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	Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation

	By: William Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Harvard College Marlyn McGrath Lewis, Director of Admissions, Harvard College Charles Ducey, Director of the Bureau of Study Counsel, Harvard University Click to download this article.

College admissions officers, especially those who admitted the parents of today’s applicants, have an unusual vantage point from which to observe changes from one generation to the next. Many of us are concerned that the pressures on today’s students seem far more intense than those placed on previous generations. College admission -- the chance to position oneself for "success" through the acquisition of the "right" college degree -- looms large for increasing numbers of students. Particularly because selective colleges are perceived to be part of the problem, we want to do everything possible to help the students we enroll make the most of their opportunities, avoiding the much-reported "burnout" phenomenon that can keep them from reaching their full potential.

Of course, the quest for college admission is only one aspect of a much larger syndrome driving many students today. Stories about the latest twentysomething ".com" multimillionaires, the astronomical salaries for athletes and pop- music stars, and the often staggering compensation packages for CEOs only stimulate the frenzied search for the brass ring. More than ever, students (and their parents) seek to emulate those who win the "top prizes" and the accompanying disproportionate rewards.

From the Cradle On…
The chase for the prize begins early, and some recent reports sound almost hyperbolic. Anecdotes bound of infants serenaded with classical music to enhance their mental powers; toddlers overwhelmed with computers and "educational" toys; "experts" guilt-tripping parents by telling them that their children will be hopelessly behind by age three or four if they don’t follow myriad prescribed strategies.

Consultants are paid hundreds, even thousands, of dollars to prepare toddlers for the "all- important" interview and observed play-time that will determine admission to the "right" pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, or primary school -- thereby presumably ensuring admission to the right high school, college, graduate school, and so on. The consultant will teach the child to maintain eye contact in the interview and to demonstrate both leadership and sharing during the observed play sequence. The competition for admission to some of the Pre-K, Kindergarten, and grammar schools can be intense -- statistically more difficult (with lower admission rates) than Harvard.

Once in the "right" school, students are pushed along by teachers, by outside tutors and, if they stumble, by learning specialists who will help them approach their studies in the most efficient manner. The school day continues well into the night with structured study time and drills. The pressure can be relentless, even from well- intentioned parents. For the most part, they simply want the best for their children who, they fear, will be left by the wayside by other high achievers.

Sports, music, dance, and other recreational activities used to provide a welcome break, a time to relax and unwind. No more: training for college scholarships—or professional contracts—begins early, even in grammar school. Professional instruction, summer camps, and weekly practice and game schedules consume many hours and nearly all free time. Student and family commuting logistics become byzantine in their complexity. Even "play-time" is often structured and enriched with just the right mix of appropriate playmates and educational activities. Summer vacations have become a thing of the past. The pace of the day and the year allows little time simply "to be a kid"—or, it seems, to develop into a complete human being.

The Middle School/High School Fast Track
By high school, the pressure intensifies. Students start to specialize in one activity even to the exclusion of other pursuits. Athletes, dancers, musicians and others begin to define themselves by their chosen activity as they try to perfect their new-found talents and identities.

Recently the American Academy of Pediatrics released a policy statement warning of possible physical and psychological damage that can result from specializing in a sport prematurely. For every Tiger Woods success story, there are countless other less happy results. Some students participate in programs that take up as much time as school. Fast-track athletic teams compete or practice most days -- with weekend-consuming road games, and national or international schedules during summers and vacations. A serious athlete or musician or dancer may change schools for a better athletic program,
even moving far away from home to do so, and perhaps to an academically weaker school.

Academic demands also ratchet up, supported by special tutors and the beginnings of SAT prep in middle school. In high school, SAT prep becomes a way of life for some students, with night and weekend sessions. The "right" SAT tutors may command several hundred dollars per hour, and can be engaged to live during the summer at or near their tutees’ beach houses. Summer "cram schools" for the SATs are increasingly common, as are summer school sessions at the best prep schools and universities, some beginning in middle school.

