Before even arriving at Harvard, many studentsalready familiarized themselves with the deferralprocess. Every admissions letter includes a clauseoffering the option, and the Dean of Admissionsand Financial Aid himself calls deferral a"wonderful idea."

"We believe it would profit just abouteverybody," says William R. Fitzsimmons '67."Students who arrive here have been on a fasttrack pretty much from the bassinet," he says.Fitzsimmons notes that 20 percent ofundergraduates take time off during their fouryears at the College.

"Partly because it is a more mature,sophisticated generation, I think people areasking themselves the harder questions now, whatwould have been the mid-life crisis," he says oftoday's undergraduates.

However, while praising the benefits of leavingCambridge to play baseball in Australia or to gotraveling in Nepal, Fitzsimmons notes that theinstability of deferral, no matter how short-term,tends to be anxiety-inducing for Harvard-typepersonalities.

"It can be frightening to students, but evenmore to parents," he says. "I think there's a fear[students] might become roving minstrels orsomething."

Some students, however, back up Fitzsimmonsclaim that taking time off makes sense in the longrun. Grace Tye '99, who is headed to HarvardMedical School, plans to spend a year in herhometown of Los Angeles. What she does there isnot important; the key is taking a year-long breakfrom school.

"I don't know if this one year is going to beenough of a deferral," says Tye, who says she'sconsidering either public health research or a jobin a coffee shop for her year off.

Tutorial Advice

House tutors who advise students onprofessional choices say Tye may have a point.Indeed, tutors say, students should thinkcarefully before barreling straight throughcollege and professional school without a break.

"Many seniors are burnt out by the timeCommencement rolls around, even though theywouldn't have expected to be so," says DanaLansky, a pre-law tutor in Cabot House.

Lansky says college saps energy from somestudents, leaving them less prepared to handlethree challenging years of law school right away."Law students who did not take time off seem tohave a harder time motivating to work hard, andfind the workload more tedious," she says.

"The first year of law school is very intenseand requires the ability to focus. People who havetaken time off are more excited about the prospectof coming back to school and studying intensely."

Deferment can also help students figure out ifthey really want to be lawyers, or if law schoolcan help them achieve their professional goals inanother field. Lansky says many students rush intolaw school mistakenly thinking that a law degreewill be useful for any career.

"It is helpful to have a clear vision for whyyou are going to law school before you decide togo," she says. "Taking time off and exploring yourinterests a little can help you figure out whatpath makes the most sense."

Other tutors agree that taking time off canhelp students decide what they really want to dowith their lives.