A lot of people do that, although taking an entire semester off from ASEL will mean a bit of rust.
The potential benefit is that if you somehow stumble on an opportunity to log some ME time in the meantime you can jump on it...ME time is usually the hardest ticket to punch on your way to an airline (or corporate job).
I have know a 2000+ hours ASEL CFI without a ME rating (he couldn't afford it). That's bad financial planning...