I'm jealous, too! My college didn't offer this, but it sounds like a life-changing opportunity.

I'm looking forward to hearing others' comments that were lucky enough to do this.

Posted By Tootie on February 24, 2008, 1:19 PM

I have been reading more and more about "gap years" ever since Prince William of England took his and did community work in Africa and South America. I guess it's easy when you are British royalty and want for nothing. I am concerned about the burden that something like this would put on the kids' parents. I spent my senior year of high school as an exchange student in Lisbon, Portugal, and many of the kids that took part in the program had already graduated high school so for them it was kind of a gap year but with a academic element since they had to be enrolled in local high school. How much can kids just out of high school really contribute to social work programs that are usually struggling as it is? Would they be an asset or just a liability? Would't an academic exchange summer or year abroad help more in giving them a broader world vision and greater maturity to start their college lives?

Posted By Jeni on February 24, 2008, 10:00 PM

I did a year abroad in Italy towards the end of college -- and came back just long enough to finish my degree before moving back to Florence, Italy. I stayed there for another four years (now I live in Milan)...During my student year there, I didn't manage to learn more than shoe-store Italian and hang out with a lot of other foreign students. Still, if the question is to go too young or not go at all, I vote for going -- if nothing else, it's hard to get the time off later...

Posted By Nicole on February 25, 2008, 3:53 AM

A gap year is a smart idea. One of my daughters deferred her acceptance to Carnegie Mellon, lived at home and worked, took a chemistry requirement at night, then backpacked through Italy for 6 weeks. Got to college with a more mature outlook and much clearer idea of what she wanted to do there. I'd recommend for every college senior. Most freshmen haven't a clue.

Posted By Marilyn Terrell on February 25, 2008, 10:17 PM

A gap year will change your perspective of things in a major way. When i was 19 I did a 2 months placement teaching english in Mexico, then a 3 months care project in Thailand and a 1 month teaching placement in Nepal, with this gap year company called Projects Abroad. I would say JUST DO IT!!. Check their website, you might find something interesting for you.

www.projects-abroad.co.uk

Good luck!

Posted By Claudio on February 26, 2008, 7:53 PM

I was fortunate enough to study abroad my Sophmore year of college, at age 19. Now that I have graduated from college and well into the second year of my career, I realize that there were so many people I met, places I went, and things that I saw that a huge part of me wishes I could have experienced now that I am older and more mature. Going abroad is an invaluable experience at any age, but I definitly recommend waiting until the year after college. The students will take so much more from the experience with maturity and will see everything with an educated eye....and will have so much more to offer those abroad with a solid education behind them.

Posted By becky on February 28, 2008, 12:14 PM

As a retired social worker, MSW, Michigan, "80", I think it would be a wonderful experience th have a gap year b/f university. The college student would get 100% more from his/her classes by the experience!!
Kay

Posted By Kay Monk on February 28, 2008, 12:15 PM

I think it's a wonderful idea. I've always been jealous of Mormon kids who get to live abroad, learn a different language and culture...although I'm not jealous of having to do missionary work! I spent a semester in France when I was 18 (my sophomore year of colleg--I started early). It was a great experience, and I was definitely mature enough to appreciate it. However, I do recognize that some of my fellow students only hung out with other Americans or other exchange students who spoke English. One way to get around this is to make sure, like Mormons, that students are relatively isolated. They could be installing clean-burning ovens in Bolivia, or teaching English in China--but only with a couple other students, not a whole group. I think this is a great way to expand an 18-year-old's horizons, show her poverty and differences in the world, challenge her to learn about languages and cultures, and cultivate international sensitivity!

Posted By Vanessa on February 28, 2008, 12:21 PM

I did my undergraduate degree abroad in England, where gap years are much more common. I decided to take one myself at my mother's urging. She felt that too many kids are on the proverbial treadmill, rushing through college for fear of "getting behind". I spent the year working at home for 6 months to earn money, then went to Australia and Turkey for the rest.

