Roxanna Martinez is a history major from Ft. Lauderdale. Before the economy turned sour, her plans were to go directly from UCF to law school.

"Since things are so bad right now I have to go back home," said Martinez. "My parents can't afford to help me out in college anymore."

Martinez says she hopes to find a job and save money.

"I'm going to work full time in the fall and then apply to law school," said Martinez.

But she says she's not certain she'll be able to get hired.

"I'm not too confident, but I'm gonna just have to keep trying and see if I can get a good job," said Martinez.

She's not alone in having trouble finding work. Unemployment stands at nearly 10 percent in Central Florida, and the situation isn't expected to improve until 2010.

Christina Rushman is a senior math major at UCF. She plans to go directly from undergrad to a PhD program and says she's confident she'll be able to find work.

"A PhD is a pretty prestigious thing to have, so I think that (I) should be able to find a job," said Rushman.

More students may choose grad school this year to wait the recession out. These programs tend to be more popular during economic downturns.