Non degree seeking student

[mistborn]

hey all, i've posted a couple times on this forum, but no replies . i'm a senior in electrical engineering and got into a couple of graduate schools, but i'm struggling with my classes my last semester (and might end up failing one of them ) so I'm afraid that my admissions will be revoked. someone i took a class with once, mentioned that he was rejected from graduate school, but he ended up taking graduate classes at his undergraduate institution as a non-degree seeking student and after one semester, he ended up as an offcial graduate student.

has anyone else heard of something similar happening? and if so, how does it work? i hope it doesn't come down to that option for me, but i'm afraid that my bad semester might make it so.

[victor.s.andrei]

hey all, i've posted a couple times on this forum, but no replies . i'm a senior in electrical engineering and got into a couple of graduate schools, but i'm struggling with my classes my last semester (and might end up failing one of them ) so I'm afraid that my admissions will be revoked. someone i took a class with once, mentioned that he was rejected from graduate school, but he ended up taking graduate classes at his undergraduate institution as a non-degree seeking student and after one semester, he ended up as an offcial graduate student.

has anyone else heard of something similar happening? and if so, how does it work? i hope it doesn't come down to that option for me, but i'm afraid that my bad semester might make it so.

One: what class are you failing? Is it related to your graduate school study? Did you reach out to your academic advisor?

Two: did you reach out to the graduate schools that offered you admission and ask them about the impact of poor grades in your last semester?

The worst thing that could happen is that you fail a class, the offers get revoked, etc. That's not the end of the world though - failing and not getting up **is** the end of the world, though.

As for non-degree courses: I've heard good things about non-degree courses. In fact, I'm taking them right now, as I'm preparing to apply for a MS program at the school where I'm taking them, and my undergrad gpa wasn't stellar (it wasn't completely atrocious, either, but it's still an albatross around my academic record) despite being from a public Ivy with a very good reputation.

+ Pros: you can pick up LORs from faculty at the target school (big plus) and demonstrate that you can handle your target school's coursework (big plus).

- Cons: you're on your own for funding. (Solution: find an employer that offers tuition assistance and is flexible with work-life balance. Bonus points if your position at the employer is related to your field of study.) Also, watch out for transfer credit limits. Some schools only allow you to transfer in a certain number of credit hours, and that limit includes courses taken as a non-degree student.

Best wishes - you are still in a good spot, just don't stress out too much, and bad grades are **not** the end of the world.