<p>In my field, anthropology, waiting is a good choice. For cultural/linguistic anthropologists, there is language training and fieldwork involved so many incoming grads have already lived in places where they wish to conduct research and speak the language. These students are thus usually older, having traveled, or got a masters degree that allowed them to elaborate on their research questions. </p>
<p>I was the youngest in my cohort. I took a year off and it was not enough. My committee decided–to my chagrin–that I am not ready yet to be in graduate school and gave me the boot. So you can be very smart, talented, and diligent, but not ready to do certain things because you never gave yourself time to properly explore. I never traveled to the area of my research, I do not speak the language, and thus compared to other students, I am inadequate and so why fund me any further? </p>
<p>Take your time, don’t waste it, but take it. Do your research, lab work, fieldwork, whatever your discipline requires. You will be a stronger candidate and actually succeed in grad school, instead of getting booted like me. :(</p>