<p>I know that Harvard so values gap years that it offers the option to all accepted students. It has found that students who take gap years are more mature and focused than are students who don’t. I imagine that Princeton, too, values gap years and would not hold your comments against you, but may count your comments as a plus.*It’s not as if you were discussing a gap year as a chance to take a break and be a couch potato or party all of the time: You planned to use it to delve deeply into a productive interest, something that also could impress Princeton.</p>