I am 19, a first-year in college, coming off a gap year in Israel. I spent the majority of last year exploring and experiencing a different set of cultural values, hiking through deserts and mountains and sharing and hearing life adventures with strangers on buses en route to unknown destinations in Israel. I consider my experiences from last year to be the epitome of "living life to the fullest." However, I received a great deal of criticism for my decision to postpone my entrance to college. Friends said to me, "Hannah, if you want to be a doctor, you are going to be in school for the rest of your life. Why would you want to put it off a whole extra year?"

Why? Because I don't view time spent in school as a burden.

This week, an article in Newsweek by Lamar Alexander called "The Three Year Solution" reported that Hartwick College, a small liberal arts school in upstate New York, has begun to offer a track that allows students to graduate in three years.

Brandeis is a great place. I have been struck by how invested people are in their studies: Brandeis students participate in academic clubs, major in multiple disciplines, attend guest lecturers and much more. I find it satisfying to know that in a world where so much pressure exists to be the best and the emphasis is placed on the destination rather than the journey, there is this oasis where people take the time to absorb to the fullest the opportunities surrounding them.

Brandeis has certain policies in place that ensure that a Brandeis education remains focused on learning for learning's sake rather than becoming a paper chase. For example, according to Brandeis' residency requirement, students must remain on campus for at least 3 1/2 semesters. Additionally, Brandeis accepts only one semester's worth of AP scores for University credit.

While on the surface this may seem like a frustrating rule for those who hold more than four AP credits or fulfill all of their requirements by the end of their junior year, the rule is ultimately to the benefit of students who feel rushed to accomplish themselves.

College should not be thought of as a financial investment but rather as a personal one. College years offer so much opportunity. They allow for personal and intellectual growth, involvement in a community that offers extracurricular activities to broaden horizons and, for those still caught up on their future and competition, prospects for networking.

However, some colleges are trying to accommodate students' craze to reach the finish line of education by creating programs that allow students to graduate in three years. Not only does this limit the potential of very bright students, but it also diminishes the value of education. A liberal arts degree is valuable because it encourages students to explore and to keep them from pigeonholing themselves into a career when they're merely in the beginning of their life of serious academic pursuit. When a liberal arts university, which assumedly finds value in the pursuit of knowledge, legitimizes a fast track to the end of education, we begin to slide down a slippery slope.

Alexander suggests that as the depressing economy continues to affect those in college, four-year colleges will become obsolete. Why spend more money and time on a degree that you can get in less time for less money? Why? Because life is about the journey, not the destination! Those who invest more time in their educations will ultimately be more satisfied with the diversity and quality of their knowledge. They will have increased perspective on the world throughout their adult lives due to classes that they would never have had the time to take if they were not required to occasionally stray from their major.

Education and experience are the fuel for an intellectual life. During my gap year, which some considered "wasted time," I learned that I was interested not only in neuroscience (a notion I held throughout my formal schooling) but also in philosophy, journalism and Hebrew. I learned that I should not limit myself to the idea that I will live in the United States when I grow up, and I learned that the opportunity for education should never be rushed.

The fact that Brandeis requires students to study at Brandeis for a minimum of three and a half semesters is a valuable aspect of the school. The more time spent at Brandeis, the more students can contribute and receive from such a thriving intellectual community.