College: Four years of fun. Four years of freedom. Four years of learning and enlightenment. And four years of all-nighters, Bible-sized textbooks, essays, tears, loneliness and sleep deprivation' only to lead to more college?

Such is the experience of an undergraduate looking to pursue a Master's degree and beyond. The question is: Is it worth it?

'When you're not exactly sure what you want to do with your life, to be able to get into an academic situation that's very career-oriented is comforting because you have some kind of direction now,' said Annie Cooke, 22, a graduate student in broadcast journalism at the University of Maryland at College Park.

Rumit Pancholi, 22, had a lot of direction in his life as a senior English major last year. He knew exactly what he wanted to do'keep studying poetry'so he followed his dreams and applied for the very prestigious Creative Writing Program at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. There were ten spots available total and only five in poetry.

And he got in.

He should be celebrating – basking in the glory of a few more years in school, hitting the bars nightly and spending his weekends in bed with candy bars and season one of 24. Yet, he is openly unhappy with his life as a grad student in a place far from his Maryland home.

'Everything is waning. I spend hours, days, weeks in my room/apartment, unhappy and disoriented, sleeping, eating sporadically, eating hurriedly, daydreaming, sighing, and cleaning. I don’t think I’d be a good househusband,' he wrote on a recent Facebook note.

Despite his occasional personal ranting, Pancholi listed several pros regarding the choice to pursue a Master's degree: the chance for students to build more intimate relationships with professors and even to play the role of the professor and teach younger students what they have learned.

He didn't offer any cons, saying, 'It depends on the program.'

But, for all of you seniors splitting your time between savoring your last minutes of freedom and wondering where you are going next, here are a few things to consider when grad school is on your mind:

Reasons to Go to Grad School:

1) You don't have to get a job and pay back loans from your undergrad years just yet.
2) You can make more money (assuming you can find a job after graduation).
3) You can get closer to professionals and experienced faculty.
4) You can still sorta live the life of a college student.
5) You can get teaching experience.
6) You can focus on a particular field and master it.
7) You can tell people you are a grad student and they will think you're smart. You need the graduate degree to get the job you are passionate about.

Reasons to Avoid Grad School:

1) It is often very expensive.
2) There is a lot more work than undergrad (and a lot more people doing it).
3) You may not have time to pursue other interests (like having fun).
4) Smaller programs can be very competitive.
5) The environment is stressful and emotionally draining at times.
6) Many fields value work experience over another academic degree.

Up next: The ins and outs of the GRE. Yikes!

It was late on a Tuesday night in early September. Most students were studying or sleeping, at home or in their dorm rooms. One student, a recent University of Maryland grad and the main attraction of a going-away party, talked to friends and family about why she decided to buy a one-way ticket to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Marie Claire Andrea, 22, from U Street in the District of Columbia, is just one of many Bachelor's degree holders who decide to shun nine-to-five America for at least a little while and volunteer or work abroad. Andrea has amassed 300 pounds of books to donate to an English-speaking church, which will provide her with a place to stay. She plans to learn Amharic and is deciding whether to earn a living by teaching Ethiopian university students or by helping a friendly entrepreneur conduct research.

If Andrea can serve as an example to recent graduates at large, a degree-holding young adult's only limit is the sky.

But Andrea took to the sky just two days later.

Jason Burns, 28, a regional recruiter for Peace Corps, said his goodbyes a few years before Andrea, when he was 24. His destination was West Africa.

While in Mali, Burns worked on malaria prevention, HIV/AIDS education, prenatal and postnatal care and nutritional counseling. He stayed for two years and three months, learning the native language, Bambara, and adopting the ethnic name, Seydou, which means 'one who is happy.'

'I didn't want to go as a tourist,' he said. 'I wanted to go to help. I qualified to either do English-teaching or public health work. ' I got public health.'

Burns, a Morgan State University alumnus, taught high school history in Silver Spring before joining Peace Corps.

He said he realized he needed a change when he found himself frequently lecturing his students about places he had never been to and trying to answer their tough questions on problem-solving in the developing world.

Not long after, he found himself in Mali outlining seven problem-solving solutions in Bambara to the leaders in his assigned community.

'I proposed practical solutions to the problems they were facing,' he said, reflecting on his time spent 'living in a mud hut, picking cotton [and] talking to old ladies about their lives.'

Peace Corps requires a two-year commitment with an additional three months of training and language immersion. It currently employs 7,810 volunteers and trainees in 138 countries, according to its website, peacecorps.org. Ninety-six percent of all volunteers hold at least a Bachelor's degree, Burns said.

Other graduates, such as Ahnna Smith, the recruitment director for Teach for America, the national organization that emphasizes education in low-income communities, decide to stay on the ground after graduation.