To this day I believe it was the best decision I've ever made.

I showed up at college ready to enjoy it rather than just try and get through it. And I'm not the only one. Looking around my freshman class, you could literally pick out the people who had done gap years, Invariably they were the most at ease, the most mature, and the most put together. Plus, to this day, my gap year travels are the first thing people notice and comment on when they see my resume.

The only aspect of the Princeton Program I dislike is that it seems at first glance to be very prescribed. My parents' only condition for my gap year was that I had to plan the whole thing myself. For the first time I booked my own air flights, found my own programs, made my own deposits. That independence, and knowledge that I could run my own life was the single greatest thing I got out of my gap year.

But overall, I am a HUGE fan of gap years and absolutely believe more people here in America should take them. 18 is young, but it's certainly not too young to experience the world, and gain the kind of perspective seeing a way of life completely different to your own can bring. It can seem scary at first, but it's well worth it!

Posted By Sarah on February 28, 2008, 12:28 PM

Yes, I think it is a fantastic idea, and probably best done between the sophomore and junior years of college. By then a student has a little more maturity under his belt, but still has time to make changes in direction re college major and future career choices. These days too many kids graduate college and still don't know what they want to be when they grow up! Some time in the real world would cerainly enrich their perspective, and give them an opportunity to "give back" to society as well. If given the opportunity, my advice would be to go for it!

Posted By A.C. Merritt on February 28, 2008, 12:29 PM

I think a gap year is an excellent idea and one everyone could benefit from. Even a summer or semester for that matter! Being exposed to social/economic circumstances and cultures outside of ones own can open up many more doors and eyes. I think young people today would benefit tremendously if they see beyond their own lives in order to become more empathetic and understanding of our global community. I think this would be more beneficial if academics can be tied in to the program in some manner. A junior year requiremnent or elective?

But is it even necessary to travel very far away to experience such an opportunity. A semester assisting in an urban school, at a tribal center, in New Orleans assisting the rebuilding, or in the Appalachian poverty stricken areas would be examples of ideas for American students. This would offset the cost for the schools and the students and benefit their own society.

I was talked out of joining the Peace Corp years ago. When I speak with people who did a tour I feel I missed out on something that would've changed my life for the better.

Posted By Cindy on February 28, 2008, 12:30 PM

I'm 60 years old, and right after I graduated from college in 1969, my then-15-yr-old brother and I (21 at the time) traveled around the world for 4 1/2 months. We were by no means well off, but scholarships, grants and the time period had allowed me to finish college with no outstanding debts. I couldn't get a loan from the bank because I hadn't established credit, but my parents had found a private individual who would loan them money, and I repaid my parents and they paid her. My brother and I visited 14 countries, including a return trip to the Philippines, where I had been a summer exchange student between my jr and sr years in high school. Though I had had an excellent exchange experience, I think I was more prepared after completing college to appreciate the people I was meeting and the things I was seeing. I have been connected with about a dozen students who had graduated from high school in other countries and were partipating in an exchange program in the US before going back for university, and those experiences convince me most 18-year olds--there are certainly exceptions--would not be ready for meaningful social work in another culture. I can see doing it after 2 or 3 years of college or after completing college, being able then to significantly contribute more and personally benefit more from the experience.

Posted By Jean Michelle Nieman on February 28, 2008, 12:49 PM

After I graduated from high school, I took a year off to travel before I went to college. It was the best thing I ever did--it really was a life changing experience for me. My parents supported it, but I think they were also concerned that I wouldn't go to college. I did go to college the following year, and because I felt like it was really my choice to go back to shcool (as opposed to feeling pressured to hurry through school like many of my my peers were doing)I was really a much better student. I don't think 18 year olds are too young. For me, it was just the right age to see how other people in the world live.

Posted By A.C. on February 28, 2008, 1:03 PM

A full year may be a bit much for some teenagers who are immature or reluctant to venture outside of their comfort zone, but any exposure is better than none at all. Chances are, if a student takes time off before college to travel abroad, it will inspire them to travel more in the future and may even impact what they decide to study in college.

