What should i do in my year off??

[SpiritBender]

Hello everyone i am new on here so if this is in the wrong section ill move it sorry, i recently got into Pepperdine for my masters in Gen Psy but i deferred it for a year to wait for my girlfriend to finish her degree my question is what can i do to prepare for grad school next year in psychology? So far ive been rereading all of my undergrad text books(i kept all of them stupid book store wants to give me 36 dollars for a 200 dollar brand new psy book yea right!) but i am breezing through these books and i feel like i could be doing more with my time. Any advice on books or something to practice to make the MA program next year easier?

[liszt85]

Get some coding skills if you already don't have some. You will have to code up experiments for your PhD work and some coding experience won't hurt. Python would be a good place to start.

Learn to use statistical packages better. SAS, R, MATLAB, whatever suits you.

Brush up concepts of probability.

Read general stuff.. pick up research papers that look interesting and browse through them.. be aware of what's going on. This would be the perfect time to do all the fun reading. Once you start your MA/PhD, you will have time only for coursework the first couple of years.

[psychgrad]

Hello everyone i am new on here so if this is in the wrong section ill move it sorry, i recently got into Pepperdine for my masters in Gen Psy but i deferred it for a year to wait for my girlfriend to finish her degree my question is what can i do to prepare for grad school next year in psychology? So far ive been rereading all of my undergrad text books(i kept all of them stupid book store wants to give me 36 dollars for a 200 dollar brand new psy book yea right!) but i am breezing through these books and i feel like i could be doing more with my time. Any advice on books or something to practice to make the MA program next year easier?

REST! Do things for fun! clear your mind! grad school doesn't leave much time for that and you don't want to feel burnt out when you get there (that's how I felt...)

[LaurenA]

STATS STATS STATS!

This is the one thing I wish I had brushed up on before I started my M.A. program. The more you get before starting the program, the better (and easier) your life will be, prob. for several years! See if you can sit in a grad psych class, or get a basic and a multivariate books.

[MissRyan]

I would relax and do something fun! If you wanted to stay fresh, i would browse journal articles in your subject of interest...you will most likely be reading scholarly articles rather than texts. You should still have access to your online database from undergrad (PsycINFO, science direct, PsycARTICLES, etc..)

If you really want to be an overachiever, you can familiarize yourself with SPSS and stats in general...You will need to learn what statistical analysis is appropriate for certain kinds of data sets. Also, concepts such as validity and reliability...maybe check out "Standards"...

Good Luck..

[taiwanadian]

You can also try volunteering at a lab you're interested in at your school (new, old, or something nearby). It'll keep your mind going especially if the lab has weekly lab meetings to discuss articles and etc.. It can also teach you new research techniques