I knew about the phenomenon of a "gap year" but THIS was a new one for me. Anyone encountered this?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. That does seem a bit strange. And pointless, especially since

there don't seem to be any plans for him to do anything special or useful, like maybe working for that year on a farm in the Outback.

I will say that I tried hard to convince my sons to take a gap year, but neither one wanted to. I think a gap year is an excellent idea, if it's possible. I understand that these days colleges are often willing to suspend scholarships for that gap year, so the student doesn't lose it.

There may well be some reason that they just don't want to talk about, which would actually make a lot of sense. Unless the kid has bamboozled them into letting him take this year off for no good reason, in which case, I'd wonder both about their ability to exert appropriate parental authority, and what that kid is really up to.