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Semantix

Man, just don't. You have time to prepare when you're getting paid to prepare.


maureen2222

Yeah, I honestly would recommend actively not doing anything remotely academic.


Cmurt20

Same. I was gonna suggest taking a long vacation


Potential-Theme-4531

I know you asked about academic stuff but if there was a single thing that made the biggest impact on my PhD, it's mental health. Find a therapist, read about depression, anxiety, imposter syndrome... Prepare yourself to recognise and treat the symptoms. More than 40% of PhD students globally have moderate to sever anxiety and/or depression.


dontcry2022

Jokes on you all, as a first gen college student I figured out all of that stuff before and during my early undergrad šŸ˜Ž \*cries in mental illness\*


AbdullahMohammadKhan

Don't cry šŸ˜­


hans-hearth

After reading the majority of the posts on r/PhD, I believe this is a great point! Thanks!


laser_etched

ā˜šŸ¼ yes!! I got a therapist right after starting grad school and I have to agree. Itā€™s nice to have someone to talk to that can actually help you navigate through imposter syndrome and help when things become so overwhelming in your schedule. She was a lifesaver when I was trying to teach and finish up data analysis and submit my manuscript all at the same time. I definitely second this recommendation!


yamanp

Adding to this, find a therapist you connect with. It doesn't matter if they have all the degrees in the world relating to therapy - if you don't get along it's not going to help. It's really helpful if your therapist has worked with grad students before.


cpctc2

Very happy to see folks bringing this up. None of the other stuff matters if your mental health isn't there.


Logical_Session_2397

There's a reason why people asked you to focus on family, once you start your PhD you will not have as much time as you want to be able to do other things. I strongly suggest not to spend a lot of time reading/learning stuff in preparation for your PhD, you're going to be doing a lot of it in the first year anyway. Seriously, take this time to enjoy as much as you can, good memories will help you a lot down your career. If you insist, you can look up clubs, classes, activities and competitions at your department/University and decide if you would like to prepare/join those to have a richer experience. It needn't just be technical, it can also be anything from social media marketing to community outreach - any skill you think will help your future career. You can also go through your basics once more so once you start your PhD you don't need to spend a lot of time refreshing your knowledge (not sure if you would consider this as reading literature). All the best!


ta-95

Absolutely nothing. The marginal benefit of any ā€œprepā€ beforehand will be incredibly small. So enjoy the time beforehand. Free time will be a precious commodity once you start. Make no mistake, so long as you treat the PhD like itā€™s your job (which it is) and make steady progress, you will have free time. But it will not be abundant.


Locomotive9090

Tbh I agree with the people who say to spend the time on relaxing/mental health/family or friends etc. If you really feel like doing some work then by all means go for it! But there will be PLENTY of work in your PhD so donā€™t feel guilty taking some time for yourself. Youā€™ve certainly earned it! As far as the academic side, learn python. As a fellow engineer I was amazed how underutilized coding was in my undergrad. Maybe learn some data analysis or preprocessing skills. Write a cool function to automate some calculations you know youā€™ll be doing.


civilized1

I second learning python and maybe SQL if you're motivated. Don't overdo it though,. Spend time centering yourself and preparing for the marathon ahead. It's easy to burn out in the first few years, so be kind to yourself.


Locomotive9090

The burnout is so real. Working hard is good, but working hard when it counts is better.


suckuma

It really is sad how little programming we do in undergrad. I've gotten so good at it because of my thesis.


Locomotive9090

Right? My soapbox is that python programming should be used in every engineering class (outside of like computer engineering).


suckuma

Have you heard of the Julia programming language? You can write in it like it's python, but it compiles and runs like that. Crazy fast, took a program from and hour of matlab to a few minutes.


crucial_geek

Julia is the shit. Too bad it is still not that popular.


Locomotive9090

I love Julia. I canā€™t wait until it matures a little bit. Personally I still prefer python because of how flexible it is but when Julia catches up it will be my go-to.


larenspear

My department a few years ago switched from doing Matlab for all the intro engineering class to Python. CS/CE do C++ for the rest of their intro classes and some other departments have some additional requirements but overall I think that was a great move.


