<p>I'm starting to think that I'd like to go back to school. My first college experience was pretty much a complete waste of my time and my parents' money. . . I joke that I majored in "getting out of college." I have my degree and have been working in publishing for 10 years. . . and it's just not for me. </p>
<p>I'm thinking of applying to Master's programs in Liberal Studies or something similar, so that I can study a variety of subjects that are of interest to me. Money is of a concern, since I don't have much saved and I don't think a Master's in Liberal Studies is going to get me on the millionaire fast track. I'm also interested in living/working in a college town, so ideally I would work full-time at the school (in some sort of editorial/pr/admissions position) and pursue the degree part-time. </p>
<p>I haven't yet taken the GRE (I had this idea, oh, 10 minutes ago), and my less-than-stellar college GPA was something like 2.89. </p>
<p>GPA cutoffs vary from school to school and program to program, so it's hard for me to offer a number to you, but... having a GPA of less than a 3.0 certainly isn't beneficial. In my case, I had a 3.2 from two years of college (well, and a 3.8 from two years of county college), and then took a year off (I, like an idiot, thought it was a slam dunk that I'd get into the school I was eyeing), only to return to my undergrad this Fall to up my GPA, gain more experience as a researcher, and buy some time as I study to retake the GRE.</p>
<p>I wish I could offer you more details on Liberal Studies, but I'm sure there are others here who can. In any event... best of luck. It's never too late to go back.</p>
<p>Thanks. I know that most colleges advertise a "minimum 3.0 GPA except for special circumstances" but I'm hoping life experience and (hopefully) decent GRE scores will count for something. . . I'm not looking to go to a top school.</p>
<p>I don't want to sound negative, but are you sure you want a master's in liberal studies? If you're going to take out loans to cover the costs, it's a worthless degree. Have you thought about switching careers and pursuing a professional degree? I can see you enrolling in a master's degree in higher education administration or public relations/marketing if you want to work on a college campus. Have you thought about applying to universities' communications, press and marketing departments? I'm sure your work experience (10 years) will enable you to make the switch in work environments.</p>
<p>Tenisghs, you make a valid point. It's an idea I'm kicking around as I reach, quite honestly, the breaking point in my current career with no experience or training in other fields. I also realized way too late what I was interested in studying.
I have thought about applying to the departments you mentioned. Unfortunately, I have no backbone :)</p>
<p>You really should think about what it is you wish to do exactly. I agree with the poster who suggested higher education management as a possible career track. Think about what you want to do as far as a new career and research programs. Then you could probably take electives in your other side interests. Once you obtain a position at a university you may be able to take more courses at a discounted rate or even at no cost (depending on the university and their policies) as an employee. Yes, your GPA is not the best, but if you study hard for the GRE and have clear goals stated in your SOP, and visit prior to submitting your application (so they can put a face to the name), then you should have a shot somewhere. Good luck.</p>
<p>P.S. You said you don't have a "backbone"---you better get one if you wanna enter the gradschool race...lol.</p>
<p>gettinin, I went back to gradschool after 10 years, and it was well worth it. My college grades didn't matter so much--I just studied like mad for the gmat and got in!</p>
<p>you might be able to get a good sense of what's out there by checking out one of these directory sites. I found a good one that lists just the top-tier grad programs. They give full descriptions instead of just advertising, and you can save programs you're interested to as a favorite. might be a good way to scan the options...</p>
<p>Ah, that "topgradprograms.com" site is an advertising site. Very few schools are listed on it. It's "top tier" only because a few of the top-tier colleges listed their info there.</p>