Remedy78

Hey Dude---First of all a 570 Verbal score is excellent! ETS reports he mean score to be 456. Also, your writing score is above the 3.8 mean that ETS reports. I commented on another post about a Liberal Studies M.A. or (MALS). I will paste it here for you, with some tweeking. Perhaps it will help? I cannot comment about your long term goals, but I'll share my story:. I am 9 credits deep into the MALS program at Stony Brook (Traditional). I was a Political Science undergrad at Stony Brook and did well on my GRE. I thought about a number of programs for my MA: Poli-Sci, Philosophy, and History. I was accepted into the Philosophy MA program at Stony Brook and the History MA program at Queens College, but I chose MALS for a few reasons: 1. I ENJOY learning new things. While a focused Master program is also about learning new things, it is about learning those things in a very narrow area. This makes me anxious. Additionally, there is the expectation that one contributes to the field of knowledge in that subject area before graduating. I still feel I am coming from a position of taking from education as opposed to contributing to a body of knowledge. I am still curious, and I am in not really interested in narrowing my mind to one area just yet. Maybe one day I would like to teach, but nothing is really pressing me to work toward it right now. 2. I have a job with a 401K and make an OK living. I have a modest life, I don't chase after money, and am not wont to climb the corporate ladder. To me, MBA grads are a dime-a-dozen. They are everywhere these days and I am not keen on getting any other over-specialized professional degree. These grads seem to glut the market. Besides, I don't want to commit to one line of work yet. I disagree fundamentally with education serving as a means to an end, but unfortunately this is the world in which we find ourselves and I am a bit of an anomaly. Nonetheless, specialization can be a trap. 3. I tend to have an artistic and creative leaning. I paint and enjoy art. I don't particularly like rules in art, and I find this is an unfortunate casualty of art programs for degrees. I think it is far better for people to float in and out of art league classes, or take studio classes as a part of an multidisciplinary degree as opposed to pursuing a formalized studio education. Art is still an apprenticeship, and I am leery of being taught too much technique when it comes to art. Technique can also be a trap. I am lucky in that I do not have any children and can be somewhat leisurely in my education. Eventually, I may corner myself into a major for a second MA, but I have time yet. I plan to be a student for a while. This will sound cliché, but I am learning so much about myself pursuing this degree. I have had to personally challenge myself, and take on some really deeply ingrained (and harmful) attitudes about education. I've had to call myself out on a lot self-righteous educational snobbery while all while learning some fascinating stuff and meeting real, unpretentious graduate students. For this my MALS will forever be priceless. I cannot imagine myself saying something like "This is what I was born to do." in regards to a specific area of study. How depressingly limiting. Some people think an MALS is a "Master's Degree Lite" or consider it a waste of time from their hyper-focused perspective. I for one, refuse to be sucked into that vortex of graduate school hype. I trace that attitude back to the standardized tests. The university should be the one place where this kind of pretension is eschewed, but ironically it is the place where it is most rife. Anyway, that is my soapbox. Some of it is inflammatory, I know, but maybe this helps you? If you decide to do a Liberal Studies major, I think the best way to pursue an MALS is via a state university and have some in-person classes (many have online programs now). Spend less. And again, don't buy into those pushing the hype of a school name. I cannot see why anyone would pay so much money at Columbia or NSSR for an MALS, but that's just me. You can take it to the Doctorate level at Georgetown if you ever find yourself wanting to pursue it that far and have the $$. Oh, and no GRE necessary there! Good Luck!

I cannot comment about your long term goals, but I'll share my story:. I am 9 credits deep into the MALS program at Stony Brook (Traditional). I was a Political Science undergrad at Stony Brook and did well on my GRE. I thought about a number of programs for my MA: Poli-Sci, Philosophy, and History. I was accepted into the Philosophy MA program at Stony Brook and the History MA program at Queens College, but I chose MALS for a few reasons: 1. I ENJOY learning new things. While a focused Master program is also about learning new things, it is about learning those things in a very narrow area. This makes me anxious right now. Additionally, there is the expectation that one contributes to the field of knowledge in that subject area before graduating. I still feel I am coming from a position of taking from education as opposed to contributing to a body of knowledge. I am still curious, and I am in not really interested in narrowing my mind to one area just yet. Maybe one day I would like to teach, but nothing is really pressing me to work towards it right now. 2. I have a job with a 401K and make an OK living. I have a modest life, I don't chase after money, and am not wont to climb the corporate ladder. MBA grads are a dime-a-dozen these days and I am not keen on getting an over-specialized professional degree. These grads glut the market. Besides, I don't want to commit to one line of work. I disagree fundementally with education serving as a means to an end, but unfortunately this is the world in which we find ourselves. Specialization is a trap. 3. I tend to have an artistic and creative leaning. I paint and enjoy art. I don't particularly like rules in art, and I find this is an unfortunate casualty of art programs for degrees. I think it is far better for people to float in and out of art league classes, or take studio classes as a part of an multi-disciplined degree as opposed to pursuing a formalized studio education. Art is still an apprenticeship, and I am leery of being taught too much technique when it comes to art. Technique is also a trap. I am lucky in that I do not have any children and can be somewhat leisurely in my education. Eventually, I will probably corner myself into a major for a second MA, but I have time yet. I plan to be a student for a while. This will sound cliché but I am learning so much about myself pursuing this degree. I have had to personally challenge myself, and take on some really deeply ingrained (and harmful) attitudes about education. I've had to call myself out on a lot self-righteous educational snobbery while all while learning some fascinating stuff and meeting real unpretentious graduate students. For this my MALS will forever be priceless. Some people think an MALS is a "Master's Degree Lite" or consider it a waste of time from their hyper-focused perspective. I refuse to be sucked into that vortex of graduate school hype. Anyway, that is my soapbox. Maybe this helps you, perhaps it doesn't. I think the best way to pursue an MALS the way we are doing it (via CUNY or SUNY). Spend less. Especially since we both do not intend for this to be our last degree. I cannot see why anyone would pay so much money at Columbia or NSSR for an MALS, but that's just me. Good Luck!