Post-Fulbright/ Gap Year After Masters Advice?

[SongOfMyself]

Hi, all! I got my BA in English at a school in the South, graduated with a 3.9 in 2015. I received a Fulbright ETAship and just returned from that to the US. In the 2014-15 application season, I applied for 8 PhDs and 4 MAs my senior year of college, and got one PhD offer, all four Masters. I then asked to defer (for Fulbright) and so was still accepted to those 4 Masters, plus another MA for the 2015-16 application season, 2016 academic year. My 2015 applications were not very impressive; I have since finished and defended my undergraduate honors thesis, presented 4 papers, spoken individually and on roundtables at several education and English conferences, gotten and completed my Fulbright grant, as well as won several other awards for my research and papers, and, additionally, have focused my research interests and statements (which were kind of all over the place).

Since I want to go into a PhD but after a masters to show schools "hey look, I'm back in academia now after a year of not writing papers!", I decided to take a one-year MSc in English at Edinburgh for 2016-17. I like the program, the professors, and school a lot, and the fact that this is unfunded doesn't concern me too much, as, with a housing offer and some scholarships they've given, it's less debt than any of my funded/halfway funded offers in the US would have been, and only one year long.

My question is, since 2016-17 application for PhDs will begin after only knowing my Masters professors for a couple of months in later 2016, should I wait to apply for PhDs until 2017-18  season and take another year to teach at an international or private school? (My thinking is that this would not only allow for better masters references and thesis writing samples, but also would add another dimension of international and educational experience to my resume.) Or should I go ahead and try my hand at PhD programs this coming season when I've just started my MSt?

 

Thank you!!

[Abyss21]

I'm taking a gap year because I went straight from my undergraduate program to my master's program and I'm honestly quite burnt out and exhausted. I've heard from many people that taking a gap year is very beneficial and helps you refresh and feel reenergized for your PhD (which I'm sure we all need).