, so I saved up some money during the school year and lived in my parents' house for the first time since I moved out. I read a lot of books, slept a lot, saw some friends, etc. I can see myself doing the same thing, but would like something constructive to do too...
gellert Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 I'll be working up until 20 days before grad school starts, but I'm hoping to go abroad during those 20 days, so hopefully it won't be too stressful.
engphiledu Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 Still waiting on word from graduate schools, and from what I have heard, what you do with the summer before your grad. program partially depends on your program focus as well as personal inclinations. Personally, my fiance and I hope to hear from graduate schools soon, start researching the areas for living arrangements for those schools which we are accepted, and start pouring into recommended reading lists for our subject areas. I think that is particularly helpful for those in the humanities (English, philosophy, history, etc.), especially since we will have cumulative exams which will test our knowledge of the classics, even those outside of our focus area. My roommate who is attending Kansas State for mathematics spent the summer at a graduate school boot camp in Florida for statistics. She said that was probably the best decision she made, though she hated it at the time. Many of my science-oriented friends look out for internships for the summer before grad. school. I also have been submitting abstracts and papers to conferences, so attending some of those conferences will be on the schedule for the summer as well. I would highly recommend conference submission or attendance as it is a great professional development, resume-building, and networking experience. There are conferences for all areas of study, though I mostly check call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu and philevents.org for listings. Other than that, the big deal will be finding a place to live, moving in, and becoming acclimated to the campus. My fiance and I are hoping to drive out to the schools that accepted us as soon as we hear word to help us with the decision-making. We're getting married in August, so I guess that might be something else one could do before grad. school! meep15 1
Faraday Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 (edited) I did research right up until I moved to grad school. I saw all the advice that said, "Don't work, take it easy" and scoffed it off, but they were right. I wouldn't reccomend it. In my case I got paid quite well for my summer research which helped mitigate the lack of a break somewhat but if I could go back I would still do it differently. Enjoy every single moment you an while you have almost no cares in the world! If you really want to make money work somewhere fun. Edited February 25, 2014 by Faraday
PhDerp Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 I'll be working, getting married and moving...mostly in that order lol. Congrats!! Hope it's awesome!!
toasterazzi Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Thanks! It's not going to be a giant extravaganza, but we're pretty excited about it episkey and PhDerp 2
DeafAudi Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 (edited) I really would like to work as a counselor at a camp for special needs children this summer. The catch is that it only pays minimum wage and my parents would NOT be happy about my giving up my fairly good paying job and a chance to save money for school. I might have to settle for volunteering as much as I can. Edited February 25, 2014 by DeafAudi
meep15 Posted February 25, 2014 Author Posted February 25, 2014 Ideally, I'd like to continue working at a DV shelter in my college town, but I think I'll need to work as well, just to try to save up as much as I can. But my dad wouldn't be too happy if I didn't come home this summer too, especially if I move out of state. I haven't spent a summer home since my senior year of high school...
oceanlover Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 I've planned a trip for myself this summer; I've been wanting to visit Africa for as long as I can remember and finally made the commitment. One week after undergraduate graduation I am leaving to backpack through Africa for 5 weeks! Literally cannot wait, I've had internships the past 3 summers and can't wait to relaxed. I booked through a travel company and already put down the deposit so no backing out now!! Hopefully I get in somewhere for grad school though, I spent the majority of my savings on this trip and will have no plan AND no money if i get rejected. ravenray, Mauve23 and glm 3
PhDerp Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 I've planned a trip for myself this summer; I've been wanting to visit Africa for as long as I can remember and finally made the commitment. One week after undergraduate graduation I am leaving to backpack through Africa for 5 weeks! Literally cannot wait, I've had internships the past 3 summers and can't wait to relaxed. I booked through a travel company and already put down the deposit so no backing out now!! Hopefully I get in somewhere for grad school though, I spent the majority of my savings on this trip and will have no plan AND no money if i get rejected. I hope you get in, too, because that trip sounds amazing!!! Do you have a plan? Any particular countries on your list?
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