Treat your cloths with Permethrin and daily tick check. I do SAR. Between training and searches, I'm in the woods all the time. 20 yrs in and no tick disease. Don't let these assholes keep you from going out in the woods, brush and bogs of Maine.

It's not so bad if you do preventative measures and ~daily tick checks. If you're hiding in vegetation, you may get a few though. . .

That said, IDK where you plan on studying, but there are substantially less ticks north of Bangor (I grew up in Aroostook County and never saw one till I moved to Portland).

I also do SAR. So far no Lyme, but plenty of ticks removed. Can’t wait for the Lyme vaccine!

With preventive measures, you should be fine. The amount of ticks isn't crippling and there's lots to do outdoors in Maine.

I was so nervous my first year in Maine. Now I realize that it isn't that big a deal - prevention is easy. I just check my body at night before bed. A tick has to be attached for a few days before it transmits lyme, so as long as you check when you come inside you're easily in the clear. I don't bother with long pants or anything like that. I just wear what I want to wear, do whatever I want to do, and pull out the tick if I find one. My fears when I first moved here were completely over the top. 🤷‍♀️

It’s not a few days it’s around 24 hours for Lyme transmission

In some cases that can be true (averages are simply an average, after all), but per the CDC is typically takes 36 to 48 hours to transmit. So if you're checking yourself every night, you're golden.