College Alternatives Gaining Popularity

"I just wasn't ready to go to school," Williams said. "I was burned out from high school, and I needed a break."

Williams joined the Marines and worked as a radio operator, abandoning his comfortable home-town environment for a life of travel, which included stints in Okinawa, Japan and California.

Now a sophomore at Durham Technical Community College, Williams, 26, credits his experience with the military with teaching him the discipline to be "self-reliant and self-sufficient," valuable tools not only in college but in the world after graduation.

Williams' choice to delay college is becoming less of a rarity, as evidence indicates more students are taking off a year or more between high school and college.

Cornelius Bull, president of the Center for Interim Programs, said these numbers show increased interest in a "gap" period before college.

The center provides work opportunities the world over for people aged 15 to 83.

"An awful lot of kids are allergic to the school system and bloody bored," Bull said.

He created the center, the oldest of its kind, after 30 years in education, which, he said, taught him "no teenager had the wisdom or experience to take advantage of a very expensive opportunity."

The center provides opportunities to teach English to children in Katmandu, volunteer for conservation work in Australia or study Greek culture in Crete, among others.

But Bull's center is not the only organization to experience a rise in participation.

The ranks of Americorps, a government service program for 18- to 24-year-olds, has swelled to 40,000 -- up from 7,000 in 1994.

The American Field Service's exchange program has more than twice as many members who are over 18 years old than it did in 1995.

But some said the system has drawbacks.

UNC academic adviser Minda Brooks said students who want to follow long-term programs involving graduate school might be set behind by the extra years.

Brooks also said "if (students) don't go immediately, they never go."

Williams said he noticed a deterioration of some academic abilities that accompanied his four-year gap.

"Being out of school, I forgot some of my math and writing skills."

But for a growing number of students, the skills and knowledge gained from time off outweigh the detriments.

Brooks said the benefits of "gap years" are clear.

"I've found that the students with a little bit of life experience understand why they're here," Brooks said.

"(Time off) could potentially be very insightful and ... a maturing experience."

Bull, who delayed college until he was 21 to serve in the Navy, said high schoolers need the extra time to realize the value of higher education.

"Ask the 50-year-olds who went straight to college what they learned in their four years," he said. "Most will say, 'Not much, I'd like to go back and do it again.'"

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.