Smith was a government and politics major at the University of Maryland and planned to go to law school; she had even taken the LSAT. But upon graduating in December 2003, she joined Teach for America instead.

Teach for America carries a two-year commitment after graduation. It currently employs 4,400 teachers in 25 urban and rural regions, impacting 375,000 students annually, according to its website, teachforamerica.org. It was founded in 1990 by Wendy Kopp, who proposed the program in her senior thesis at Princeton University with the assumption that college graduates would invest their time and energy into bringing equality to education.

Kopp was right: The organization has grown from 500 members to almost 20,000 since its inception.

Smith said she first heard about Teach for America in an in-class presentation. During the presentation, she recalled hearing statistics on underachievement in America's education system and wanted to do something to fix the system.

Do you want to beat the rush-hour traffic of nine-to-five America? Want to have an exciting career story of your own while still in your twenties? Check out these other organizations and resources:
AmeriCorps (http://www.americorps.org/)
Action Without Borders (http://www.idealist.org/), http://www.goabroad.com/, http://www.workingabroad.org/
Nova Group ' Teach English in Japan (http://www.teachinjapan.com/)
TeachAbroad (http://www.teachabroad.com/search.cfm)

You went to the University of Michigan and attended every single game. And dagnabbit, your child will follow in your footsteps. These vids use things like your favorite university’s team sports, mascot, marching band, campus attractions to brainwash your kid into Pavlovian school fandom. Hail to the victors! ($19.95, teambabyentertainment.com)

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Lame party fliers. We've all gotten them, even ones with huge boobs and shiny Mardi gras beads that announce a weekend gathering. They often go ignored and carelessly tossed in the nearest trash can.

But what about a flier that simply says, 'Sex Toy Party ' This Weekend!'? Hmm … you're intrigued.

Known as our generation's 'Tupperware' parties, these are no get-togethers your mother would attend. The concept of these parties isn't just to get people to buy items, but to empower people of any age in their sexuality and increase communication between la la la lovers.

Stephanie Kurtz, a junior at Western Michigan University, has been to four sex toy parties. She's practically a veteran sex toy partier. And like most ladies, she didn't get a formal invite but was simply invited by her friends.

'It's just a fun way for you and your girlfriends to enjoy each others' company because everyone shares that common ground'sex!' Kurtz says.

Because these parties are held in your house or dorm room, the setting is comfortable and far less nerve-wracking than one would expect. And these aren't just for women ' men are not only invited to many of them, they often host them!

Compared to Tupperware parties because consultants come to your home or dorm, these very trained professionals bring tons of products, from vibrators and candles to anal toys and lubes, and not only discuss how to use them, but how these products can help you understand yourself and sex better. Afraid to be seen in an adult store? Bring the store home!

'You will see a different side of your friends, and you can buy things here in the comfort of your own home or a friend's home, not out in a store,' says Kurtz. 'You can be a little more adventurous.'

Lisa Seltzer, an Ithaca College ག graduate, attended a birthday/sex toy party in Upstate New York last year, saw far more than she expected: 'I was so overcome by what was being presented, I wanted to try a few of them out!'

As a party consultant for Athena's Home Novelties, Western Michigan University senior Nicole Milliman tries to make every one of her guests feel comfortable. Products are passed out and can be tried, like passing around some of the toys or feeling different lubricants. The parties tend to be super laid back and usually involve drinking. Alcohol at a party about sex? Get out! Being the good host that she is, Milliman makes up drinking games involving the words she'll later use in her demo ' you know, vagina and wet. Sounds fun!

Not only is she a young consultant ' just 24 years old! ' Milliman sounds like the type of consultant you really would want to host your party: 'If you come to my party alone and go home to your partner that night, he or she better be prepared for a rockin' good time because I will send your hunny home with a ton of tricks to try while waiting for your toys to arrive.'

What's great about these parties is that participants really do get a hands on (no pun intended) sex education from either a consultant their own age, like Milliman, or a super cool mom who might do this as her full-time job.

'Sex toys are secondary to my primary goal,' Milliman says. 'I tell you right at the beginning of my introduction, before even showing you a product, that I want you to leave 'educated, titillated, and wanting more.' Ultimately, yes, please buy some of my toys, but leave with an idea in your head as well.'

Our generation not only happily discusses sex, but also has plenty of it during college, and the 'new Tupperware' party helps those who think they know everything about sex but probably don't. A lesson learned during a party'with lube.

'It was an eye opener, and I am so happy I went, because I am benefiting greatly from the knowledge I received there,' Seltzer says.

We bet you are, Lisa. We bet you are'