i got in a car with two of my best friends and spent 2 months driving all over our lovely country. 11,000 miles were put on that 1986 cutlass supreme, and every one was done so with a smile. it was a caravan..9 friends in four cars. we had a blast. we stayed with friends or in hotels when we hit the cities, and spent a lot of time hiking and camping. i think i spent 1500 in two months.
you know it was a tough choice...spend all this time in a lab plating cells and running northerns..or hanging out in new orleans, austin, sedona, san diego, la, san francisco, berkeley, eugene, zion national park, grand canyon, boulder, etc.
moral of the story..please don't rule out having a good time. you can easily account for a cross country trip on your interviews. in fact, a couple interviewers were pretty interested in my 'journey'. now, go have some fun.