Having spent a year as an exchange student in Denmark during high school, I do admit that I might not have appreciated things as much as I should have simply because I was too young (16) at the time, though I did a lot of growing up in that year! However, as you get older, new responsibilities crop up that have a way of messing with travel plans, so you have to take every opportunity you get.

Even at the tender age of 16 I learned, experienced, and grew more than I ever would have imagined and it has had a profound impact on almost every aspect of my life from what I do for a living to how I view the world.

Erik - I'm envious too! If only some employers would offer the same sort of perk (even if it's just for a few weeks)!

Posted By Terry on February 28, 2008, 1:07 PM

This is a great opportunity for 18 year olds to add an experience that will make college coursework so much more meaningful. Many students enter college without direction. A gap year experience could make a difference for them, opening them up to new possibilities and self awareness. Memory works best when there are "hooks" or experiences onto which new information can be stored. Certainly a gap year would create many "hooks."

Why choose? Seems like doing a gap year would be a good idea at both ends of college and at regular intervals throughout one's life. There would be different things to appreciate at each age/stage.

Posted By Kathleen Leason on February 28, 2008, 1:13 PM

Many years ago, in the 70's , I spent my year after hs working on a kibbutz & studying in Israel. I returned to the States & started college more focused & serious than my peers. I encouraged my children to do the same. My jobs included fruit picking, poultry innoculations & ironing in a communal laundry. I have fun stories to tell my family, fluency in a foreign language & a broader view of the world because of this experience.

Posted By Fran on February 28, 2008, 1:18 PM

Seems crazy now, but in high school I spent 6 weeks going around Europe with 6 other kids. We survived, we grew, we learned, we had a lot of fun! A college kid who at least had lived away from home would be infinitely more ready for such an experience.

Posted By Don on February 28, 2008, 1:22 PM

I was very lucky to have the opportunity to travel three times when I was in college - once during January term for a month in Berlin and then my spring semester of Junior Year in Bonn, Germany, and the following semester in Moscow, in what was then the Soviet Union. When I got back to college, I was maturer and much more able to focus on my thesis and getting ready to graduate to the real world. So, I would 100% recommend a gap year to any college student, should the opportunity present itself. In fact, I would go so far as to suggest considering only colleges that have good study abroad programs before you enter college.

Posted By Lisa Jiardini on February 28, 2008, 1:30 PM

Though not the traditional pre-college gap year, my husband and I are taking a year off to see the world, and documenting the trip on our website livesofwander.com. My husband will finish his PhD in September, at which point I'll quit my job and we'll start our global trip.

Even though we're a bit older than the Princeton crowd mentioned above, I think we're still looking for the same things--adventure, a better sense of who we are and what we want from life, etc.

I studied abroad my junior year of college and then taught abroad the year after college, and both were fabulous experiences. But I sometimes felt like the experiences came too late--not for life in general, but in terms to formal education. Both changed my perspective on what I wanted to do, what was important to me, etc., and I wished that I had had some of that wisdom when entering college rather than halfway through/afterwards.

Posted By Theresa on February 28, 2008, 1:33 PM

I think it is a great idea. Both of my daughters, although very intelligent, were not mature enough for the responsibilities of college right after high school. I think a social work situation would have helped them grow up a little faster and the tuition money I spent on their first year of college wouldnt have been a total waste!

Posted By Cathy on February 28, 2008, 1:36 PM

Almost every student/young person will benefit from the opportunity to explore and interact with other cultures, people and places. After my college graduation (1964!!) I spent a year in India on a Fulbright grant, and I would say that the most important lesson for me was that different is not bad, different is only different. I'm a staff member on a university campus now, and I'm a big supporter of semester or year abroad programs. Academic programs are important, but so is exposure to other places, people and ways of life; I've witnessed the difference it can make for the people who manage to participate. I'm not sure that 18 is the best age, although I acknowledge what the other posters said: I would propose that all students have a study abroad requirement before, during or at the conclusion of their acdemic program. I know that it's such a cliche, but I believe that the world would be a different place if that happened.

