I managed to get myself onto a funded PhD last week (biological sciences). I'm feeling both excited and terrified :-( about this mammoth task. Anyway I'm currently not studying and my part-time temp contract in a completely unrelated admin job is coming to an end. I was just looking for advice as to how to spend the next few months until October. I'm sure I can fit in a couple of holidays (if finances allow) and I've been doing some light reading around the subject but October just seems SOO far away right now. I don't actually know what to do with myself :$

Well done! I'm also starting my biological sciences phd in october :-)

I am both lucky and unlucky that my temp contract runs up to october but it's so boring doing admin in an office. Need to be in the lab!

I've set myself a target of reading and keeping brief notes on at least 2 papers a week on the run up to starting. Hopefully this will mean I don't walk in on the first day and have a blank look on my face.

Ermmm being 2 years in I'd say relax, put your feet up, sunbathe, see friends, have bbqs and enjoy life through the summer. It will come so soon and all of the above cease to happen once you start ;-) Seriously, enjoy this break cos you don't get one later on without guilt lol lol lol

I'm with Stressed, make the most of your last summer of freedom! There's a good chance you'll feel like a fish out of water your first few weeks/months anyway, and you may have plenty of reading time enforced by practicalities so don't worry too much about swotting while the sun shines :-)

The only reason I am is that when stuck in work with not a fat lot to do it keeps me occupied! Otherwise I would be out there frolicking with the best of them!

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Haha thanks guys. I had a feeling I'd get answers saying I should relax.

Can't help but feel a little guilty, even though I know so well that this is my last few months of freedom (I talk us if I'm being forced into this PhD lol). Well done to you Jellpsybean. I don't want that blank look either although I did do a 30min presentation during my interview so they know that I do actually know stuff!

Ok, make this your mantra - I will NOT feel guilty about relaxing - repeat it as many times a day as necessary! You're gonna have plenty of guilt in the coming years so enjoy not suffering for now ;-) And please, please don't worry about the blank look - a) its expected, and b) you're there to learn. You know your basic stuff, you've proved that, so just relax now. Trust us on this, if you're anything like me (and probably many of the others) you'll find that what you do now doesn't actually help that much - they don't expect you to come in having already done a huge amount. I was quite lucky in a way that I went straight from MA to PhD with the same supervisor - I only had 3 blissful weeks of freedom - he threated to remove my place if he caught me studying anything in those weeks off! So, take it from a prof as well as us PhDers - RELAX and enjoy :-)

and lmao at the being forced into this ;-) the amount of people who've said to me when i've been threatening to throw myself out of the window 'well nobody forced you to do it' ;-) lol, no, we weren't forced, but maybe there's something in those of us who chose this route that enjoys suffering lol - sorry, i shouldn't be saying that with you about to start - its not 'that' bad - not all the time anyway ;-) I'm just mid paper right now and feeling that I should be forced to undergo psychiatric treatment for doing this to myself he he he.