Senior capstone -- triying to rush it in this summer before studying abroad in France? Advice?

College Life
1

Hi everyone,

So, I have a current situation that I need help mulling over. Basically, I need to decide whether to complete my senior capstone (academic research project that will be around 30 pages) this upcoming August with the current adviser that I know and trust or take it next winter when I come back from France with a yet-to-be determined adviser.

Here are the details:

I’m studying abroad in France next fall, so my capstone needs to be taken either this upcoming summer or winter. It’s supposed to be like 12-15 weeks’ worth of work and can be my writing sample for grad school if I do it this summer. I’m planning to somehow tie it into writing center studies since I’ve already been doing research in the field, but I don’t have any exact idea yet.

I COULD take it next winter, but a.) the adviser is changing and the department doesn’t know who the one will be, b.) I’d be doing it a good 6 months after finishing my writing and rhetoric degree (I’m done with all the courses after this semester) and so will will be rusty, c.) I’ll probably have some reverse culture shock going on, and d.) I don’t know if the new adviser will even allow me to do writing center studies stuff whereas the summer adviser will.

To avoid all the aforementioned issues, I could complete it this summer, but a.) I don’t know what I want to research and I’d have to write up a proposal and basically plan out the whole project before the semester ends and I’m already swamped with 20 credits, b.) I’d have to do an extensive amount of research and writing this summer while desperately trying to finish it before hopping on a plane to France, and c.) The thought of it all completely stresses me out.

This is also complicated by the fact that one of the professors who was supposed to help me with this is now leaving our university and won’t be around next winter (I think she was supposed to be the person to take over advising). With her it would have been fine to do in the winter because she would have helped me get started this summer and helped me catch back up in the winter, but I don’t know when the new adviser will be assigned and if they’d be as flexible with me. The current adviser is trying to figure it out to help me, but he admitted that he personally doesn’t know if the new adviser would be willing to let me start this project in the summer (the planning) and then finish it in the winter (the writing/researching).

I honestly don’t know what to do. I have a hard time staying on track with conference presentations and other larger scale projects, so if I were to do it this summer, I’d need to somehow seriously pace myself and hold myself accountable, perhaps by pairing it with taking a class or something. This will be a big deal for me because it’s my final project in the major and, if I complete it in the summer, it can be my writing sample for grad school.

If I were to be honest, I’d admit that I really want to take it this summer because I know and trust the adviser and want him specifically to help me with my work, but I have my reservations because of the short time frame and the stress it could induce. I know that I could probably pull it off if I gave it my absolute all and stayed focused and productive, but there’s still room for human laziness and the fear of not doing well enough.

So, any thoughts on what I should do? I need to decide quickly because if I do it this summer, I need to get planning like yesterday.

Thanks!

2

It sounds to me as if you really want to take it in the summer, and you’ve articulated multiple excellent reasons to do so. I assume you would be having periodic meetings with your advisor as your work on the project progresses, so that would help hold you accountable for staying on track.

(And if for some reason you can’t get it done by the end of the summer, then you can pick it up with the new advisor when you return.)

3

It sounds to me like doing it in the winter is the best option.

Sure, you have decent enough reasons for wanting to do it this summer, but the question is about feasibility. You are carrying 20 credits and, by your own admission, “swamped.” It’s already February and if this is a 12-week project, you’d have to begin it in early May in order to be ready to leave by August for the study abroad (or maybe June for a September leave date). You don’t know what you want to do it on, and it’s mid-February. Do you think you can pull off the planning and proposal for it in 2.5 months? While taking 20 credits?

Your reasons for wanting to do it now are much less compelling. You don’t know who the next adviser is, but that doesn’t matter - do you have to do it with a single senior thesis adviser or can you choose your own? 6 months isn’t long enough to get “rusty” from a BA. I also didn’t have severe enough reverse culture shock coming back from a Western European country after a semester abroad to significantly disrupt my studies or anything. What is it that makes you think the new adviser wouldn’t allow you to do writing center studies stuff? If your idea has merit, that will be the determining factor.

What does your current adviser think?

Actually, it might be a good idea to do like @stradmom suggests - find out if you can start the capstone project over the summer and just finish it when you return in the winter.

4

Start talking to your professor now about ideas. Find out if you start it this summer if you can continue in the winter if necessary. If you did it this summer, would you be living on campus? Would the professor be accessible? Can it be part of research the prof is doing? Also ask your prof which one they would think would be best. I think research with a professor who knows you woudl be best to prepare for grad school.