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I'm looking for reassurance and actual critical input on the pros and cons on such a manuever.
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OK ~ you said you wanted the practical advice -- my uncle is a licensed CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT with his own firm now, but I recall very well his years in university and the first decade afterward. Want the truth? He said it was more boring than he ever imagined; and he almost quit a hundred times, but didn't want to waste all the money and time he had already put into it.
But, he fought it through to the end and passed his bar exam better than he expected (yes, like lawyers, there is a challenging bar exam at the end). Well, then the only job he could get was that entry level job in a large firm, but he was grateful for the start -- he ended up doing all the basic bookkeeping for all the small businesses, plus everything the senior accountants didn't want to do ... long story short ... he hated it!!!
He said he had to get out of there before he went mad; his mind couldn't stand the monotony of the day in, day out figures. He had erroneously dreamed of being a business consultant who gave businesses awesome advice on how to save their businesses; and he did do that later on -- but not until he branched out on his own, and approached an older accountant in a small town to form a partnership. He did most of the work, but in the end, it panned out (but it took another decade of living like a pauper before success).
They started out with one little office; him being the junior partner and the other one the senior partner. Eventually, they branched out to other neighboring towns and today, he is the senior partner and finally doing his dream job as a consultant and is financially solvent (and more, I hope).
Too bad you couldn't finish that business administration degree first or at the same time; then take an accounting certification course after that. My SIL did that and she has had a great career working for the government, and then later on, at a large corporation with full benefits, great pay, and super working atmosphere (we live in Canada).
Sorry, if this is too winded; but this is an important decision you are making. I say, GO FOR WHATEVER ... but maybe do some more homework first. Do you want to be a junior bookkeeper or an accountant or a income tax agent? For a bookkeeper, you can just take a college course that takes less than a year; same for the income tax agent/rep (depending on where you work). These are lower paying positions unless you are hired by the gov.
Here in Canada, we have two kinds of accountants; one that is certified by the provincial government and you only need to take a college course plus certification for that. For a licensed, Chartered Accountant, you have to take 4 years university and pass a bar exam (and it is more challenging than the college course). Our nephew just tried the first year of the CPA course, but switched over to the Bus/Admin course the second year.
Like XTY said, have you considered keeping your present job and getting the degree at home, at night, over the net so your wages could pay for it all; and you'd be able to keep your health insurance too, while you complete it?
Also, accountants only do tax returns for a small window of the year like February to May; my aunt helps my uncle in his office during that time as it's busy then (she's a legal secretary). The rest of the time is doing the number crunching bookkeeping on small businesses mostly.
ALSO, I returned to college for the second time at 28 years old; and I think that my age was actually a benefit. There are so many older people going now that you will feel right at home; and all the students mixed in very well. They even seemed to enjoy having us older students there to get advice from. I felt I did much better the second time I went to college; straight 90's to 100% in my courses (my lowest final mark on only one subject was 92%).
Ummm ... I also took accounting, but inside an intensive commercial business course which included math, english grammar & spelling, more accounting-bookkeeping (which I had already taken in HS, and had some experience on the job), typing, computers & ACC programs, business organization, plus office skills & secretarial training, etc. I just loved, loved, loved that course! I loved the variety and learned so much from it ...
One of the most important things I learned from it was that I wouldn't want to do bookkeeping for 8 hours a day, seven days a week, for the whole year; year after year!
I realized that I am the type of person that thrives best on variety ... My most favorite jobs were those that had a lot of flexibility and lots of different tasks to do.
I hope I'm not discouraging you in any way; becuz I definitely think you should go for it -- your dream, I mean. Did you LOVE doing the bookkeeping in your business admin course? That could help you with your decision.
Like XTY -- I just want you to be sure what your dream is; and that you are taking the right courses, and the best route to get there ... good luck!
anyone returned to college?
I can't comment on the process or give you any story of success; however, I do know that waking up every day to go to a job you dislike is pure torture and certainly not something you want to commit to for the rest of your life. That being said, it's not the easiest job market right now, so you may find yourself doing the "poor" thing longer than anticipated 
Personally, I say go for it...especially if you know what you love and you want to make it a reality~
