great to know there is somebody else in the same boat! My pro and con list is pretty similar, however I am not as concerned about basically starting again, I've mentally prepared for that. It seems to me that, in the big scheme of things, a year or so isn't a big deal if I'm doing what's interesting to me and I have a good funding package. Also during these two years I'll have done other things besides course work that will have been useful to me.