Posted By Linda Overholt on February 28, 2008, 2:13 PM

Please note they will not be doing "social work," but rather volunteer work. It takes at least a bachelor's degree in social work (with an extensive curriculum) to be a "social worker."

That said, it's a great idea as stduents need to settle down before college and take the opportunity more seriously.

Posted By Susan Mapp on February 28, 2008, 2:39 PM

TAKE A GAP YEAR!! Most 18 year-olds have been in school every year since they started forming memories. The extra year can give them a little extra maturity and exposure to the world. It can keep them from floundering trying to find themselves while they are in college, wasting that tuition that we're all worried about. When I graduated from high school in 2001, I was not ready for college and did not know what I wanted to do, yet I headed straight off to school. I ended up leaving after my first year to do a year in AmeriCorps (I highly recommend this program.) Doing AmeriCorps absolutely was the right thing for me at the time, but I wish I had done my AmeriCorps year before I entered college. It would have saved me from having such a fragmented college experience and wasting money on changing my mind and transferring credits.

Posted By Katie on February 28, 2008, 2:59 PM

I wish I had an offer like this. Before I attended NYU, I took off for two years to get ready for college and life int he Big Apple and even though it was good for me, my friends , who did the same thing, some did not even go to college and got pretty well-paying jobs instead. I think it just depends on the person/student. This incentive does help!

Posted By Shabobe on February 28, 2008, 3:31 PM

When I was 20 years old I spent 6 months studying Swahili and African literature while teaching preschool in Nairobi, Kenya. It was one of the best, most eye opening experiences of my life. I recommend that students try to break out of the European study abroad mold and explore and volunteer in other areas of the world!

Posted By Kelly on February 28, 2008, 4:41 PM

As a parent and recently retired college professor, I would challenge the notion the "just out of high school" students are mature enough to spend a year abroad in what has become a highly charged global community. Highly charged in that we are not very popular guests these days. A better time might be after a couple of years at least, of college.

Posted By Toni L'Hommedieu, PhD on February 28, 2008, 5:09 PM

A gap year is one of the great teaching innovations. I hardly hear of American students doing this, compared to the huge number of Europeans, Australians and others. American students need this more than anyone. Most of them don't travel much or read the paper. A gap year would be the most educational and exciting thing they could do. Not only would it be informative, it would inform all their studies and help them know themselves. It is the best use of their time and would prepare them to appreciate school and reflect on its deepest aspects. It's nice to know something based on readings or some other source, but when you've been somewhere, then you know it on multiple levels. Such knowledge can only be deepened.

Posted By Richard Marranca on February 28, 2008, 6:20 PM

My daughter is graduating this year after on 3 years in college. She has done well on the LSAT, but does not want to commit to law school. She is going to volunteer for a year in one of the South American countries via a church program. I think it is a great idea.

Posted By Jerry on February 28, 2008, 6:37 PM

By all means, send them BEFORE they go to college. America's youth are being raised in a culture that is enamored with little more than itself. Look at the news for example. BBC news programs give half or more of their hour program time to world news; here you're lucky if world news gets 5 minutes. There's nothing like getting outside one's culture to appreciate differences, growing in patience, tolerance and depth of worldview. Our family lived in Hungary for the past eight years and it has radically changed all of us. Ask any of our five children and they will say they wouldn't trade it for the world ;-).

