Good to know about the 30K benchmark, ZeChocMoose....Do they actually tell people this or just expect you to read the fine print?
Cherylsafina - salaries range from 40-70k, depending on sector of employment. So, as much as I'd love to get on the non-profit track, it's probably not financially realistic knowing that i'd have the burden of repaying student loans. That leaves mostly private and/or government organizations or the PhD track, which several people have noted above as being very competitive for admission and not always funded.
I'm strongly leaning toward deferring for a year, saving a LARGE percent of my income, and then - - assuming the outlook is positive - - hopefully only take out half (realistically, probably more than half, but significantly less than i would otherwise) of the amount of $$$$ I would have to if i were to enroll this fall.