<p>When discussing plans to apply to grad school with my adviser, she recommended I take some time off after undergrad. She said that students that did so were generally considered to be more serious applicants because they weren't applying to grad school for lack of any other plans, and that I would be able to spend more time on the application process (and would have my thesis completed, etc.). My question is, I was planning on deferring repayment of my student loans during grad school, and if I take off a year, I obviously won't have this option (at least for the time I've taken off). For those of you who have taken off time, how did you manage juggling other financial responsibilities in addition to repaying student loans?</p>
<p>^Oh, and any other insight on benefits/drawbacks of taking time off would be much appreciated :)</p>
<p>The general feeling I've heard from talking to professors is that your advisor is spot-on about taking time off and being viewed as a more serious applicant.</p>
<p>As for loan repayment, my only advice is to consolidate your loans and budget your money compulsively. :)</p>
<p>EDIT for a piece of totally unsolicited student loan advice: Even though student loans do get deferred while you're a full-time student in graduate school, it's great to pay on them if possible, even if you don't have to. This is an especially good deal for subsidized federal loans, because if you can get them paid off while the government is still paying the interest, you'll never have to pay interest on them!</p>
<p>srcameron,</p>
<p>As I recall, your field is history, correct?</p>
<p>While the "desirable year off" might be the case in the sciences (I defer to molliebatmit on that), it is not really the case in the humanities. </p>
<p>No PhD program in history (that I know of) favors students with a year off over students direct from undergrad. One's personal statement will generally reveal whether one is applying to grad school "for lack of any other plans" or for the right reason -- a deep commitment to further study in one's subfield of specialization.</p>