Again, thank you to everyone is answering these questions, and thank you for the suggestions. I have thought about taking some classes as a non-degree student, but I am gone most of the year for work (up next: 5 months in Alaska at a theater; I should have clarified and said I am a traveling stage actress), and whenever I googled "online classes," I couldn't find much except for the University of Phoenix and other such programs. I thank you very much for your advice, and I will probably take it. However, I guess I do have one more follow-up question: would it be worthwhile for me to take my MA if I fund it myself? Like I said in my first post, I have been accepted into a fairly good MA program (I only hesitate to say which school because I would be instantly recognizable if anyone from the school was looking at this thread, but it's one of the big state universities), but I have been waitlisted for funding. If I get the funding, I will definitely go, but if I don't, should I go anyway? I could always re-apply next year after taking some online classes, but if I'm going to pay for those anyway, would it be better just to commit to two full years of funding myself?