Katie and I are two Americans taking a Gap Year. We're spending time in Southeast Asia, Central America, South America, and Europe. There's a lot to s...
Many people believe that continuing education can improve physical and mental health. I am firmly of that opinion. I can certainly attest to the benefits of taking up a hobby, an activity or learning a new skill at any age.
Almost every person we've spoken to about our travels has told us that they're envious and want to do the same thing -- to that I always say, "You can. Just put a date on your calendar and give your jobs six weeks notice before you leave."
Living abroad for several months can give travelers the opportunity to witness firsthand how others live. After I left my home in Georgia and moved to...
Parents and students expect real results from the four-year undergraduate curriculum. This is not unreasonable. Scholarly studies have shown that programs like Global Citizen Year do deliver real educational outcomes.
Widely thought to have some of the best higher education institutions in the world, we are facing increasing drop-out rates among university freshman, increasing cost of university education, and an overall generation change called "extended adolescence."
It seems we send some kids off to college because there is nowhere else to put them. The campus is a convenient, if expensive, warehouse.
So I treat college the way I treat a guy who won't take "no" for an answer: Maybe if I just don't acknowledge it, it will go away.
Young men don't want to be pushed at 17 or 18 to make these kinds of choices with all the weight they carry. They are still finding out what they like, what they can do, what is important to them.
For seniors, the college application process has begun (or is beginning now). In my last blog, I identified four common, but avoidable mistakes college applicants make in completing applications, and promised to follow with more.
Was the school not right for her or did she need some maturing? Or had I gotten so caught up in the college acceptance frenzy that I had put unrealistic demands and expectations on her?
Many times, after visiting a place, people say they would like to go back. I don't have that luxury when speaking about Shanghai; I cannot just come back and visit, I must come back and live.
First in his family to go to college, paid for by parents of humble and modest means, Jerry Hildebrand resisted their "tremendous pressure" to pursue a conventional career and, instead, opted to join the very first Peace Corps cohort.
So you're graduating into a tough economy, and job prospects are bleak. Or maybe you just want to take a break before going on to grad school. So what can you do with your "gap year"?
Somewhere along the 12-year stint of schooling, students need the challenge of answering, "What do I really want to learn? What kind of help do I need to pursue my dream?" Considering those questions is the seed for maturity.
I tried going to college directly after high school, and I hated it. It was a small liberal arts college on the East Coast. Most of the students had w...
By Tricia Taormina Do you get tired just thinking about another year of homework and exams? Are you ready for a new adventure -- but not the kind t...
I visited a diverse group of individuals who were participating in The John Jay Institute's 2011-2012 Fellows Program -- a faith-based gap-year program which seeks to cultivate leaders for careers of principled service.
What better way to learn about a place than through its people?
A gap year is a tradition for students -- time between school and university spent traveling, working, "chilling." Why not introduce a similar break, a time to completely step away from our usual routines, for everyone who turns 50?
I took a gap year and it actually changed my life. Although, I initially resisted the idea, wanting to stay "on track," I soon realized that this wouldn't "set me back" at all.
Back then, I wanted to be independent, and avoided anything that smacked of an organized "program". So what I am doing leading one today?
Americans feel pressure against taking a year off between studies to gain broader experience in the world. Such a breach of structure, and the word "gap," is all too threatening to the resume.
How can we burst the bubble of application inflation? One answer may lie in a counter-intuitive strategy: Encourage more students to take a year off after high school.
Years of traveling has left me over-sensitized to other travelers wrong-doings. Our vacations are precious but the world would be a better place if we were a little more aware of our impact on it.
