For many students, the concept of putting education on hold for a year off is as daunting as it is enticing. Taking a year to travel, work or volunteer is already a common trend with European students, and now, like a love of soccer and a functioning health care system, the idea of a gap year is also seeping into American culture. In recent years, more and more American students are opting to take a gap year, either between high school and college, or between undergraduate and graduate studies.

Between a rock and a hard place: To de-stress and plan for the future, many Cornell students either take a year off between high school and college or between college and entering the workforce. Hannah Weinerman ’11 is one example. This is a location that Weinerman visited at the ancient

Hannah Weinerman ’11 is one student who decided to take the opportunity to take a year off and travel after her senior year of high school. In her community in New York, taking a year off was a common decision. According to Weinerman, 83 percent of students in her high school take a year off. Without homework all day and night and huge time constraints, recent grads taking a gap year finally have time to reflect on who they are and what they want out of life. And there are an infinite number of possibilities for what one can do.

After being admitted to Cornell, Weinerman notified the school of her decision to defer admission for a year and went with a program to Israel. From August to June after Weinerman’s high school graduation, she lived in Israel, took courses and traveled. “I was burnt out from high school, and this was a good transition to college,” she said. “I met so many amazing people, and you mature so much.”

Living so far from home for the first time and without anyone she knew, Weinerman was forced to adapt to foreign situations. “It was very different socially. American and Israeli kids are very different. Kids grow up faster in Israel. After being away from home for a year, people change a lot.”

While some of her friends were out at frat parties, living the freshman college student life, Weinerman traveled Europe and lived a different culture. “I got a glimpse into college life [when I was away] by staying in touch with my friends from home [who hadn’t gone abroad], who filled me in with experiences that I could’ve been having. Then I knew I was going to have this amazing experience [at college] when I get back.”

Overall, her experience turned out to be very beneficial. There are many programs in Israel, like the one Weinerman participated in, that instill a connection to the country that isn’t as common in other cultures. Programs range from academic or volunteering to work experience or career interest.

“I knew what I was going to study academically in college, but I hadn’t thought of international relations,” she said. “I had the foundation, but going abroad led me to be interested in new academic pursuits.” Supported by her parents and community, she found funding for her year from a Jewish organization (Midreshet Lindenbaum, part of the Ohr Torah Stone umbrella organization) and had help from her school as well.

Coming back to school wasn’t as hard as one might imagine either. “In a weird way, I missed work. We learned and took classes [in Israel], but none of it really counted. We didn’t have tests or papers or anything. It was weird to have deadlines again, but exciting to come back into it. We had a lot of independent time [in Israel] so you had to have initiative, more so than in college.”

When asked if she would recommend it, or if she would do it again Weinerman explained, “I absolutely loved it and did all these really cool things. If the opportunity comes, you definitely take it.”

Sweet deserts: Hannah Weinerman ’11 stops for a minute at sunrise while on a hike in the Eilat Mountains in the south of israel.With her year structured by the program, she was able to make her year off a success. Next semester she is studying abroad in Ireland — she is hoping to experience another culture that she doesn’t know much about yet.

But when Jeremy Feldman ’11, a member of Cornell’s tennis team, took his year off between college and high school, he went in a very different direction. From September to May, he lived in Boca Raton, Fla., and trained at the Rick Macci Tennis Academy. “I did it to maximize my full tennis potential and improve my game as much as I could before I came [to Cornell].”

He had thought of doing something with tennis, but it was his parents that first suggested the idea. “I’ve never had anyone say it was a bad idea,” Feldman said.

He admits that it is a little weird that, because most of his friends from high school went straight to college, he won’t be graduating this year with them. He also can’t see himself taking another year off after college before graduate school. Instead he sees himself either going straight into the workforce or trying his hand at pro tennis.

As for taking a year off from any kinds of academics, Feldman explained that “it was a little bit of an adjustment … It took about a month to get readjusted to the whole school work routine.” However, a demanding high school had been enough prep to get him ready for the workload of college. Would he do it again? “Absolutely.”

Unlike Feldman, who had already found out what he should focus on in college, Sarina Lewis ’12 used her gap year to find her passion. After attending Pratt Institute in New York for a year, she decided to leave school for a year and reflect on what she really wanted to do.

“Pratt wasn’t fulfilling my educational goals, and [the year off] gave me a perception change about college,” Lewis said. “Stepping away from it made me realize how important school is. I met a lot of people who didn’t finish college and it made me realize the level of motivation and general interest in work a solid education can help build.”