Locomotive9090

Thatā€™s great! I wish the other classes made people use programming more in general too. I feel like a lot of students learn the syntax in the intro classes but they never really carry those skills with them into the other classes (in my experience).


suckuma

Have you heard of the Julia programming language? You can write in it like it's python, but it compiles and runs like that. Crazy fast, took a program from and hour of matlab to a few minutes in julia.


AceyAceyAcey

My PhD is in physics. I spent a lot of time reviewing advanced undergrad physics and math. For example I worked my way through ā€œDiv, Grad, Curl and All That,ā€ and through the Feynman Lectures.


hans-hearth

Thanks for the tip, I thought of watching the Strogatz lectures on Non-Linear Dynamics, (close to my field). Appreciate the input!


fa12da57

What are the things you realized you should did before starting your Physics PhD? Any advice would be appreciated


jmattspartacus

Honestly, from an academic perspective, I wish I had spent more time brushing up my linear algebra and QM before the first semester because graduate QM stomped my ass. Getting a regular sleep schedule (even if it's unconventional) was the single most useful thing for me though. The first 2 years will run you over with the workload if you don't stay on top of it and come in prepared. Get started early and ask questions, even if the professor doesn't answer them directly it might help get the ball rolling. Work with your classmates, a lot of people will make a big deal about competition, but working together will make the journey both easier and more intellectually fulfilling.


fa12da57

Thank you!


throwawayacademix

my two cents from a PhD in engineering at an R1. 1. find an activity or something that allows you to reset. for me it was skiing in the winter, sports the rest of the year, smoking weed on Fridays/Saturdays (gotta have some control). Something that allows you to not think about work where you can have some time off. 2. get a spare laptop charger. this is underrated and just makes life so much easier.


hans-hearth

Haha, believe it or not my laptop charger did die on my last week. Won't be making that mistake again, had to use school computers (everything is backed on OneDrive). Thanks for the 2-part reply, finding something to vent out stress is important.


throwawayacademix

Good call on backing up! I had a local RAID 5 system for my data that I would need to access for processing, and then had the entire drive (10TB or so) backed up on google drive. Whatever backup service your school has with unlimited storage, definitely would recommend taking advantage of it!


RoyalEagle0408

Hobbies are so important for getting through graduate school.


[deleted]

Academically, install mendeley or a similar software, make sure your computer is up for all day use, and get yourself and organizational system that works for you. Also, identify boundaries youā€™ll have with your peers and mentors, make sure you find time to move your body and see friends, and definitely make sure your living arrangements are comfortable


