Can you afford health insurance while you're not in school, and will that health insurance cover trans-related expenses? I assume that your school has a health insurance plan; does it cover any trans stuff? How about mental health stuff? Is anyone at your counseling center qualified to advise you on trans issues? Do you need a lot of therapy? Will you need a T letter from a therapist, or will you be going the informed consent route? You will almost certainly need a letter for top surgery; that would probably mean at least three months of therapy, depending on the therapist.
Timing is important, too. Ideally, you could start hormones the day after your last final exam--I guess it's too late now, for this year--and schedule top surgery for the summer, too. That way, you wouldn't lose any time from school. Do you need to earn money for top surgery? Do you really want to take a whole year off? How distracted are you by your trans issues? Are your grades affected? Is there a real possibility that you'll drop out and not go back? Can you go to school part time? What are your plans for this summer? Can you stand to start HRT and go more than a few months without surgery?
Too many variables here, but maybe I gave you some things to think about. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk--I think you need fifteen posts before you can PM anyone, though.
