in the united states, the practice of taking a “bridge year” remains a relatively uncommon practice, but in recent years the idea has begun to gain traction. students often report academic burnout, the desire to learn about the world before college, or a desire to better understand themselves as motivations for participating. some universities such as princeton university, harvard university, massachusetts institute of technology, university of north carolina-chapel hill, and reed college have instituted formal policies allowing students to defer admission for the purpose of taking a gap year. thirty "bridge fairs" promoting a variety of programs are hosted around the country – up from just a handful when the fairs began in the late 2000s. the practice has historically been more common among students with some level of personal or family funding, but an increasing number of organizations now offer scholarship funds to make bridge years more accessible to students of all economic backgrounds.