Why Your High School Senior Should Take a Gap Year

Randye Hoder makes the case in TIME for taking a year off between high school and college. "Many educators tout taking a gap year, saying that kids who step off the academic treadmill after high school to work, travel, volunteer or explore other interests are more mature when they arrive at college and more engaged in their education going forward," writes Hoder. "With this in mind, a handful of colleges—Princeton and the University of North Carolina, among them—offer scholarships and fellowships to incoming freshmen who take a gap year."