jetleigh

So after an relatively unsuccessful application season, I am currently meditating on how to best spend a gap year. I'm confident with my GRE and Subject Test scores so I won't be retaking those, but I do want to polish my BA Thesis for use in the next application cycle as well as writing a whole new paper for those schools that require two writing samples. I can't afford to take extra classes, so I was thinking I would do research on my own and look at online resources (been wanting to watch some of the Harvard youtube classes in full). Unfortunately, I don't know how successful my research will be without access to a library and databases that I rely on so much now. I was also thinking about tutoring high school students or some other kind of teaching work (I've already missed the deadline for teaching abroad and Teach For America I think). So basically I'm at a total loss. Has anyone had a really successful gap year? Any suggestions for options for work (paid or volunteer) that will show that I'm not just wasting the year off?

@la_mod Same, I've been stuck in my hometown because it was the only financially viable option. And not investing in unfinished BAs makes sense-- woulda been good to know that before I invested all my money in those apps though, haha. I've just been telling myself that at least I know what to expect now and can build on what I had. I wish I had a full draft of my thesis! I had no idea what my project was gonna be on until way too late in the game. I told myself I'd have 40 pages by this Saturday and I'm only inching past 7 just now...

Here's hoping! If you get it be sure to let me know so I'm not waiting in agony over here (;

I just joined GradCafe basically so I could be involved in this thread. I am so frustrated about all the rejections. I'm also working on my BA thesis right now and it is really hard to get motivated and shun the overwhelming sense of impostor syndrome when you're getting hit with one rejection after another. It feels awful having everything put on hold. I applied to really tough programs because I was way too overconfident I guess, and now that confidence has gone completely to the wayside. I also basically sacrificed any sense of a social life throughout undergrad so I could be prepared for grad school applications. And I hate where I live so I don't want to be stuck here for another year just floating... Plus my boyfriend with whom I've been long-distance for three years was going to move into an apartment with me wherever I got accepted, but since we won't be moving there isn't any reason to change our current status quo. It's so hard to look at this from a rational standpoint when its really such an emotional situation. I have no clue what to do with the next year. I don't think I can afford to do more classes, though... I'm waiting to hear about funding from my one MA acceptance, but it isn't looking good so far and without the funding there's no way I could go. Any and all suggestions of good ways to spend a year off would be very very welcome!

I applied for the Lannan Associateship and the Cinema Journal one. I've been rejected by all the other programs I've heard from so far and probably can assume implied rejection from the others, so I'm dying to know about the Cinema Journal package. I even had a dream that I got the call and then felt godawful when I woke up and realized that it didn't really happen. @Chburdick have you made any progress on deciding since your previous post?