A new programme at Tufts University hopes to remove the financial barriers keeping cash-strapped US students from taking a year off after high school to travel or volunteer, offering an opportunity now typically only available to more affluent students to explore different communities and challenge their comfort zones before starting university.
This "gap year" programme launching this fall will pay for housing, airfare and even visa fees, which can often add up to USD 30,000 or more.
Although gap years are more popular in Europe, they have started to gain traction in the United States. About 40,000 Americans participated in gap year programmes in 2013, an increase of nearly 20 per cent since 2006, according to data gathered by a nonprofit called the American Gap Year Association.
Princeton University began offering full aid to need-based applicants in 2009 and nearly 100 students have participated, volunteering in Brazil, China, India, Peru and Senegal.
The University of North Carolina offers USD 7,500 to gap year applicants, while students at Wisconsin's St Norbert College can receive financial aid based on need, although airfare isn't covered.
Lydia Collins, 19, a Tufts freshman from Illinois said she took a gap year because she wanted to see what was outside of the classroom before committing to four more years of school.
"A lot of kids are very burnt out after high school," Collins said. "Taking this time to be with yourself and see yourself in a new community and light will only help you to succeed in college."
Collins worked in microfinance in Ecuador through Global Citizen and said the experience inspired her to pursue international relations, something she would not have known about beforehand.
Students who take part are able to see the world beyond the bubble they grew up in and return to school with a better perspective of their future, said Holly Bull, president of the Centre of Interim Programmes, which counsels students on taking gap years.
