Princeton University creates a "gap year" program

Princeton University will be the first school to create a program for students who opt to take a "gap year" before checking into college according to the New York Times article. "Gap Year" means "a period of time taken by a student to travel or work, often after high school or before starting graduate school, as a break from formal education" and it was started in the UK in the 1960s when college-bound students traveled to India on the infamous Hippie Trails.

Here is the news excerpt:

Princeton's president, Shirley M. Tilghman, said in an interview that such a program would give students a more international perspective, add to their maturity and give them a break from academic pressures. She called it a year of "cleansing the palate of high school, giving them a year to regroup."

"People are too young when they start college," said Allan E. Goodman, president of the Institute of International Education. "This way, they would have a year to mature, and they can do something constructive."

Some of you may want to take a gap year to think clearly about what you want to get out of your college education, and your course of study and future career plans.