A Cure for the College Blues

When are too many activities, a little too much? This is a question that honestly I find myself, a junior in college contemplating, and for the most part besides my job on campus of lifeguarding, I am a full time member of the St. Peters College Swim Team, and yes, a student. Thinking back to highschool I feel like the demands of being in school all day, and then playing an instrument, and going to my swim club practice (and when in season, my highschool varsity swim team as well), and maintaining a life outside of my commitments sometimes began to clash, possibly a little more than even now.
The article I read for this week deals with students who are much more invovled than I was in high school, and they say they have too much on their plate, which makes me feel like my whining expressed above really doesn't amount to much more than excuses. In particular the article showcases a woman named Sabrina Skau, who now attends Portland State University, but throughout high school, better yet, until the last day of her senior year, she was super student/extra curricular woman. In the article she expresses her need for a break, and wished that when she graduated, that she had a break between the end of high school, and the rigorious upgrade to college life. The article also begs the question now being asked of both high school over-achievers, and college admission offices, and that is, " do students need the option of being accepted but allowed to take a year off?", before plunging into the college atmosphere. Some schools such as Princeton University have already developed programs that allow for students such as Sabrina Skau to study abroad, for a year of social service before actually starting. I dont believe this type of progam would be beneficial to the academics of any incoming freshman, due to the fact that getting immersed in the college life and academic scene is both beneficial and important for the students future. What do you think?

<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/fashion/09gap.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin>