Today I read an article that Ivy League Princeton University will start a new program to entice up to 10% of their incoming freshmen to take a year off in between high school and college. But instead of partying it up from coast to coast or bumming around Europe, the university wants them to perform social service work around the world.
"We think this kind of service experience abroad will give them a very different perspective on their Princeton education," said Princeton Provost Christopher Eisgruber.
I wish this program had been around when I was in college. Though I wasn't really ready for college in the first place and was shy, didn't make many friends, and ended up transferring to a school closer to home. True, it had a better major for me, but I was still wanting to get out of the big Southern football college I had initially chosen. I think for many, the freshmen year in college is a chance to transition with some independence while retaining structure. I'm not sure how many freshmen will really benefit from going abroad. I would have loved to do something like this in between my senior year of college and first year in the work force. It would given me fresh, much needed perspective.
Looks like officials are looking to the 2009-10 school year, and would eventually recruit as many as 100 students, or about 10% of each incoming class. Surprisingly, students going abroad wouldn't pay tuition, and might even get financial aid to help pay for fees, living expenses and travel, but not academic credit. This is interesting. 1) I figure they' nickel and dime their students to death and use this as an opportunity to even raise tuition for the special program. It's almost as if they'd be giving the university at 10% pay cut. 2) No academic credit? Are these students, chomping at the bit to go to an Ivy League school, going to want to forgo the chance to receive credit and postpone their college career?
"When you're reading a text of poetry, it helps when you understand the cultural assumptions there," Bermann said.
I guess so. But I don't think I'd go abroad to interpret poetry better. I do agree with the expanding of cultural horizons, though. My husband maintains that everyone should live in New York City once in their lives, but I think we're overcrowded here as it is. I do think everyone should go abroad to a city unlike their own where the people don't speak the same language you do.
Watch a video on Budapest here....
Atom Feed (xml)
No comments:
Post a Comment