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I considered taking time off as an undergrad, but I didn't. I decided to look at each class individually instead of as 15 credit hours. I withdrew from classes I didn't want to be in, making me a lot less stressed. My Junior year, Spring semester I believe, I was only enrolled in four classes and went down to three when I withdrew from a theology course. It kept me less stressed and I didn't harm my GPA with a bad grade.
The trade-off for a lightened or part-time courseload is coming to terms with not graduating "on-time." For me, I was able to get my head right, go to summer school, and double up a few courses during senior year. I still graduated in May of my senior year.
One of my friends decided to go part-time early on and worked, graduating in six years instead of four. It worked out well for her.
Independent Study credits and Internship Credits are also very helpful. I took two independent studies my senior year doing what I loved -- writing. Got As in both courses and they counted toward my GPA. But I only had to meet with my prof like once a week for an hour.
Internship credits can allow you to get credit for a job or volunteer experience -- I did this in grad school and again got an A for damn near nothing.
My point.....there can be a middle ground between attending school full time and taking time off.
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