February 19, 2008

Princeton Will Offer a 'Bridge Year' to Incoming Freshmen

Princeton University is preparing to offer incoming freshmen the opportunity to spend a “bridge year” doing service work abroad before beginning college. The university has established a working group to determine details of the plan, which would send as much as 10 percent of each incoming class overseas tuition-free and with financial support.

The goals of the program are to enrich students’ international perspective, help other countries, and give students a break from academic pressures. The time abroad would be focused on service, not academic work.

The working group is to share its recommendations for the program early this summer. —Beckie Supiano

Comments

1. Giving students “a break from academic pressures” is fine, as long as this program doesn’t aim to become a break from life’s pressures. Students need to learn that life is difficult in these countries, and they ought to be prompted to reflect on why it is difficult.

   My friend’s son spent a year in Thailand with the Peace Corps and told me that half the volunteers there wasted most of their time partying and “hooking up.” My fear is that unless these kind of programs are closely monitored, they can just turn into a year of sitting on the beach of a Third World country smoking the local weed.

   — J. Ward    Feb 19, 01:27 PM    #

2. The idea of a “bridge year” implies that there will be curriculum, support, and education surrounding these students and their experience. If this turns out to be the case, then maybe we can minimize rampant student whining. Expanding their world view can help students appreciate their opportunities and mature with their experience.

   I do agree that without that structure and purpose this could easily become an extended Spring Break in a cheap locale.

   — Kennedy    Feb 19, 03:40 PM    #

3. I worked in Thailand…and knew several Peace Corps members there. The locals only politely put up with them (they told me so)…as Thailand exports more rice than just about any country in the world, and the Peace Corps ladies were there to “teach” the locals how to better grow food. You never see a hungry Thai; plenty of poor, but not hungry as a lot of the food hangs wild off trees (bananas especially) everywhere. Total waste of time for the Peace Corps. As to a bridge year before beginning undergrad, this too is a waste as not that many 18-year-olds are savvy enough to grasp the experience. The difference between 18 and 21, when most students do study abroad, is enormous in maturity levels. Sounds like a waste of time.

   — Barry Moore    Feb 19, 03:44 PM    #

4. What about a “stop out year” between the Sophomore and Junior year. Students would be older and more mature. They would have two more years of study to build upon. It should be “framed” as a learning year not a service year. Immersion in the local culture such as living with families and participating in community life, rural if possible and in developing countries, should be stressed. Great idea if done very carefully.

   — John Eby    Feb 19, 03:51 PM    #

5. I too like the idea of making it a learning year instead of a service year. Students would get a whole hell of a lot more out of learning the local language, customs, and history than simply trying to impart some esoteric Western college kid knowledge on the natives. And should those students later end up working for the State Department, the knowledge they acquire would be quite valuable.

   — J. Ward    Feb 19, 04:29 PM    #

6. I was fortunate enough to spend almost 2 years abroad between my sophomore and junior years of college. It was not a “play” experience. It was self-regulated and voluntarily regimented. It was the most valuable experience for learning (besides marriage and parenthood) that I have ever had. I applaud Princeton for their initiative and forward thinking. However, the participants do run the risk of wasting their time and tarnishing the reputation of the university if the proper strictures and guidelines are not in place. I would assume that Princeton will develop a stellar program. Presumably these uber-achievers entering one of the most prestigious universities in the US would not waste time hooking or toking up- but we all know what they say about assuming anything.
   I realize that it would destroy the entire “University Inc.” paradigm that the higher educational system is running on, but perhaps universities should institute a “no freshman under 21” policy-? It would allow students to grow up, gain some real world experience, and have a more mature, focused, and reasoned approach to their education when they attend college. Imagine, ambitious students with direction to their passion and an educational system that produced an educated population, not just a plug-and-play proletariat struggling to live in the real world and pay off student debt.

   — Dax Lance    Feb 19, 04:40 PM    #

7. I agree—I’m concerned that many of the just- out- of- high-school folks will not be mature enough to benefit from this experience. I certainly would not have been!

   The “no first year students under 21” is an interesting concept…college is definitely wasted on the young.

   — Floribunda    Feb 19, 06:01 PM    #

8. I am of two minds about this. On the one hand, I understand the concerns about students who are too immature to benefit from an experience that is unstructured and essentially oriented to work (service or otherwise). If this is to be meaningful at all, it will have to be guided, although guide it too close and you won’t get the self-discipline boost you want.

   Note to Barry – any school that would send an 18 year old as an expert in anything to the developing world needs to have its accreditation reviewed. Hopefully, as service-learning becomes more sophisticated, humility will be built in as a part of the curriculum.

   On the other hand, I must say I was not ready to take advantage of my freshman year, which was key, intellectually, at my college. I did not understand what freedom to regulate my activities meant, and, coming from a family where no one had ever gone to college, higher education was a complete cipher to me. I think Princeton is on to something, personally.

   — RobJ    Feb 19, 09:26 PM    #

9. I really like the basic idea here, but why before the freshman year? The students are way too young—they wouldn’t have even spent a year on campus to develop a connection to the university. That is, they would be representing a university they presumably would never have studied at. Besides, lots of students develop serious problems when away from home for the first time. Sending them to a very different culture seems like it may exacerbate the problem. Why not just do it after the freshman year?

   — Amanda    Feb 19, 09:41 PM    #

10. Taking a bridge year has been made popular by the young British royals now all the elite youngsters want to try it. Are you affluent enough to waste a year etc.?

    It sounds like Princeton may be trying to be at the forefront of the trend or perhaps just trying to retain students who would find the Princeton experience less than fulfilling after a year in another world.

    — John    Feb 20, 06:32 AM    #

11. Such a scheme would be a whole lot more useful — to students and the country — as a national program of community service — where students took a year to work on behalf of the public good and then got a tuition break when they reached college.

    — Svana    Feb 20, 03:38 PM    #

12. Great idea and a bold step towards increasing acceptance for gap year in the US! However, only a handful of colleges and universities will be able to afford their own gap year program any time soon. Additionally, proponents of the gap year say it is important for the student to take on the lions share of planning and organizing their own gap year becuase this helps develop maturity, responsibility and confidence. To this end, the internet will become the first stop for US students to plan a year out.

    — Paul    Feb 23, 12:41 PM    #

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