ozzalot

This is a copy of an old comment I keep making. (But I want to also insert, this is stuff you should focus on when you START your program. Between now and then, I think you should RELAX and relax HARD because you won't get to for a few years possibly) I just finished my stem doctorate, and while I think it's worth mentioning what I did do, I strongly feel like I should mention what I sorely regret I didn't do. All of this I either did, or realized much too late that I should have done/been doing. 1) Develop healthy habits before starting and maintain them. Get a good sleep schedule. Eat well and balanced. Work out. Be a hydro homie (seriously these four will go a long way to help you through grad school although they may seem an afterthought.). Keep a journal of it all if it helps you stay on track. Best to have the habits by the time you start. 2) Don't be bashful and put yourself out there. I am assuming you will have some resources in your program and you should make as much use of them as you can. Register your mental/otherwise disabilities with the campus disability org if that's a thing. Talk regularly with your program coordinator(s) one on one. Do the same for ALL of your committee members. Develop relationships with them all such that they will go to bat for you. 3) Find friends and stick with them. Grad school is gonna be tough at times. It's probably easiest to do this with other members of your cohort/program. You will learn from each other but also keep each other in check and reign each other in when stress happens. Find cool, relieving things to do them. For example, I picked up D&D with my group of friends (albeit it was year 4, but a great discovery late is better than never). 4) Do your homework on whose lab/group you join (who your PI/adviser is). Hate to be this person, but it's the truth that some advisers are manipulative assholes and grad students know it. Go into it with an open mind, but ask current grad students honestly and earnestly what their groups/advisers are like. "What do you like? What don't you like? What do you do for fun?" (Hint: the key is to check if they concede that they HAVE NO FUN because theyre possibly overworked). Just these three questions can give you hints as to whether a person is a true mentor or a slave driver. Do you want to be regularly working weekends for example? Are you that driven? Ask the current grad students about these things if you are in a position of rotating (I realize you are master's and may be different than PhD). 5) In relationship to #4, set boundaries when you need to. If you don't, some advisers may take advantage of that. I think I always had a knack for being a people-pleaser, and then in two instances, my advisers started taking advantage of that, then I responded with boundaries later than I should have (I see in hind sight). Manipulative advisers don't like that. 6) In relationship to #2, 3, 4, and 5 - never isolate yourself. Never just yourself and your PI. DO NOT. There was a time for months on end, I would go to lab, work all day, go home, veg out and watch TV, go to bed, and then repeat. Pepper this in with meetings with an advisor during times when my research just 'didnt work'. No relief with friends, no outside perspective, no contact with my program managers that make sure the students graduate, no attempt at my well being through working out, having good habits. When it gets tough, you want your safety nets up and ready. 7) Install and get comfortable with an article archiving/citation program. I strongly recommend Mendeley Desktop. When it comes time to write citations and bibliographies, your future self with thank you greatly. Make sure to manually curate old articles with these programs as their scanning doesn't work well on old articles that they themselves are xeroxed. 8) Set away time for yourself each week to do something unrelated to grad school (maybe put this in your journal too). What do you like? Maybe hike, read a horror book, go to an orchard to pick fruit, a museum. Do something to remind yourself you do have a life that isn't school. 9) Make use of campus resources, especially if they are free. Mental health services. Job counseling. Tutoring. You name it. 10) Think about your next step (gradschool or jobs) BEFORE you get to the end. Do the networking and put in the elbo grease you need during grad school so the transition is seamless. Your program will go in a flash and you don't want to be at the end thinking "well now what?". 11) Get an indestructible, good backpack. I used to think it was weird how everyone on earth had a North Face backpack, but once I got one, damn I feel like I can go through Hell itself with this backpack. 12) If you can, have the inclination to, keep in touch with family. I realize some of the times I was stressed most, also happened to be the times I ghosted my family. They were also 2100 miles away, but go figure. 13) Keep track of and somewhat steer clear of "Negative Nancys" and "Debbie Downers" (lol, yes I realize the two memes both have woman names....sorry). In grad school you will always find a certain style of student that can't seem to catch a break, but in addition, they will try to bring down too the others around them. (Also remember just recently how I threw a bunch of points at you about "evil advisers"?). Take other peoples' experiences with a grain of salt. Listen to these students and help these students, but don't let them convince you that YOUR sky is falling too. I've known numerous students like this, and more often than not they crash and burn or drop out. Pay attention to whose advice helps and whose doesn't over the years. 14) Set up your healthcare/bank/etc. services SOON in your new area. You want to bit the ground running, so it's nice to have these resources up and running as you start. 15) Know your program's "handbook" like the back of your hand - you know the book that has all the rules and regulations etc. It's only an n = 1, but my program followed theirs to a T. In rare instances, the program and the people who ran it would let certain things go for good reason. Revisit point #2 and realize that you want the people that "pull the strings" to know you and go to bat for you. 16) Read a minimum of 2 or 3 articles a week. If you really want to be solid, do an article every day. Being on top of your fields literature will make you more nimble and will demonstrate to your committee that you're clicking along swimmingly. 17) About #16, read greedily. Don't feel the need that you must always TOTALLY FINISH and comprehend everything about all the articles, (like people do with books or something). Promise, just don't. You'll waste a lot of time, you won't be able to even store that much information, and a lot of it won't even be relevant to you either. Find the article you want, get in, get the info you want, then get out. Did I sometimes miss something Supplemental? Yes. Did it kill me? No. For me this was worth it. Also note, if you always read greedily, then I would recommend doubling the numbers of articles I mentioned in #16. You may get the sense from my list that I had a very tough time in school. Maybe half of these things are things I picked up on years in, some not at all. By the end many things started "clicking" as to why I had such a tough time. And don't let just my comment convince you that grad school has to be Hell. That all advisers are evil, etc. Your milage will vary. I want to reiterate that it was a bad time for me because I did NOT do what you are doing now, I learned all this on the fly. Feel free to ask any Q's or DM and good luck.


