Colleges Encourage 'Gap Year' With Cash

Colleges around the country are making it easier for high school graduates to delay college and instead put in a year or more of public service, the Christian Science Monitor reports. More than 80 schools have partnered with AmeriCorps to give students tuition credits in exchange for such service. Others, such as Princeton and Dickinson, have their own versions, figuring the payoff will be more well-rounded students.

"We're seeing an upsurge nationally in the number of students looking for alternatives immediately following high school graduation,” says an administrator at Dickinson College, which offers a $10,000 tuition credit for every year of public service.