I finished an unfunded MA at an excellent school (excellent as far as prestige, faculty, and the incredible opportunities in the city where the school is located), and while the $loans$ freak me out a bit, I'm happy with my choice. I worked full time throughout the program, plus landed an unheard of TAship, so I my loans were only for tuition. Because the program was awesome, the professors were very supportive, and I made it work for me, I presented at several professional conferences, plus got a paper published. I applied to PhD programs for Fall 2013 with success (and full funding at a great program!).
One thing to think about though, and I apologize if you've heard this WAY too many times, but you may want to consider taking a break, since you graduated from undergrad very recently. I had 5 years between my BA and MA, and I'm glad I did. I got a lot of outside experience which, ultimately, solidified my desire to pursue a career as an academic...which has made swallowing the loans easier.
Another really practical thing not to overlook: calculate the estimated monthly repayment of your potential loans, and then think about what you might be doing in the year after the MA, especially if for some reason you don't get into a PhD program and can't defer repayment. Can you handle the amount?