I will be an undergraduate in my junior year this fall. I have considered long and hard, consulted professors, and done lots of online research and I am committed to applying to graduate schools and pursuing a PhD.
This upcoming spring (so Spring of Junior Year) I would really like to study abroad. Spending an entire semester abroad, getting unique hands-on fieldwork in ecology (my major) is an opportunity I just don’t want to pass up.
That said, I am a bit worried about the timing of choosing that spring semester to be away from my home campus.
- I would have to perform a semester-long independent research project in my research lab on campus this fall (as opposed to a year-long that could potentially be more impactful/impressive to my PI)
- There would be an entire year between this fall and next fall when I ask my 3 references for rec letters (a year is a long time to "forget" specifics about me I fear)
- If I do an intensive field-based ecology program, I will have minimal internet access which I think would affect my ability to apply for summer jobs/internships.
- Spending spring semester on campus is a time to purposefully make sure I have healthy, sustained relationships with my references I plan to ask for grad apps
Long-story short: I do not want to pass up the opportunity to study abroad. I just have some logistical concerns related to grad school apps. Especially to those of you who have been through similar situations, are my worries legitimate? Are they enough to warrant not studying abroad?
Go on your study abroad. Don’t pass up the opportunity to study abroad to go to graduate school; graduate school is always going to be there, but the opportunity to spend a semester studying and living somewhere else will not be. (For reference, I did study abroad in the spring of my junior year and went to a PhD program directly after college.)
- This is fine, as long as you have other research experience. If you don't have other research experience, the one semester isn't really going to save you - you'll probably have to spend a year or two post-college getting more anyway. Besides, the fieldwork you are about to do in your major will look great, too.
- A year isn't a long time at all. Your references are not going to forget you. When I was in graduate school - towards the end of graduate school - I went back and had lunch with some professors who had taught me when I was in college, probably about 4-5 years ago, and they remembered details about me. And I have some standout students that I taught or mentored 3-4 years ago that I could still write a good recommendation for, especially if they gave me a resume and an update. A year is nothing.
- You'll have to find an internet cafe so you could apply for summer research. Make time for it. Maybe make 1-2 appointments a week to complete this.
- You should have already built those references up; if you've been doing the kind of research you need to do and performing well in your classes, you should already have three people who are willing to write for you. And also, don't rule out whoever will be supervising you in your ecology fieldwork during your study abroad program as a reference, too.
Basically, no, don’t pass this up. These are non-issues.
I decided to forego studying abroad (for a full semester) to focus on my graduate school prep/applications and I sincerely regret it. Please don’t do that yourself.
It would be nice to have some more research to have on your cv, but like juillet said, field work would look nice, too. I also think study abroad experience can set you apart from other applicants. I did a summer study abroad program, and the DGS at one school mentioned that to me when she called and told me I was accepted. It was just fluff since it doesn’t relate to my field, but still, it was nice fluff.
Finally, don’t worry yourself too much. Some people don’t decide they’re going the grad school route until the summer before their senior year/their senior year, so you’re still ahead of the game. Work hard, learn a lot, and then write a stellar personal statement a year from now that reflects all you have gained from studying abroad and doing field work.
I agree: what you’ll gain from studying abroad will more than compensate for whatever worries you- most of which isn’t going to matter anyway.
(and, no, in a professor’s life, one year is nothing. Provide your professor with an updated resume and it’ll be as if you’d never left).
Field work + research is as interesting as research, and research stemming from field work is excellent (will be a big plus for you).