My university offers students the chance to take a semester off, for a compelling reason, with no penalty and you don't have to reapply to get back in. I actually withdrew early in the semester and was actually given that semester and the next one off. Life happened and I wasn't able to go back until almost 10 years later. But even with my academic probation for grades, a GPA below 1.0, I got accepted again. And I've learned that I just can't handle a completely full load. I'm taking three classes, 10 units. But I'm also commuting and have two kids to take care of with the help of my husband. I left work on a medical separation so I could just focus on school, because I couldn't even handle working full time and just taking an intro organic chemistry class. Just make sure to take care of yourself, that's the most important thing. School can be done at any time...I'm almost 31 and back in school.