Why Harvard“Encourages”Students to Take a Gap Year

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What exactly do students do while on a gap year? What do colleges think of them?

[2]The answers are: There are myriad options for students who have the resources to take a gap year—though they do not have to be expensive.And some colleges actually encourage admitted students to take a gap year—including Harvard.

[3]What exactly is a gap year? Laura R.Hosid, an expert on gap years at the Vinik Educational Placement Services in Bethesda, told me in an interview that a“gap year typically describes a year off between high school and college.”They have long been popular in Britain and other countries, she said, but have been gaining popularity in this country, too,in recent years.They offer students with means“an opportunity to travel, explore different interests, and gain experience and maturity before beginning college.”

[4]There are no solid statistics on how many students take gap years in the United States, according to the American Gap Association, but anecdotal evidence shows that students benef i t significantly from taking time off.A study by the dean of admissions at Middlebury College found that the average GPA for Middlebury students who had taken a gap year was consistently higher than those who had not.

[5]In 2012, Harvard’s website noted that 50 to 70 students take gap years before entering as freshman.The website today says:

Harvard College encourages admitted students to defer enrollment for one year to travel, pursue a special project or activity,work, or spend time in another meaningful way—provided they do not enroll in a degree-granting program at another college.Deferrals for two-year obligatory military service are also granted.Each year, between 80 and 110 students defer their matriculation to the College.

[6]Also on the website is an article titled,“Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation,”describes how pressured K-121= kindergarten to 12 grades幼兒園到12年級。schooling has become, noting that“training for college scholarships—or professional contracts—begins early,even in grammar school2文法學(xué)校，承襲傳統(tǒng)精英教育，主要培養(yǎng)學(xué)習(xí)成績優(yōu)秀、富于學(xué)術(shù)發(fā)展?jié)摿Φ膶W(xué)生，學(xué)校課程內(nèi)容突出學(xué)術(shù)性，對學(xué)生要求高、管理嚴(yán)。.”It says:

Faced with the fast pace of growingup today, some students are clearly distressed, engaging in binge drinking and other self-destructive behaviors.Counseling services of secondary schools3中學(xué)，11至16歲或18歲的學(xué)校教育。and colleges have expanded in response to greatly increased demand.It is common to encounter even the most successful students, who have won all the“prizes,”stepping back and wondering if it was all worth it.Professionals in their thirties and forties—physicians, lawyers, academics,business people and others—sometimes give the impression that they are dazed4dazed（由于震驚或打擊）神志不清的，茫然的。survivors of some bewildering5bewildering令人困惑的，使人糊涂的。life-long boot-camp6boot-camp新兵訓(xùn)練營。.Some say they ended up in their profession because of someone else’s expectations, or that they simply drifted into it without pausing to think whether they really loved their work.Often they say they missed their youth entirely, never living in the present, always pursuing some ill-defined future goal.

學(xué)生們到底在空檔年做些什么？大學(xué)如何看待他們的行為？

[2]答案：對于有條件選擇空檔年的學(xué)生，可做的事情數(shù)不勝數(shù)——而且費用并不一定很高。事實上，包括哈佛在內(nèi)的一些大學(xué)鼓勵已錄取的學(xué)生選擇空檔年。

[3]空檔年到底是什么？貝塞斯達(dá)維尼科教育安置服務(wù)處空檔年專家勞拉·R.霍西德在接受我采訪時說，“空檔年一般指學(xué)生高中畢業(yè)后進(jìn)入大學(xué)前選擇空出的一年”?？諜n年在英國及其他國家早已大受歡迎，但近幾年才在美國日漸流行。空檔年以不同的方式在學(xué)生“入學(xué)前為其提供出門旅行、探索興趣、積累閱歷及獲得成長的機會”。

[4]美國空檔年組織稱，并無確切數(shù)據(jù)顯示美國有多少學(xué)生選擇空檔年，但有證據(jù)表明，空出一段時間后入學(xué)會讓學(xué)生大受裨益。米德爾伯里大學(xué)招生處主任研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，該校有空檔年經(jīng)歷的學(xué)生的平均績點一直高于沒有此經(jīng)歷的學(xué)生。