Posted By Dave Hall on February 28, 2008, 7:29 PM

Taking a gap year is an amazing idea but I do feel it would be better utilized after college. As a teacher, I do not know many high school grads that I feel are mature enough for the experience. There is no better experience than travel, and after college studies is the best time to do it. I found college to be formative years of my life, and I don't think that I personally would've been ready to travel pre-college. Right after graduat is the last chance you'll have to take a break before work & responsibilities take over. It's also a perfect time for reflection for those who don't have a specific career path chosen.
This said, in some cases, for a very mature 18ish yr old, I think it could be valuable to do it before beginning your studies. I have met incredibly mature travelers that have done it before college, as they did not know what they wanted to study. They spent some time doing volunteer work in various fields and getting a feel for who they wanted to be in this world.

Posted By tutu on February 28, 2008, 8:48 PM

A Gap Year offered by the University is a great idea. It will be greater still if the students taking their gap years plan it well. The opportunity can be geared to the objectives of seeing different parts of our world, knowing different people and making frinde withem, helping others to help their ownselves and writing down about the whole xperience gaied and finally ofcourse sharing it with others and the University improving their programs for implimenting the subsequent Gap Year.

In Pakistan all students taking their first degree course are obliged to do a three week social work spell. This validate them for award of the degree. Unfortunately the idea is not fully utilised. Only in the colleges affilaited with our University, University of Peshawar about 30,000 students are enrolled every year in degree courses,. This constitue a big resource if planned and implimented well.

I am helping the Director of Social Work of the University to improve the idea. We shall meet on Saturday March, 01, 208. I hope I might be able to share the outcome of the meeting.

Regards

Zaogirwazir, Peshawar, Pakistan

Posted By Tariq Mahmood on February 28, 2008, 9:01 PM

Business & colleges should offer the Same.
Great for adults & kids.
Must have & add for College Credit for HOT- Hands on Training.
Must have for Resumes.,
Neat idea.
Hello academia

Posted By stephen russell on February 28, 2008, 10:37 PM

I think a gap year is a wonderful idea. I spent a year abroad during college during my junior year and look back on it as one of the most important, self shaping periods of my life. Travelling shows you who you are. I did this at age 20, and I wonder if a 17/18 year old would benefit as much as a 21/22 year old recent college grad having one immense experience before entering the workingworld. It is something I look back at and wish that I did before starting my job!

Posted By Alison on February 29, 2008, 7:25 AM

I think taking a gap year pre-college is one of the best ideas going around. I think young people have much to gain from a life experience living & working abroad. I also think it helps many find the focus and maturity it takes to do well in college. I did a gap year after college and while it was also a life changing experience, I think it would have helped me immensely if I did it just before. What I would like to see happen is more state funded colleges & universities offering this option to its students, not just ivy leage schools.

Posted By christine on February 29, 2008, 8:46 AM

When I was a secondary school counselor I supported several seniors and their parents in the decision to "defer" a year before college. One student moved to another state and worked full time waiting tables, others did post-graduate exchange programs abroad, still others lived at home and earned money toward a goal of leaving college debt-free. In all cases the colleges were more than co-operative and students who might have "wasted" their freshman year w/ typical "riotous living" entered school more sober and focused.
On the other hand, some students who chose to "take a year off" with no commitment to a plan or deferred acceptance to college got caught up in "good job", car payments, a relationship and put college off indefinitely.

Posted By Iris on February 29, 2008, 10:44 AM

Although I did not take a year off before or after college/law school, I would highly recommend taking both if possible. If only one is available, take it sooner rather than putting it off. I have now traveled to over 50 countries and have learned so much from meeting the people and learning about their cultures that is unavailable in a classroom or in short vacations. These experiences broaden our horizens and put many things into perspective. Like a formal education, one learns a way to think and communicate while traveling in a foreign country. Community service would be a good way to really learn about one place, but just plain living somewhere else in our world offers so many benefits.

Posted By Theresa on February 29, 2008, 10:50 AM

I have always thought that it is advisable to travel for a year before taking too many college courses, if you can afford it, as it gives you a better sense of art, architecture, history, politics - the global awareness that opens you to so many more directions you could go with your education and career.
When my nephew talked to me about doing this, however, while still a sophomore in college (having changed majors twice), I told him to stay in school, as long as his parents were paying.
I so regret that. The Marine Reserve recruiters got to him, and he has just been deployed for a year, one class short of graduation: not the kind of travel we had in mind.

