We spoke to six companies offering traditional gap year products, with five reporting increased demand for shorter programmes.
Mohamed is currently taking a gap year before studying at Stanford University, California, in the fall.
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Some students opt to have a gap year before taking up a university place.
In recent years, the gap year option seems to be gaining greater acceptance in the academic community.
Instead of attending college this year, Laurie decided to take a gap year.
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So in the fall of 2007, Dynamy founded USA Gap Year Fairs, a national circuit of gap fairs.
Greens original jail term was for raping the student, from the Netherlands, who was spending a gap year in Scotland.
Indeed, more than ever, we need a gap year for grown-ups some time to rest up, find renewal, and reset priorities.
I'm taking a gap year before university and I want to say I have done something worthwhile in that time.
And although several high schools have designated gap year counselors, most schools do not provide gap year counseling for their students.
One of the biggest fears parents have is that their children will not go to college after a gap year, Bull said.
And several high schools have designated gap year counselors for their students.
Another statistic to emerge is that there has been an 11.5% increase in the number of students wanting to take a gap year.
Many students and their parents are interested in exploring options for gap year programs, experts say, but often do not know where to start.
Gap fairs, similar to college fairs, were introduced nationally several years ago by USA Gap Year Fairs, and are gaining traction, Bull said.
Past topics have included: planning a gap year, finding the right program, long term benefits, pros and cons, and how taking time off impacts college.
Nasaw notes that upon return from his gap year, Joseph P.
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Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, Dr Collins said the students had gone to live in Israel in their gap year and were aware of the risks.
Hundreds of thousands of young people are going abroad to volunteer each year, as part of school requirements, to build their CVs, and as part of gap year trips.
Prince William raised the profile of travelling during a gap year when he spent time in Chile and Africa before taking up his studies at St Andrews University.
He admitted his course could be "mind boggling" but his tutors were supportive, giving him permission to take a gap year recently to allow him to concentrate on his boxing.
The benefits of gap year programs have long been celebrated anecdotally, but there is new evidence in support of these educational experiences, confirming what students and their parents have always known.
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Firms "strongly advised" graduates to take temporary jobs, training courses or even unpaid work if they could not find employment, rather than continue with their studies or taking a gap year.
Several colleges are currently tracking their former gap year students, and initial findings seem to show that most do well in college and possibly better than their non-gap year classmates, Bull said.
Israel demands three years from its men and two from its women, after which some would-be undergrads take what the English call a "gap year" to travel the globe before heading off to college.
About 35 are planned for the year ending in March 2013, up from 30 in the latest season, which ended earlier this month, says Robin Pendoley, co-director of USA Gap Year Fairs, a nonprofit organization.
He said he had first experienced "something impinging on his consciousness" as part of a Christian Missionary Society (CMS) scheme to Kenya during his gap year between school and university when he was not a practising Christian.
But an alternative to the high-stakes pressure may be to consider taking a gap year, time off before college designed to be a break from academics, for personal growth, travel, or to participate in community service or internships.
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