The Gap year isn’t just a fad.

Last month, I reported that the Gap year–in which students take a year off before going to college–is an up and coming trend. And it looks like it has staying power.

Yesterday, the Today show did a report on the Gap year saying that some of the most prestigeous universities, including Princeton, Harvard, MIT and Tufts are big fans.

Princeton even announced a new program called the “bridge year” that will allow newly admitted students to spend a year performing public service abroad before beginning their freshman year.

These colleges think that the Gap year actually helps students, by letting them take a rest from academics, figure out what they want to study and become more well-rounded individuals.

But the schools aren’t just looking out for you. Colleges think time off will make you more focused when you get to college. More focus means better completion rates–which is important because the U.S. has fallen from the number one spot in the world to seventh in the portion of 25 to 34 year olds holding college degrees. And the U.S. is in the bottom half of all developed nations for rates of college completion.

Colleges are hoping that a gap year will help.

The Today show says: “a gap year does not mean that a student is doomed to remain degree-less forever. While there are no formal studies on the number of students who never end up making their way to college post-gap, anecdotal evidence from admissions officers across the country says very few actually drop off the college radar. Taking a gap year can actually make kids more focused and ready for the rigors of academic life.”

And a taking time off to volunteer, travel or work abroad can actually help your college application.

Whatever the case, I’m sure you are all for being encouraged to have some time off before college. It’s like getting a note from your parents to be able to skip school.

Read the Today’s show full article on the Gap year.

Convinced that taking a year off before college will make you look like a slacker and decrease your chances of getting into college?

Turns out you’re wrong! In fact, Ivy League schools do see the benefits of a “Gap Year”: taking time off (usually a year, but not always) before college.

But don’t start dreaming of a year-long Spring Break getaway just yet… the gap year is not  your free ticket to a year of partying or lounging on an exotic beach. Colleges believe that taking a year off can give you life experience, make you more worldly and mature, and therefore help you when it’s time to devote yourself to your college education.
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