Posted By Sherry Golba on February 29, 2008, 11:01 AM

A friend of mine spent a couple of years after college working abroad as a nanny. I, on the other hand, was in too much of a hurry to be an adult, so I got a job, apartment, car, etc. I wish I had spent a year working abroad before I got myself nailed down to a lease and a car payment. Young people have the rest of their lives to be an adult, but only a short while where they're old enough to go abroad but young enough to not have a lot of strings to tie them down. I'm going to encourage both of my kids to work abroad before they enter into the American workforce.

Posted By Maureen on February 29, 2008, 12:20 PM

I am actually currently teaching English in Mexico at a Catholic convent and monastery. I am 19 now but was 18 when I left in August of last year. This experience has completey transformed my outlook on people, the world, and the way in which we are meant to live our lives. Not only have I been able to become a more fluent Spanish speaker(which I studied for 4 years in high school), but I had to take up more responsiblity by having to teach 4 different English classes a day having no previous training. The lessons that I have learned here simply cannot be taught in a classroom. My faith has increased by leaps and bounds, I have learned that people are always more important that things and I have been able to see how utterly materialistic the world is(as I was also before this trip). Seeing the poverty of the people in the small remote towns of Mexico has humbled me, while seeing their happiness has taught me to value simplicity and family.

The most important lesson I have learned is how to love others because of all the love I have been shown by the Mexican people but most of all the sisters whom I live with.

I would never trade this year for anything and I feel like I am going to go college next year with a new enthusiasm for learning and completely new idea of what is important in life. I would wholeheartedly recommend the same thing to any 18 year old with a desire to some good and really learn something before going to college.

Posted By Lisa Duffy on February 29, 2008, 6:50 PM

I would encourage this! I would have jumped at the chance to experience this!

Posted By S.H. on March 8, 2008, 5:45 PM

Our Europeon relatives have all taken gap years; mostly to backpack around Europe or Asia. We however, we concerned that our son would not want to go to college after a year off, so we didn't allow it. My son did however, spend one whole summer backpacking around South America on his own, and took a quarter off between his undergraduate and graduate school. He coupled the time with his summer and spent six months in Mexico at a University immersion program and came back fluent in Spanish (and salsa dancing), something he had always wanted to accomplish. These both turned out to be great experiences for him.

Posted By K Kearney on April 14, 2008, 12:47 PM

I did have a gap year in between HS and college-- I spent it as an exchange student in Europe. When I came back States-side, not only was I fluent in another language, I also had all the bad freshman year binge drinking and class skipping already done from my year abroad...
I am a college instructor now and I see some students who truly do need to leave their "bubble" to be better critical thinkers.

Posted By Bonnie on April 14, 2008, 12:57 PM

As usual, the Europeans are way ahead of us on this one. They have traditionally taken a year off before college for decades. It's a fabulous idea. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Started pre-med and ended up in the printing business. Take your time, kids!

Posted By Brad on April 14, 2008, 1:08 PM

Interesting concept: Gap Years.
As a middle class student in college, I worked my entire college career. I couldn't afford to take a gap year....... well, actually, I could. I worked full time the year between high school and college. With that, I gained a healthy work ethic and motivation for college.
You don't have to go to Italy or France for that. I know for more affluent students you might have to bribe them with the promise of some exotic location, but in reality if what you really want is for your child to mature and develop discipline that is available in every town in every State right here at home.
Since I have graduated from University I have been to several European countries and ten countries in all so far, and I have had a wonderful time as a tourist in these great countries.

Posted By Dudley on April 14, 2008, 1:23 PM

Another example of the weakness of American youth. Our global competitors will be glad to continue to advance while America's youth take a year off to find themselves.
I see working parents bankrupting themselves to finance their children's lazy lifestyles.
Put these kids to work hanging drywall, landscaping or in a fish canning plant for the summer and they will definitely appreciate their college experience more.

