Some Princeton University students are finding their first assignment is an attractive one: take a year off to travel.
“This Ivy League university is starting a new program to encourage students — as many as 10% of their incoming freshmen classes — to take off a year between high school and college in order to perform social service work around the world,†reported the AP.
“We think this kind of service experience abroad will give them a very different perspective on their Princeton education,” said Princeton Provost Christopher Eisgruber.
The program would eventually involve as many as 100 students, or a 10th of each incoming class. Students going abroad wouldn’t pay tuition, and might receive financial aid to help pay for fees, living expenses and travel. Students would not receive academic credit.
Mr Eisgruber said the University wants to allow the high-achieving students who get admitted by the university to take a breather before college, and give them a chance to serve others while learning about the world.
The program is possibly the first of its kind in the US, said Allan Goodman, president and CEO of the New York-based Institute of International Education.
Report by David Wilkening