[5]2012年，哈佛大學(xué)網(wǎng)站顯示，有50至70名新生入學(xué)前選擇空檔年。如今該網(wǎng)站稱：

哈佛大學(xué)鼓勵已錄取學(xué)生推遲一年入學(xué)，去旅行、參與特殊項目或活動、打工，或以其他有意義的方式度過空檔年，前提是沒有參與其他院校的學(xué)位授予項目。學(xué)校也準(zhǔn)許學(xué)生為履行兵役義務(wù)而推遲兩年入學(xué)。每年，有80至110名學(xué)生推遲入學(xué)。

[6]該網(wǎng)站上還有一篇題為“下一代該小憩還是燃訖”的文章，講述了從幼兒園到12年級的K-12教育體制帶來的巨大壓力，指出“為獲得大學(xué)獎學(xué)金或職業(yè)合同而進(jìn)行的培訓(xùn)早早就開始了，甚至文法學(xué)校也是如此”。文章寫道：

如今，成長節(jié)奏快，一些學(xué)生對此明顯焦慮不已，有酗酒及其他自毀行為。中學(xué)及大學(xué)已擴大咨詢服務(wù)，以應(yīng)對急劇增長的需求。咨詢者中學(xué)業(yè)優(yōu)異的學(xué)生大有人在，他們贏得了各項“大獎”，卻退而思考這一切是否值得。三四十歲的專業(yè)人士——醫(yī)生、律師、學(xué)者、商人等——有時讓人覺得他們像是終生待在某個令人迷失方向的新兵訓(xùn)練營里，茫然無措。有人說他們之所以從事現(xiàn)在的職業(yè)是由于別人的期待，或只是一路順其自然而從未停步想過自己是不是真正喜愛這份工作。他們常說自己錯過了整個青春，從未活在當(dāng)下，總在追求未來某個并不明確的目標(biāo)。

Some early remedies

What can we do to help? Fortunately this young fast-track generation itself offers ideas that can reduce stress and prevent burnout.In college application essays and interviews, in conversations and counseling sessions with current college students, and in discussions with alumni/ae, many current students perceive the value of taking time out.Such a“time out”can take many forms.It can be verybrief or last for a year or more.It can be structured or unstructured, and directed toward career, academic or purely personal pursuits.Most fundamentally, it is a time to step back and reflect, to gain perspective on personal values and goals, or to gain needed life experience in a setting separate from and independent of one’s accustomed pressures and expectations.

[7]Other schools encourage gap years, as well.For example, Princeton University offers the Bridge Year Program, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has Global Gap Year Fellowship Program.

[9]For those students who don’t apply to college, hoping that activities undertaken during a gap year will enhance their admissions profile, Hosid said a gap year can’t“compensate for deficiencies in your high school record.”

[10]She also said in the earlier interview:

早期改進(jìn)措施

我們能做些什么來幫助他們呢？所幸，快速成長的這一代年輕人自己找到了能夠減輕壓力并防止透支的方法。在入學(xué)申請及面試中、在與在校生的交談及咨詢中，以及在與校友的討論中，很多在校生都認(rèn)識到空出時間的價值。這樣的一段“小憩”可以有多種形式：時間可以非常短，也可以持續(xù)一年或更久；計劃可有可無，既可針對事業(yè)、學(xué)業(yè)，也可純粹出于個人興趣。最重要的是，這段時間可以后退反省，可以認(rèn)清個人價值與目標(biāo)，或者，可以遠(yuǎn)離習(xí)以為常的壓力與期望，置身獨立的環(huán)境獲得所需的生活經(jīng)驗。

[7]另一些學(xué)校也鼓勵學(xué)生選擇空檔年，比如普林斯頓大學(xué)設(shè)立“空檔年項目”，北卡羅來納大學(xué)教堂山分校則設(shè)有“全球空檔年獎學(xué)金項目”。

[8]有意愿選擇空檔年的學(xué)生應(yīng)先申請高校，被錄取后向?qū)W校提交計劃書陳述選擇空檔年的原因。很多大學(xué)都樂于批準(zhǔn)。

爐殼采用焊接式鋼結(jié)構(gòu)框架，保證焊接的密封性。由于氫氣密度小于空氣，爐殼進(jìn)氣口設(shè)置在上部，排氣口設(shè)置在下部，在排氣口處有長明火咀，工作時將排出的廢氣點燃，確保設(shè)備和工作環(huán)境安全。爐口處有水冷套，爐門采用新型結(jié)構(gòu)[2]，保證了爐口的氣密性。同時，出于安全考慮，在爐頂部設(shè)有防爆裝置。

[9]有些學(xué)生未申請高校但希望以空檔年參加的活動來豐富其申請簡歷，對于這些學(xué)生，霍西德說，空檔年“并不能彌補高中成績的不足”。

[10]在之前采訪的答問中，她還說過：

Q)What kinds of things do students do on their gap years?