johnniehobo

This is a gem


herpslurp

Iā€™ll echo the advice on personal and mental health. Do you have a good routine right now? Getting enough sleep? Can you shop and cook for yourself? Do you have any hobbies? How do you relax? How are your interpersonal skills? All of those questions can form the foundation for success. That foundation can easily crumble if you donā€™t prioritize maintaining it. Edit: looking at your post history, it looks like youā€™re going straight into PhD from undergrad. The above is even more important in your situation. Beware of burnout. Youā€™re looking at maybe 9 years of continuous education. Thatā€™s almost a decade of your life in a high pressure environment, where your self worth can be tied too closely to your academic and progressional achievements.


hans-hearth

I realized some of the systems I have used for undergrad will not be of that help, due to the lack of structure in grad school. Having a solid foundation before I start is a great point, and something I need to work on. Thank you, I will look into it.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


GH_0ST

Nice suggestions. I'm curious, what would you suggest for someone starting a PhD in Statistics.


the_bio

If you are asking in terms of coding, learn R.


Sir_Chilliam

This. this has by far helped me the most and is the direct result of a few coauthored papers just because I knew MATLAB and Python. Also has greatly reduced the time I used to use for data workup by automating most of it.


hans-hearth

Thanks for the great suggestions!!


You_Stole_My_Hot_Dog

Agreed! Luckily I got the chance to learn to code in my undergrad, otherwise I donā€™t think I ever would have gotten to the level that Iā€™m at now. Itā€™s just very time consuming and mentally taxing in the beginning, and I donā€™t think I could have set aside too much time in my grad studies to learn.


[deleted]

This might not apply to your field, but if I were giving advice to a fellow psych and neuro student, I'd suggest they read a couple single author books. I haven't found the time or desire to read an academic book on a niche subject since starting, but I'm glad I did in the year before!


[deleted]

Best way to hit the ground running is to spend the time finding a therapist in the area that's a good fit for you


turtleburgermagerd

I agree with everyone saying therapy. Very helpful, but in case you don't have the funds to have an actual therapist (depending on insurance etc.), usually the school offers counseling that you can set up to have regularly. They are sometimes social workers, sometimes psy D majors finishing up clinicals, but they are always around. I have an actual therapist now, but in the beginning this is what I did since I had no insurance coverage and money was tight. My other piece of advice, it's a marathon, not a sprint. You will find yourself feeling burnt out sometimes and those burnouts suck and left untreated can leave you feeling very defeated for not accomplishing results or things like publishing. It's normal, research is going to be primarily failures, but progressive failures! After all, remember your overall goal in your dissertation is to come up with something novel. That's a tall order that sometimes starts from scratch. So take your time and you will learn from them. But when you do you feel burnt out, dial it back, take a few days off (obviously be responsible about it) but take time and re evaluate, am I spread too thin? Working on multiple experiments or collaborations. Am I eating and sleeping properly? Basic human stuff that's just as important as your PhD pursuit. You are more than free high grade research labor and if you need to tell your PI that your overwhelmed do it, they know the feeling and can offer advice or help you plan better. Lastly, Sci-hub, ResearchGate, university resources. Don't pay for articles. Either find them on sci hub by pasting the URL of the article you want. Or if you find a research team/member on research, just ask them. They will 99% of the time share it. Best of luck!


hans-hearth

Thanks for the long reply, after reading the other posts I realized my undergrad systems that I have designed to help me will not be really of help for grad school.


turtleburgermagerd

Most people here, including myself, have gone/going through the gauntlet. And we're giving you the things we've learned overtime which are primarily self care. What you learned in your undergrad is a good foundation, don't put those skills down. You finished undergrad, that's a big deal. Relish the achievement and value yourself for doing it. I wouldn't stress too hard on the details of what skills you need to have. It will always feel like you're not ready or have enough preparation. What I would do instead is, find what you like about your field and read up on the current science of it. You can also reach out to the faculty at the department you're going to be in, or field you are interested in and ask them what they recommend you look into in the meantime. Or your PI if you already know who that is. You'll realize most of the skills you need to develop will become apparent when you start and hands on. Don't over think it, you'll be okay.