The Quest for the Right College
Professional college counselors (either independent or school-based) appear on the scene early, sometimes in middle school, to begin to structure students’ academic and extracurricular profiles for entrance to the "right" college. At its best, such advice can be helpful in assessing talents, goals, and making "mid-course corrections" that can make a real difference in students’ lives. From a more cynical perspective, such advice steers students toward travel abroad, community service, or other activities solely to enhance college essays or interviews. Such services may command thousands of dollars, and assistance in preparing applications ranges from appropriate to plagiaristic. Videotaped mock college interviews are features of some packages, as are guided tours of colleges. One consultant recently announced an array of services that start in ninth grade ("or seventh or eighth grade for no extra charge") for a fee of about $29,000, as well as a service offered separately called Essay Review ("includes brainstorming session and as many revisions as necessary"), which costs $1500. Such services can add to, rather than alleviate, the stress of the normal expectations of school, community, and family life.

The pressure of gaining entrance to the most selective colleges is commonly blamed for much of the stress we observe. But those of us who work in college admissions recognize that college is only one of many destinations in the fast lane. The accumulation of "credentials" simply continues to intensify as the stakes increase. The "right" graduate school looms after college, and the "right" sequence of jobs is next. Such attainments make it possible to live in the "right" kinds of communities and to begin the job of bringing up the following generation, one that might need to vault even higher hurdles.

The Fallout
Faced with the fast pace of growing up today, some students are clearly distressed, engaging in binge drinking and other self-destructive behaviors. Counseling services of secondary schools and colleges have expanded in response to greatly increased demand. It is common to encounter even the most successful students, who have won all the "prizes," stepping back and wondering if it was all worth it. Professionals in their thirties and forties -- physicians, lawyers, academics, business people and others -- sometimes give the impression that they are dazed survivors of some bewildering life-long bootcamp. Some say they ended up in their profession because of someone else’s expectations, or that they simply drifted into it without pausing to think whether they really loved their work. Often they say they missed their youth entirely, never living in the present, always pursuing some ill-defined future goal.

Some Early Remedies
What can we do to help? Fortunately this young fast-track generation itself offers ideas that can reduce stress and prevent burnout. In college application essays and interviews, in conversations and counseling sessions with current college students, and in discussions with alumni/ae, many current students perceive the value of taking time out. Such a "time out" can take many forms. It can be very brief or last for a year or more. It can be structured or unstructured, and directed toward career, academic or purely personal pursuits. Most fundamentally, it is a time to step back and reflect, to gain perspective on personal values and goals, or to gain needed life experience in a setting separate from and independent of one’s accustomed pressures and expectations.

For the years during high school, here is some of the advice students have offered:

>Families should allow for "down-time" during vacations, weekends, and during
the week at mealtimes or at any other break in the action. The fabric of family life is
already under assault from the demands of parents’ increasingly stressful jobs.
Parents, some of whom experienced the first wave of fast-lane childhoods
themselves, are often distressed by how little uninterrupted free time they have to
devote to their children.

>Bring summer back. Summer need not be totally consumed by highly
structured programs, such as summer schools, travel programs, or athletic camps.
While such activities can be wonderful in many ways, they can also add to stress by
assembling "super peers" who set nearly impossible standards. Activities in which
one can develop at one’s own pace can be much more pleasant and helpful. An oldfashioned summer job that provides a contrast to the school year or allows students to meet others of differing backgrounds, ages, and life experiences is often invaluable in providing psychological downtime and a window on future possibilities. Students need ample free time to reflect, to recreate (i.e., to "re-create" themselves
without the driving pressure to achieve as an influence), and to gather strength for the school year ahead.

>Choose a high school (or a college) not simply based on "brand name" or
reputation but because it is the best fit. A school with a slower pace or a different
academic or extracurricular focus can be a better match for certain students in the
long run.

Using the Senior Year
The senior year of high school presents some special challenges and
opportunities. Recently the U.S. Department of Education announced a
"Commission on the High School Senior Year", calling the senior year a "lost
opportunity that we need to reclaim." While some students try to get by with as
little work as possible, others find it the most stressful year of their lives, with
more demanding courses, more leadership responsibilities in their
extracurricular activities, and the added burden of applying to college and
taking the requisite college entrance tests.

