Frusztajer discovered the opposite while he was living in a rural Japanese village, one-and-a-half hours north of Tokyo. He describes the area he lived in for four months as "Japan's equivalent of New Jersey."

In Kazo, the town where he lived, "the people are thought of as hicks by the ret of Japan." However, Frusztajer says, "I found the Japanese very status conscious. On the way home from the train station, I learned how much [my host father's] house, car and watch cost. It was very important for him to know the same things about my family."

Not only were the Japanese status conscious, but they were also very concerned with protocol. Frusztajer recalls meeting a local girl who spoke some English and he asked his host father if he could visit with her on a platonic basis. Although his host father always gave him permission to visit with the girl, one day Frusztajer said he could not see her anymore because she had acted improperly in not asking the family if she could borrow their American guest. "I thought I was being the perfect guest, but I guess I insulted the family by implying that their company was inadequate," Frusztajer says.

Other students also relate anecdotes about their becoming accustomed to a different lifestyle. Vittimberga recalls an incident where he adapted to the Polynesian mode of operations. "My host mother asked me to get the bananas off the tree, so I climbed the tree and started hacking them off, but all these ants began crawling over me," he recalls. "Then she came out laughing hysterically, and told me that I was supposed to chop the tree down, then pick the bananas off."

Frusztajer ran into problems because he did not know how to speak the language. "I went to a Japanese high school for three months, which was very difficult at first, because I spoke no Japanese," he says. "I used to spend a lot of time reading children's books. Everyone tried to be helpful, but most people knew little English. In fact one of my tasks was to help teach English."

To help herself maintain her athletic skills, Joslin played both field and ice hockey for local teams after her day's work at an international head-hunting firm. She became such an asset to the ice hockey team she played for that later in the year when she was vacationing in Morocco her club flew her back to play a match.

Blodgett's experiences come mostly from the world of American pop culture. Blodgett, who spent much of her year off modelling for a variety of agencies, travelled through Europe and spent the next six months modelling, taking classes at UCLA, and travelling along the coast. "I was exposed to the whole L.A. party scene, but kind of as an outsider. Bruce Springsteen and Madonna worked out next to me at the gym. At parties, everyone wanted to sign you. I learned so much being in the scene, but not getting into it," she says.

While most of these people say that they do not regret taking the year off, there are some hitches. For instance, students who are athletes, such as Joslin who plays lacrosse as well as ice and field hockey, had had to worry about letting her skills atrophy. Blodgett agrees, saying that her year without rigid training made it more difficult to be in "peak form" for the track team at Harvard.

Many of the students say that things that seem negative at the time become part of the learning process. Vittimberga, for example, recalls a rainy day on his rafting trip when he questioned what he was doing. "When you're out there working in the rain for hours, you wonder why did I come here when I could be nice and warm in Cambridge," he says.

But overall, students say, taking a year off affords them an educational experience they could not have had if they went to college directly after high school. Fitzsimmons concurs, saying, "Many students when they have travelled have a new appreciation for their classes for they have experienced life in a new culture."

Although Frusztajer says he experienced some doubts about his decision the summer before he came to Harvard, in the end his uncertainty was allayed. "I was concerned whether I'd be able to get back to studying at Harvard, but I found I had much more motivation as a result of being away from school. The year off gave me a better perspective on where school fits in the world," he says.

Vittimberga says that his fears came a little later, once he arrived on campus. He says he felt he had "a tougher time adjusting to the freshman scene," than those who had gone straight to college, but adds he thinks he knew better what "I wanted, what my options were." Vittimberga agrees with Frusztajer that "academically I was much more motivated than I had ever been. Now I looked at classes as a way to learn, rather than as an excuse for being in school."

Because Blodgett's parents wanted her to be financially independent, the Adams House resident had to work before she could travel. Blodgett worked for Seventeen Magazine in her native Manhattan and modelled in Paris as well.

"I gained a sense of independence, learning to live on my own, working and paying bills," Blodgett says of her experiences in the real world. "Because there were so many freedoms, I had to learn to impose the right limitations."

"People always said I would be behind my year, but I'm glad I didn't listen to them. The only time you can do all these things is when you are young," Blodgett says.

The students who take time off all agree that no matter what their age, opting to defer matriculation a year was the right decision. As Frustajer says, "If I were to do it again, I would do it again."