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I decided to go to grad school after I had been in the work force for a few years and went part time, evenings, while working full time. My own experience was that, when I first started working, I came home every day and thought "Now what do I do?" because I was so used to having homework. Then I started grad school and never wondered THAT anymore. The one big advantage was that my employer covered a large part of my tuition costs, so I didn't wrack up debt. The problem was, I met the man who eventually became my second husband. It was cool when we met because we were both working full time and in grad school. It wasn't so cool when I ended up pregnant a couple years before we planned and had to drop out of grad school. Years later, I decided to change careers and took online courses (not college courses) to get a Microsoft certification. NOW, I'm back in grad school, part time, working full time, a single mom and oh my.. it would have been so much easier when that was my main focus. I have found it hard to get back into the groove of being in school, both times that I started grad school. I AM going to finish this time, no matter what happens. However, it would be really nice if I just could focus on school and not have work and kids and a house to take care of too. If it was at all financially feasible, I would leave the work force and do grad school full time, but it isn't.
One thing to consider is.. don't you have to start paying back student loans 6 months after graduation if you're not a full time student again? Can you swing that? What kind of work would you do during your year off? How much debt would you really be able to pay off? How is the economy where you are and would you even be able to get a job for a year?
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