Many students choose to spend their gap year in structured programs volunteering abroad or in the United States.There are also many opportunities to explore interests in the environment,arts, and other cultures.Taking courses to improve academic skills is another option.Within these broad categories,there are a myriad of options, ranging from studying at the International Culinary7culinary烹飪。Center in New York, to performing musical stage performances in multiple countries while living with host families with Up With People, to building trails8trail小徑。in state parks with the Student Conservation Association.

One thing to keep in mind is that gap years need not be expensive or involve international travel.City Year, part of AmeriCorps9美國志愿隊，美國全國性志愿者服務(wù)項目，由比爾·克林頓創(chuàng)建，鼓勵人們將自己的信念和理想化為奉獻(xiàn)與行動。, provides a stipend10stipend 生活津貼。and scholarship for 10 months of service in inner-city schools.World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms11世界有機農(nóng)場機會組織，提供以工作換食宿的體驗。offers meals and housing in exchange for farming work.

A gap year also does not need to be one full-year program.Students often piece together12piece together結(jié)合。different options to explore a range of interests or can work for a few months to fund a shorter opportunity.Short-term options can range from three weeks at a wildlife sanctuary13sanctuary鳥獸保護(hù)區(qū)，禁獵區(qū)。in South Africa with BroadReach144廣達(dá)組織，成立于2003年，與全球政府人員、全球發(fā)展組織與私立機構(gòu)一道，為全球人口健康與福祉提出創(chuàng)新的、系統(tǒng)的解決方案。to a month studying French at Concordia Language Villages in Minnesota.

問：學(xué)生在空檔年都會做些什么？

很多學(xué)生選擇有組織的項目，如在海外或美國國內(nèi)做志愿者。還有很多機會探索自己對環(huán)境、藝術(shù)及其他文化的興趣。也可以通過上課提升學(xué)術(shù)技能。在上述眾多項目中，學(xué)生的選擇頗為廣泛，如在紐約國際烹飪中心學(xué)習(xí)，參加“人人至上”國際青年團(tuán)隊在不同國家的寄宿家庭居住并表演音樂舞臺劇，或是同學(xué)生保護(hù)協(xié)會一道在國家公園修筑小徑。

記住，不必為空檔年花很多錢或非要去國外。國內(nèi)的“城市年”是美國志愿隊服務(wù)的一部分，會為在貧民區(qū)學(xué)校服務(wù)10個月的學(xué)生提供補助與獎學(xué)金。世界有機農(nóng)場機會組織則會為干農(nóng)活兒的學(xué)生提供食宿。

也不必非在空檔年參加一個整年的項目。學(xué)生常結(jié)合不同的選擇探索一系列興趣，或可以工作幾個月來為參與一個短期活動籌錢。短期選擇可以是在南非野生動物禁獵區(qū)同廣達(dá)組織一道生活三周，也可以是在明尼蘇達(dá)州康科迪亞語言學(xué)習(xí)村學(xué)習(xí)一個月法語。

Q)How do families get help planning one?

There are several good books available, including“The Complete Guide to the Gap Year”by Kristin M.White and“The Gap-Year Advantage”by Karl Haigler and Rae Nelson.Websites such as Teen Life offer listings of gapyear programs by type—many private high schools and colleges also have lists available online.In addition, USA Gap Year Fairs offer over 30 different fairs throughout the country.Finally, there are a small number of educational consultants who focus on gap-year advising and can help students figure out what they want to do and help identify specific programs that would be a good match.■

問：家人如何幫助策劃一個空檔年？

有幾本好書可以參考，包括克里斯汀·M.懷特的《空檔年指導(dǎo)大全》、卡爾·海格勒和蕾·納爾遜合著的《空檔年優(yōu)勢》。“青年人生”等網(wǎng)站提供不同種類的空檔年項目列表，很多私立高中與大學(xué)網(wǎng)站上也有此類列表。此外，美國空檔年協(xié)會在全國范圍內(nèi)提供30多種不同的項目。最后，可以咨詢一些教育顧問，他們專門提供有關(guān)空檔年的建議，能幫助學(xué)生發(fā)現(xiàn)自己想做的事，并確定與之相應(yīng)的具體項目?！?/p>