These Fellowships are inspiring … but, honestly, at the target age, unless these young people actually are placed in an unusually broad and stimulating environment, I’d think that they would do MUCH BETTER to choose to continue attending a major research or liberal arts university where they would be exposed to/possibly required to master/complete a very rich heritage. knowledge-base, and culture. $100,000 is actually peanuts. That might cover basic living expenses and some luxuries for maybe 2 years – not a big deal. A good graduate assistantship provides that much, without slowing down progress toward degrees, etc. On the other hand, taking two years off from “school” to participate in an enrichment program like this is also no big deal either and could be vastly rewarding. At this target age, people like to “do things” … what is “relevant” to students is often not the same as what is relevant to professors, for sure. Returning to school for serious study in one’s early to mid-twenties (or any time later) is fine too. “Unfortunately” students marry, have children, have “jobs”, become accustomed to having money and bills to pay, accumulate “personal responsibilities” … experiences we all have that diffuse our energies sometimes and make returning to the university, etc., difficult. This is partly why “retention” is such a problem for so many “non-traditional” students.