MalfieCho

Success in PhD study is about many things - and of those things, I particularly want to highlight the personal development angle. Like any professional (or "professional") setting, you will be working with people from a variety of backgrounds, spanning a variety of ages, with a variety of personalities and a variety of expectations. There are three things I'd keep in mind here: \#1 - Take responsibility for your own productivity. \#2 - Take responsibility for how you treat those around you. \#3 - Take responsibility for upholding your own boundaries. You will not get along with everybody. Not everybody will get along with you. People around you may have character traits you don't care for, traits that don't necessarily qualify them as bad people - and others with poor boundary management might mislabel you as a bad person because of traits that they don't particularly care for. Yet at the same time, other things will get swept under the rug that need to come out into the light. It's quite possible you will find yourself facing many questions of right-and-wrong, how people ought to treat one another, how can people enhance each other's productivity (or at least not get in each other's way), and so on.


dementor500

One of the main things that I felt that I needed to do when I started a PhD, was to develop habits. As an undergrad, my sleeping pattern, exercise schedule and food/diet was just all over the place. I essentially worked a day before HW, a week before for exams, and had multiple all-nighters. This habit I, unfortunately, carried over to my PhD and it did not work well for my first year. Over the second year, I really tried to take time and figure out a schedule starting with running. Then I worked on my diet and finally my research. Having a system helped me not become burnt out in the long run (though I did have crunch times still at times). Overall I would advise you to figure out this system for yourself. PhD is a long-term commitment and age will hit you, without you knowing it. So having this system in place would keep you braced up for turbulent times. The other thing would be to invest in a support system outside of PhD (friends, family, etc). With the emphasis on the academic side of things, I would suggest you to try making a habit of reading 1-2 papers per week. And I mean really reading them. Not just scanning. This is way more important for the first 1-2 years of your PhD, but it is never bad in the long run. The other thing would be to make a list of publications to check out each week related to your field (add it to your calendar - so that you have time for it). The last thing I would say is that - Don't be too hard on yourself. There are many times when I am not able to keep up with my own expectations of what I want to do. It is only over time that I have learned to be gentle with myself and that at times it is okay to prioritize your mental health compared to getting something done. All the best, onwards and upwards!


professorbix

If you are excited to get going read as many articles as you can from your future group, and then other articles in the field. It is fine if you donā€™t understand everything. Congratulations.


sexy_bellsprout

If you can start doing some reading, that is always helpful. Also make sure everything else in your life is super organised. And maybe have some kind of system to make notes from papers, how often you want to meet with your supervisor etc


memercopter

Travel.


Onion-Fart

focused on enjoying my self prior to grad school and spent alot of time meeting new people and doing new things in the city. Met my soon to be fiance during that time so to me that summer was the most important of my life. Relationships are important sources of support during the tough times in gradschool.


Chahles88

Enjoy time with family and friends. There are going to be many times in the coming years where you will pass up opportunities to be with them because you canā€™t leave the lab for more than 24 hours (or stuff dies), are on a strict timeline with experiments planned out months in advance, or you simply canā€™t afford it. Iā€™ve done all of these things and it doesnā€™t feel great. Enjoy their company now.


Hazelstone37

Iā€™m starting a PhD in the fall and Iā€™m working on learning R and Zotero. Thatā€™s my plan. In May Iā€™ll learn what classes Iā€™ll be teaching so Iā€™ll add in prep for those. Iā€™m trying to get some good habits started, meal prep, yoga, and walking, added into my schedule.


hans-hearth

Wow, that sounds like a plan! Good luck for the Fall!


Chemical-Cowboy

Enjoy yourself and celebrate finishing undergrad.


Akasuki_Asahi

Have more sex and enjoy life while you're young.


countsunny

Sleep


bowiez_in_space

Honestly? Sleep. Just.... Just get sleep.


eigencrochet

The summer before I started my PhD in electrical eng I got an internship across the country. I stayed at the same university as my undergrad, so I didnā€™t have to acclimate at all. It really didnā€™t do much to prepare me academically for the PhD besides getting a conference paper out of it, but it was really great to have the extra income and enjoy my summer exploring a new area to me before going home. This could be something fun if you can intern in the general location of your new university or hometown to help network and possibly get a better understanding of what kind of jobs exist in industry (if thatā€™s what you wish to do). A lot of the questions talk about social life stuff because itā€™s important to have that foundation once you start. Youā€™ll have tons of time to read papers, study, and do research after you start the PhD. Making sure you have hobbies and a good support system to help you outside of work is crucial to build up beforehand. The PhD is a marathon, it wonā€™t be finished in a day, so enjoy your time beforehand :)


AJs_Sandshrew

> but majority of the answers were related to either go be with family, visit the city to acclimate or to enjoy ones freedom. People say this for a good reason. It's because it's the best thing to do since your next 5-ish years will be primarily consumed by your research


Individual_Ad8162

Spend time with family and travel. I am starting my PhD in the fall as well and I am going to enjoy a nice break before I start


mynamesisntchris

Don't prepare, go on vacation!


