[ryandrake]

I've been a full-time student (twice!) and a professional worker, and I would never, ever choose to go back to the lifestyle of being a full time student. Ever again. Full stop.

It's just like work, but instead of making money you're losing it--both gradually and in large chunks every 6 months. The workload is the same (probably greater as a student), the pressure is the same, the lack of free time is the same. You're subject to the same arbitrary deadlines and due dates. Plus, as a student, you have the privilege of needing to take high-stakes tests every semester or so. It's basically years of hazing for a credential that's become a requirement for getting any job later.

It's as if devised by a Bond villain: "I know, Let's have a system where we take a bunch of people in the prime of their lives, work them like slaves, subject them to enormous pressures and tests, put their social and productive lives on hold, and if they make it through N years of this hazing, only then do we let them participate as full members of society. AND TO TOP IT OFF THEY WILL PAY US FOR IT!"