Phd Industrial Engineering, take subpar offer or retry?

[ace589]

Hello again folks.  I am geographically tied down, due to family and other personal reasons.  

So, I only applied to 4 schools.  I was only accepted to Western Michigan, but without funding.  There is a strong possibility of funding next year and beyond.  The question is, should I enroll part time and commute 2 hours and 15 minutes one way once or twice a week.

This would also cost me roughly $3300 per course.   

My 2nd option is to improve my GRE or GMAT and reapply to Purdue.  Luckily they only required updated statements for reapplying.

My 3rd option in addition to option 2 is to take courses or even complete another M.S. in a strong supporting area such as Mathematics at Purdue which I've heard will improve my chances of getting into a Phd at the same school.  Sadly, I would likely qualify for funding of the MS through an assistantship....

Thanks in advance.

Edited June 24, 2016 by ace589
fix subject line

[charlemagne88]

From what I've heard, you should never accept an unfunded PhD program.... I guess it would depend on your personal situation... if you can't/aren't willing to relocate, than you're seriously handicapping your options, simply improving your GRE score might not be enough to push you into the "fully funded" category anyways, especially if your LOR's and GPA isn't good...?