I'm not under any illusions about debt -- I never once said that the debt I'd be undertaking to fund school was good debt. I called my mortgage good debt because I think VERY few people in the world can pay for a house in full, so a mortgage is a debt every single person has unless their renting, but with rent you're just throwing your money at a landlord, part of one's mortgage payment goes towards a long term investment. But this is neither here nor there because this is about funding my education, not about whether a mortgage is good or bad debt.
Anyway, those are good scenarious to consider, so thanks for bringing them up. I hadn't really accounted for things like that. I think the only really worrisome scenario would be not liking it the way I expect to like it. I'm not so much worried about an accident or something and missing school -- classes start once a month so I could always just jump right back in when a new class gets to the point where I left off.
I already work 55 hours per week and only manage to save a few hundred dollars a month working those hours. I can't really take on more due to other family commitments and things that my time is dedicated to, but doesn't bring in pay.
My program is 10 months long. And no, despite your suggestion being a good one, it won't work in my situation. You see, the first $9,000 pays for the program 100%. The $9,000 that remains is what my income will be short for the 10 months that I will be in school. I will continue to work while in school, but I will need to get a new job which means a per hour pay cut, and I'll only be able to work part time. This is because classes only run from 9am - 5pm with no evening class options, and my current job is 9am - 5pm (with a little overtime) because it is an office job, and they are only open weekdays during the day, so I can't stay with them. So taking into account my reduction in hourly wage and overall hours per week since I'll only be able to work evenings and weekends, $9,000 ($900 per month) will approximately make up my income shortcomings. Therefore I need this money available and ready the moment I start school.