Gap year between BA and Grad School?

juillet
Mon, 20 Jan 2020 16:29:05 +0000

OP - there’s nothing really to worry about here. Lots and lots of people take time “off” between undergrad and grad school.

All you have to do is form strong relationships with professors who can write you letters; then, when you are ready, reach back out to them with a letter and a resume jogging their memory a little bit and asking them to write you a recommendation. Some people ask their professors to write them one before they leave; theoretically, they could keep it on file and edit it slightly when the time comes.

In many teach-abroad programs, you can defer your loans while you teach just as if you were in school. I’d recommend still making small payments on them, though, just to keep interest down.

If you’re interested in doing this, for Korea, check out the EPIK program. Fulbright will also send you to Korea (and a host of other Asian countries) for a year to serve as an English Teaching Assistant. For Japan, check out the JET Programme.

I really wanted to do this after college, but I went straight to my PhD program instead. It’s one of the few regrets I have in life. If this is something that you really want to do, please do keep your eyes on the prize.