Hello Pawnee_IN
I am in a similar situation, I guess.
I am still waiting on the possibility of getting into school off the Wait list, but I cant put too much hope into it because I gotta keep it real with myself ahah.
I don't think I applied to enough programs (4) this time around, and I also applied to very competitive programs. For next year, these are a few things I would have to change. I was also severely lacking in terms of Networking, that is to say, I did not Network at all. I gotta be less shy, for sure. I will be retaking the GRE (my quantitative score was mediocre and my writing score could use improvement, in my opinion) and rewriting my Personal Statement as well as trying to get something published, although at the moment I'm in the dark about how to go about this (this application season, I was unpublished).
Those are the steps that I can think of that I will be taking to better suit myself to be a more competitive applicant next year. Really, I think getting published would show that I did something with the year that I was not in school. Also, although I am quite shy, having applied and been rejected from these universities allows me the opportunity to inquire about my application and what I may improve upon or just generally to network.
I hope this helps...
Lastly, Id like to cheesily say that we gotta keep our heads up! one year or the next, we can do this!
Congratulations to this years Admitted applicants, and good luck in your graduate studies!