NEW YORK (AP) - Gap years are all the rage, and the rationales are many: Take a year off between high school and college to work, travel, learn a language or skill, or volunteer.

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Northwestern University is responding to successful applicants with a message attuned to the information generation: You've got mail.

HANOVER, N.H. - A campus housing crunch at schools around the country is so bad that Dartmouth College has offered freshmen the chance to defer their first year in return for a year of free housing.

RED BANK, N.J. - When Jennifer Buono decided where to enroll after high school, she chose little-known Brookdale Community College in central New Jersey over Rutgers University.