There is often an enormous amount of tension about choosing and being
admitted to the "right" college. Students and their families react to this
particular stress in a number of ways, and many want the college admissions
process over with as soon as possible.

Early Decision (a program in which students apply by November 1 and
agree to attend if admitted in mid- December) and Early Action (adhering to the
same dates but allowing students to apply to other colleges later) have become
increasingly popular in recent years, partly because admitted students are thus
relieved of the pressures of college admissions well before the normal spring
notification date. While there are many good reasons not to apply early to
college (among them the fact that the senior year often provides a great deal
more information about which colleges might provide the best match), many
students admitted early report they are grateful for some respite from the
stresses they have experienced during high school. Some use the balance of
the senior year and the summer to discover new academic and extracurricular
interests and to pursue learning for its own sake, not simply for grades. They
point to that period as the first "breather" they have had since early childhood.
Some high schools help all of their seniors in the transition from high
school to college by allowing a slightly reduced course load, along with
alternatives such as community service, research projects, and internships that
might help with career exploration.

Colleges can help themselves as well as their prospective students by
declaring (and demonstrating) that they are not judged simply by the number
of AP or other advanced credits amassed at the end of senior year. For
example, those students with particular strengths in the humanities and social
sciences often believe colleges expect them to take calculus when they might
be much better served by another algebra course or statistics-or another
language—instead. No matter which path they take, students who can find
ways to reduce stress and use the senior year well arrive at college much better
prepared to take full advantage of their first year of college.

Taking Time Off Before or During College
Perhaps the best way of all to get the full benefit of a "time -off" is to
postpone entrance to college for a year. For almost thirty years, Harvard has
recommended this option, indeed proposing it in the letter of admission. In
addition, after all the places in the current class are filled, a small number of
outstanding applicants have been offered the opportunity to come to Harvard
for the subsequent academic year. Normally a total of about fifty to seventy
students defer college until the next year.

The results have been uniformly positive. Harvard’s daily student
newspaper, The Crimson reported (5/19/2000) that students who had taken a
year off found the experience "…so valuable that they would advise all Harvard
students to consider it." In fact about 20 percent of Harvard students follow the
practice of "time -out" at some point before graduation. Harvard’s overall
graduation rate of 97% is among the highest in the nation, perhaps in part
because so many students take time off. One student, noting that the majority
of her friends will simply spend eight consecutive terms at Harvard, "wondered
if they ever get the chance to catch their breath."

During her year off, the student quoted above toured South America
with an ice-skating company and later took a trip to Russia. Another
interviewed in the article worked with a growing e-commerce company (in
which the staff grew from ten to a hundred during the year) and backpacked
around Europe for six months.

Some Options for the Interim Year
Members of the Class of 2004 took part in the following activities, and
more, in the interim year: exploring or living or studying or teaching or training or traveling or working - in: drama, figure skating, health-care, historic al mines, hospitals, kibbutz life, language study, mineralogical research, missionary work, music, non-profit groups, orphanages, presidential campaigns, rebuilding schools, special needs volunteering, sports, steel drumming, storytelling, student politics, swing dance, university courses, and writing - in the following locales: Belize, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mongolia, Nepal, Phillipines, Scandinavia, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Uruguay, United States and Zimbabwe.

Many students divide their year into several segments of work, travel, or
study. Not all can afford to travel or to take part in exotic activities. A number
have served in the military or other national service programs. Some remain at
home, working, taking part-time courses, interning, and still finding the time to
read books they have never had time to fit into their schedules or begin to write
the "great American novel." Others have been able to forge closer ties with
parents or grandparents from whom they may have drifted away during the
hectic pace of the high-school years.

Reactions to the Year Off
Students taking a year off prior to Harvard are doing what students from
the U.K. do with their so-called "gap year." Other countries have mandatory
military service for varying periods of time. Regardless of why they took the
year off or what they did, students could not be more effusive in their praise.
Many talk of their year away as a "life-altering" experience or a "turning point,"
and most feel that its full value can never be measured and will pay dividends
the rest of their lives. Many come to college with new visions of their academic
plans, their extracurricular pursuits, the intangibles they hoped to gain in
college, and the many career possibilities they observed in their year away.