Posted By Glenn on April 14, 2008, 1:40 PM

This unfortunately appears to be an idea that would work for students of more prosperous families. The reality, of working class families, is that unless your child is a full time student ( High School or college) they are no longer covered under the parents Health Insurance. So there is one large expense for parents to pay out of pocket premiums, plus where will the student get their spending money while in gap year ? Again , the parents ? Who will pay for the airfare ,housing,etc - the parents ? Sounds like helping with a 5th year of college. It's a great idea, an opportunity I would love to give my child, but the financial reality , is this parent could not afford it .

Posted By Donna on April 14, 2008, 2:18 PM

Wake up Glenn. The rest of the industrialized world is NOT going to pass us by because of the GAP year concept because they've been doing it for decades. I first learned about it ten years ago in Kenya where I encountered resident Kenyan Brits who sent their daughter off for her GAP year experience in Europe and Asia. What an incredible idea. From what I've learned since is that this experience is so much better than sitting through one's first year of college with no concept of what life/our world is really all about. And I'm pretty sure hanging drywall or canning fish will not be quite as fulfilling as learning about another culture, and learning how to lend a hand where needed.

Posted By Dan on April 14, 2008, 3:07 PM

As a parent of a soon to be college student I want my son to take the gap year and perform community and social services either here in the states or abroad. He has been thinking about the Peace Corps, but maybe AmeriCorps or Projects Abroad will a better fit. I feel for him to have a better understanding of the world around him he needs to experience it first. The knowledge he gains from this type of experience will help him understand and appreciate the importance of college and how the world affects our daily lives.

Posted By Karen on April 14, 2008, 3:16 PM

I took a year off between high school and college and worked (fast food part of it, and as a secretary for most of it), because it would have been tough for my parents to have two kids in college at the same time. but my mom said I had do do something interesting as well as just work, so I took 4-week German summer school program through the University of New Mexico, held in the Taos Ski Valley.

It was a blast and I learned a lot about myself and about the world. Then I traveled to visit a friend from High School who had relocated the San Fransisco, then home. I grew up in Pennysylvania.

Through working entry level jobs during my year off, to make book and spending money for college, I learned that I really wanted to get a college degree, so I could get a better job after college. I also caught the travel bug, which led me to taking my junior year abroad in Greece and England - taking classes there. That year I REALLY learned about my capacity to handle change, and, as someone else here said, I saw and learned many things that are a huge part of who I am today.

I do agree that it might be a hardship for some families where funds are limited and they may be counting on scholarship moneys etc.

Once you are out of college, other than that first year after college, it is so hard to take any length of time off. I almost did a summer of service in NM after college, but it required a lot of preparation, and I had to drop that, in order to concentrate on passing my finals. A year or so ago my mom was wondering what course my life would have taken if I had done that, before coming home and figuring out what to do with my life. I'm happily employed running a small Public Relations firm today, but you never know.

I do think that delaying college a year made me more mature, and helped me understand why college can be so important.

I'd love to take a gap year off now! If I win the lottery, maybe I'll fund a foundation to pay adult's bills for one year so they can travel and do a year of service, giving their skills to someplace where it is needed. :)

Posted By Cathy Larkin on May 29, 2008, 5:32 PM

I think a gap year is a great idea. So is gaining experience of the world at an early age. But having these kids do "social work" is ridiculous. Many Princeton kids are from well-off families; having them gain "experience" at the cost of people who are in distress is absurd.

By the way, I used to teach freshman composition at a university; the "kids" who had "experience" in Viet Nam were light years ahead of their peers in terms of maturity and knowing what they wanted to get out of a university education. Although a traditional gap year won't provide that kind of experience, I think it will help kids to be a bit more mature when they tackle their university studies.

Posted By Sara on June 30, 2008, 2:21 PM