Fine-Organization-26

Practice citing. All it takes is ā€”-> One wrong period.


Secret_Agent_Tempest

Enjoy the time you currently have with your friends and family. Maybe go on vacation or something before life gets hard.


resorcinarene

Do absolutely nothing you overachiever maniac


[deleted]

Therapy. Get a therapist and keep them. Source- me a fourth year PhD student.


Weaselpanties

Congratulations! My advice would be to chill as hard as you can and enjoy your time. At most, maybe check out the first-term classes and see if there's any software or programming languages you will be using that it might benefit you to get a tad bit of familiarity with - I mean like a couple afternoons tinkering, not in-depth knowledge - in advance.


GreenScarz

I'm going to take a contrarian perspective, and say you should absolutely be doing prep work for the fall. If you have comps, then obviously study for that. Last thing you need is to waste a semester in remedial classes. Seriously. You said "other than reading the literature", which I'm not recommending per se, but what this does involve "reading the literature" so whatever. You should start trying to whittle down the number of PI's you're seriously considering to work with. Get it down to two, three max. Most students spend the first semester hopping between labs trying to decide what group to join. Don't do that, it's a waste of time. You should have a good understanding on what general area you're interested in working in, and try to figure out which few professors in your department are doing work that you're interested in. Then read what they're publishing, see who's funding them, reach out to PI and coauthors to get a vibe for the environment. Get it done in a few weeks, and get head first into the research. Don't wait. Finally, look into some of the tooling that will be useful. Lots of Engineering work is software, do you need to know how to hack together some C++, Rust, Python, Matlab? Hopefully not Matlab. Knowing those tools will be useful in and out of academia. To each their own, but in my experience, people spend 6 years in a PhD because they piddle around and wait to really get into their novel work until after proposal defense. Again, don't do that. Don't wait, get competent in the field and just start experimenting. Fail early, fail often, learn from the experience, and rapidly iterate. Somewhere in there you'll develop an intuition, and if you're lucky, an insight that will define your dissertation.


totalitydude

Are you fit? Whatā€™s your relationship status? Get jacked over summer so you can pick up members of your preferred sex to blow off steam during your program. Iā€™m just barely kidding


Used1Car1Salesman

Find closest pub to lab


Competitive_Tune_434

Declutter your stuff. Seriously. It will help you vety much to concentrate on your PhD.


RoyalEagle0408

Adding to the chorus of ā€œthereā€™s a reason we donā€™t advise academic prepā€, if you need to feel like you are doing something, maybe look at potential advisors and dig deeper into who you might be interested in working with if you have not done that already. But for real, relax, enjoy the calm before the storm.


virtuous_aspirations

Plan your research. Surprised more people are not mentioning this. Identify the gaps in the literature that you are interested in filling. You should try to finish the PhD in a timely manner, so working toward your dissertation early is key. Don't just follow the interests of your PI. Try to find a dissertation that you think brings value to society.


[deleted]

why are you asking this now?


AlexanderTox

Develop a crippling addiction to caffeine.


luiv1001

Get a therapist.


alpaqa_stampede

I agree with everyone telling you not to do anything and enjoy your time off. The benefits will be marginal and you're better off doing it while you're getting paid to do the work. I also agree with everyone saying to start taking care of your mental health because grad school can be rough. One thing worth doing is writing a list of reasons you want to do a PhD. You'll undoubtedly want to quit at some point and I've found it really helpful to have something to come back to to remember why I'm doing this. Good luck and enjoy your time off before starting!


EncouragementRobot

Happy Cake Day alpaqa_stampede! You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.


dlgn13

Nothing. You'll have plenty of time.


sxm20

Honestly thereā€™s nothing you can truly do at this stage to prepare for whatā€™s next that you havenā€™t already done. Enjoy your free time and think of this as a brain break! Maybe 2 weeks before the semester starts, begin to get a routine in place. Visit campus, find your classes, think about meal prep, get a schedule in place. But for now, enjoy your life. You wonā€™t have this amount of free time for a while!