Virtually all would do it again.

Nevertheless, taking time off can be a daunting prospect for students
and their parents. Students often want to follow friends on safer and more
familiar paths. Parents worry that their sons and daughters will be sidetracked
from college, and may never enroll. Both fear that taking time off can cause
students to "fall behind" or lose their study skills irrevocably. That fear is rarely
justified. High school counselors, college administrators, and others who work
with students taking time off can help with reassurance that the benefits far
outweigh the risks.

Occasionally students are admitted to Harvard or other colleges in part
because they accomplished something unusual during a year off. While no one
should take a year off simply to gain admission to a particular college, time
away almost never makes one a less desirable candidate or less well prepared
for college.

Achieving Balance
While the focus here has been on ways to relieve stress for today’s highachieving
generation, we should note that in fact most students are coping well
with pressure, even thriving. This is a remarkable time, with opportunities that
previous generations (and students in many other countries today) could not
imagine. Colleges, for example, now reach out through their recruiting
programs to talented students from every economic background. Financial aid
makes college a reality for outstanding students on a scale that was not
possible before. Graduation rates at leading American colleges and universities
remain extremely high and students express satisfaction with their college
experiences.

It is important to remember that access to higher education around the
world is at present limited to a lucky few. Those fortunate enough to enjoy such
a privilege have a responsibility to use their talents to provide expanded
opportunities for future generations. So far, most young alumni and alumnae
have been successful in meeting the formidable challenges they have faced
since college. But they continue to remind us that the rigors of competing in the
new world economy impose high standards on everyone. They do not (nor do
we) tell their peers to "slack off" and achieve less. Recent graduates advise
today’s high school and college students to prepare themselves emotionally as
well as academically.

It is worth noting that extraordinary achievements are never based on
emulating someone else’s achievements, but on some unmeasurable
combination of (a) marching to one’s own specific and unique drummer and (b)
accidentally—perhaps unconsciously—doing something that captures the
Zeitgeist in new and unexpected ways. Those whom parents often want their
children to emulate either used their own ingenuity to give the public a product
or image it desperately wanted, or happened to catch a hot wave of the time,
or (ideally) both.

While their achievement stands as an ideal for which others strive,
others cannot by definition duplicate that achievement because it is
induplicable. So the problem can often be well- meaning but misguided parents
who try to mold their children into an image of success they value; and their
children, being moldable as they are, often get on board and go along with the
program before they have any capacity to make such a choice for themselves.
Yet the paradox is that the only road to real success is to become more fully
oneself, to succeed in the field and on the terms that one oneself defines.

So the pressures placed on many children, while undoubtedly inculcating
a constricting discipline in a child’s life, probably have the unintended effect of
delaying a child’s finding herself and succeeding on her own terms. We should
all have the right to gape with awe at Michael Jordan’s achievements or Yo-Yo
Ma’s musical triumphs, while at the same time achieving our own more modest
ones in our own fields and ways: finding hominid bones that shift our
conception of paleontology, or composing smooth jazz melody, or tracing the
rise and decline of Roman gentes. Parents and students alike could profit from
redefining success as fulfillment of the student’s own aims, usually yet to be
discovered. Burn-out is an inevitable result of trying to live up to alien goals.
Time out can promote discovery of one’s own passions.

The fact remains that there is something very different about growing up
today. Some students and families are suffering from the frenetic pace, while
others may be coping but are enjoying their lives less than they would like.
Even those who are doing extraordinarily well, the "happy warriors" of today’s
ultra-competitive landscape, are in danger of emerging perhaps a bit less
human as they try to keep up with what may be increasingly unrealistic
expectations.

The good news is that students themselves offer helpful suggestions
about how best to handle the challenges they face. In part because of all the
obstacles that confront them from the earliest stages of their lives, this
generation has emerged generally more mature, sophisticated, and, at their
best, better prepared to cope with the demands of the twenty-first century.
They learn at an early age how to cope with both victory and defeat and with
the formidable demands placed on them by adults and peers. Yet many would
benefit from a pause in their demanding lives. Let us hope that more of them
will take some sort of time -out before burn-out becomes the hallmark of their
generation.