Getting away from Harvard is not, however, a solution in itself. Students must find a way to make the experience worthwhile and productive. While this may sound challenging, it is not reason for alarm. Students have found many ways to get the most from their time off.

One popular way students fill their break is to explore future job opportunities.

Richard Lee '96-'98 used his experience abroad to help him decide a career path to follow. Lee spent four semesters in Korea, first translating speeches for the Minister of Finance and then later performing mergers and acquisitions for an investment banking company.

"I was trying to decide whether to go into academia or business," Lee says.

But the job students work at during their time off does not necessarily have to be related to the field they want to pursue after they graduate.

Although Jennifer Lee spent her time off working for an investment banking firm and doing Web design, she actually plans to be a journalist.

"All my summers have been doing journalism-related things," said Lee.

Lee added that if she did not take time off, she would not have had time to get experience in another field.

Caveats

Although taking time off may seem like a good idea, students often have concerns about the prospect of being away from the College for so long.

One common worry is that it will be difficult to readjust to college life after returning to Harvard.

"I'm a little worried," Morton says. "I might be a little out of it [when I get back]."

Some students interviewed did have trouble readjusting.

Thorpe recounts that he didn't fit in as well with dorm life when he got back.

"It didn't appeal to me as much. Watching movies, partying, playing games lost a lot of its appeal after I'd been working for a while," he says. Thorpe says he moved off campus because of these changing interests.