Why a gap year is increasingly popular for many would-be freshmen and their parents

The deadline is looming this week for local high school students to decide where to go to college. But more and more kids are deciding to take the year off instead. And for many, that’s increasingly proving to be an enticing alternative. KIRO Radio’s Josh Kerns introduces us to one such student who found a […]

‘Gap years’ offer teens service, travel — and transformation

By Sharon Noguchi   For 13 years, Isabel Garcia, of Redwood City, hit the books and was poised to become the first in her immigrant family to go to college. Then instead she decided to spend a year in Brazil as an unpaid apprentice and was met with bewilderment. “You’re in America, it’s perfect here, […]