Rejected (sort of?)

[El Jefe]

9 hours ago, marycaryne said:

In addition to the risk you mention in #5, I would also add that same word to #4. It would cost you $9000 and you'd still have that risk you won't be accepted.

Honestly, it is a tough decision from my perspective. AU is obviously the ideal place to be, but having to spend thousands of dollars for only a possibility to be accepted next year and turn down guaranteed funding elsewhere would definitely give me pause. But if your chances of getting in as a result of taking those classes are quite high, it might be worth it. Then again, @irapplicant1776 brings up a good point that a couple of classes may not make much of a difference in how much you're offered in funding, if anything, even if you are accepted. So then you'd have a decision to make about how you'd pay for it if you did get accepted. There's a lot of pros and cons to be weighed here and I wish you the best of luck with it!

And thus the root of my decision. To go all in or not...

[El Jefe]

6 hours ago, svent said:

Let me tell you this from personal experience. I spent a couple years between my Math undergrad and CS grad (starting this fall) explaining to people I met that I was a student, but then had to go on this long explanation "well I was a Math major but have to take some CS classes to get my pre-reqs in so I can apply to schools in the fall blah blah." It was extremely annoying after explaining it the first few times and made meeting new people awkward. It made networking even more awkward, and I'm sure glad I'm just about done with this stage of not being a real student.

Well, that doesn't bother me too much considering it would only be a semester. It's only like 3-4 months? I get it if you were in limbo for years, however.

[marycaryne]

3 hours ago, El Jefe said:

And thus the root of my decision. To go all in or not...

Have you spoken with the DGS to get some concrete answers on your chances of getting in if you take those classes? It might help with your decision making.

[El Jefe]

Well, it all worked out

[El Jefe]

Just in case anyone has been given this option:

I got my letter of admission (fully into the program) with a great funding package from American. I risked it, yes, and took the two non-degree courses. I'm doing very well, submitted my midterm grades along with my application and was admitted fully into the program a week later. Sometimes it's worth taking those risks!

[Sandmaster]

I am glad it all worked out in the end for you Great story of how you sometimes need to take risks in life to get a pay out.