Princeton University announced last month that it was developing an overseas bridge-year program to send up to one-tenth of its incoming freshman class to do a year of public service work abroad after they graduate from high school. The pre-collegiate program would be tuition-free and would provide financial aid to interested students.

John Bravman, vice provost for undergraduate education, said no similar program is in the works at Stanford and that he does not anticipate its formation in the foreseeable future.

Although Stanford has a larger endowment than Princeton, the New Jersey school has twice as large an endowment per student, with $2.2 million per capita. Bravman said a program like Princeton’s would be very costly since it is tuition-free and that funding such a program within the next five years would be difficult.

“I don’t think that type of program will happen anytime soon,” Bravman said. “I think we can use our resources in better ways.”

Many universities, including both Stanford and Princeton, offer study abroad programs to students already on campus. But Princeton’s service program is the first to offer an abroad opportunity to students that have not yet even stepped foot on school grounds. Bravman said Princeton may be taking a risk in providing travel funds to students with whom they have had limited interaction.

“If [Princeton] is paying for it, it’s very difficult not to take on some legal liability,” Bravman said. “There are going to be students all over the world which they will have responsibility for but haven’t really met.”

Stanford has, however, worked to provide more international service opportunities for current undergraduates.

The University is offering a similarly themed program, albeit on a smaller scale, through the Haas Center’s new summer international service program. The program will offer current undergraduate students who have not had extensive travel experience the opportunity to spend three to four weeks abroad on a public service project.

“One of the needs we saw was growing student interest in international service,” said Jon McConnell, director for public service education at the Haas Center.

The program is offering three trips to Latin America this summer with 10 to 12 students in each group, according to the Haas Center’s Web site. Student participants will focus on microfinance and human rights in Bolivia, healthcare in Nicaragua and environmental conservation and community development in Mexico.

The tradition of deferring school for a year dates to the 17th century, when young British nobles traveled around Europe on an educational rite of passage called the Grand Tour.

Although the itinerary and participants have changed, this bridge year remains popular in the United Kingdom, as well as Australia, the Netherlands and Israel. American college students have traditionally foregone a bridge year after high school, jumping straight into the rigors of collegiate life.

Although Stanford does not offer a formal program, there is a small contingent of students every year that are accepted to Stanford and choose to defer enrollment in order to spend a year pursuing their passions.

Approximately 30 to 40 students each year are granted permission to defer their admission for up to two years, according to Shawn Abbott, director of admission at Stanford. Students defer their admission for a variety of reasons, but military service, travel, service and work tend to be most common in requests to the Office of Admissions, Abbott said.

Quinn Slack ‘11 always knew he wanted to postpone college for a year to travel. So two weeks after graduating from high school, Slack left for China because “it was the only place that I thought was cheap, safe and fun.”

Some of his favorite memories from the six months he spent in China were of going to Chinese karaoke bars with his new Chinese and Korean friends. After returning to the United States, Slack worked at a tech start-up in Menlo Park from January until May.

“I came out of the year knowing exactly what I did and didn’t like, academically and occupationally,” he said.

Unlike most students who decide to use a bridge year to travel, Travis Kiefer ‘11 decided to defer enrollment for a year in order to start a business. His company was centered around an online program he created while in high school that helped streamline the scholarship application process.

When the company folded after four months, Kiefer worked as a sales associate at OfficeMax and then as a Web developer at a marketing firm.

Kiefer said the failure was initially very discouraging but that it taught him valuable lessons in business and entrepreneurship. He feels like he matured during his bridge year and came to Stanford better prepared than he would have if he came directly from high school.

“Being self-reliant and resourceful has been very valuable at Stanford,” Kiefer said. “Also, having such a huge failure has made me appreciate the opportunities available here.”