For a year she took classes part time and did internships in areas that she was interested in possibly pursuing, including work on a fashion show for designer and artist Helle Mardahl. Finances didn’t become much of an issue, as she lived at home and babysat part time. “I learned how to be much more independent and got really serious about doing art,” Lewis said. “There was a lot of down time, but I used this time so that I was working towards an academic goal in addition to being in the moment and working on my art.”

“I think taking time off is a way to find yourself in a different setting where you have to go beyond the means of school to define yourself and interact with people of all different interests,” she added. “It’s really interesting to see how you meet, interact and portray yourself in the world outside of school — it’s not very often that people get to do this outside of organizations such as school and jobs. My future goals feel more open, in terms of what I can achieve and connections I can make, and time doesn’t feel to be as much of an issue.”

Her parents supported her taking time off, but it was her decision to be proactive about her future and pursue her studies. “I would recommend it,” she said. “I think people get into this college mode and don’t see anything else.”

Unless you have a clear need for a year off between years in college like Lewis did, the time for Cornell students to be considering a gap year is between graduation and either taking a job or going on to graduate studies.

Out of the Class of 2008 Undergraduate School of Arts and Sciences, only 13 students reported their time following school would be devoted to travel, time off or volunteering. Of 965 degree recipients in Arts and Sciences, 59.6 percent responded to the survey. Many students did list themselves as being employed by either nonprofit organizations (11 percent) or educational organizations (11.7 percent). Among the top ten employers for the class of 2008 Arts and Science students were Teach for America (11 students participating), the Peace Corps (4 students), New York City Teaching Fellows (4 students) and AmeriCorps (4 students).

Students in some fields like pre-med, want to get through their formal education as quickly as possible: “I’m not taking a year off because I just want to go straight through,” said Joyce Elugbadebo

’10, a pre-med student. For many like Joyce, who plan to continue extended studies in medical school, a year off will only lengthen time before they are finished being students.

However, for other areas of study, ranging from engineering to law, a gap year may not be such a bad idea. “Time spent in industry can further augment a student’s qualifications and potentially make them a more viable candidate for admission. But, this experience can only strengthen an already solid background,” said Scott Coldren, Manager of Student Services at the Cornell Graduate School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

“As for if it’s beneficial for a student to take that time prior to applying for grad school,” Coldren added, “I’d say it would have to depend on the student.”

Richard Geiger, Associate Dean of the Cornell Law School, agrees that the decision to take time off depends very much on the individual’s situation.

“We don’t have a position on whether or not it is a good thing to take time off. It very much depends on the individual,” Geiger said. “I will say that most law students who have had a “gap” in their education usually have done so for good reasons and believe that the time was well spent. In terms of how the time off affects law school performance, again it is ver

y individual, and again most students who do it believe it was a good choice.”

About 30 percent of students entering the Cornell Law School came directly from undergraduate schooling. The other 70 percent either were graduate students in other areas, or took time off to pursue employment, travel, reconnect with their families or participate in service opportunities, such as VISTA, the Peace Corps or Teach for America.

The opportunities for gap year activities are endless. Christa Downey, Assistant Dean and Director of Arts and Sciences Career Services, highly recommends taking advantage of such an opportunity. And she encourages students who are considering the idea to come in and ask for help.

Seeking enlightenment: Making a stop at the Western Wall (also known as the Kotel or Wailing Wall) in the Old City of Jerusalem. This picture was taken during the Blessing of the Priests.“Be aware of how you want to spend your time,” she said, “and take the experience to see, do or study something you want to know more about.”

There are many government, volunteer, and teaching jobs that are highly respected by potential employers and graduate schools that recent graduates can spend a year or two pursuing. The Peace Corps, AmeriCorp, Teach for America and GreenCorp are all organizations that can give grads worldly experiences and a potential new outlook on professional careers.

These last for a year or two and can provide an enriching and structured break from schooling.

Downey advises to plan early for these types of programs, as it takes time to apply and figure logistics out. In addition to these nonprofit and government opportunities, there are many opportunities for students to go abroad and teach English. The China Education Initiative is one organization that particularly prefers native English speakers to come to China to help teach language.

Once you have an idea of what you want to do, the next step is figuring out how to pay for it. One idea is setting up a blog with a pay pal account, and getting people to sponsor your time off as you write about your experiences, according to Downey.

There are also websites that can provide grants and fundraising opportunities once you know what you want to do.

If you are passionate enough about it, there will be a source somewhere out there to fund it. “Be creative,” Downey encourages. “People are willing to help if it’s something you’re passionate and enthusiastic about.”