Shadowscholar123

Thanks! And yes, I believe Yale Jackson has the smallest cohort among the "elite" schools with this year's incoming class comprising only 27 students. I think the majority of students receive funding which often starts from half tuition to full tuition and a living stipend. I have also heard that they are pushing to fully fund all incoming students in the coming years and make it more Princeton-ish. On top of that they also pay you anywhere between 4K to 8K per semester as a Teaching Fellow/ TA. One of the folks I talked to TAed for all her 4 semesters and received 8k per semester, which is pretty sweet I think. I received a half tuition scholarship btw.

You should also look into Yale Jackson. They are very generous with financial aid if you get in! I'm testimony to that

Just declined my 20K offer to Fletcher. Hope one of you guys in the waitlist gets my offer

In too! Nothing on funding though...

Thanks for your comments guys. While I do acknowledge that Yale folks would have amazing networks in key departments, I assume Fletcher still has a huge advantage here. I think through Fletcher there are also connections you can make at Harvard and MIT, if you're pro-active that is, besides Tufts which can pay enormous dividends in terms of getting work after graduation. Also, Ejc5ys, it's great to hear that the aforementioned Jackson student's contact at Yale helped them find a job with the NSC; however, I'm not sure if that's the 'norm' over at Jackson. I'd love to know more on how such networks help international students find good jobs. Also, another strong point about Fletcher is their established strengths in different fields of IR. I'm particularly interested in Diplomacy studies, and the Fletcher School has a robust diplomacy curriculum. Established Faculty folks in diplomacy studies such as Alan Henrikson, as well as many others, also teach at Harvard's Kennedy School. In fact, the only other schools which have similar strengths in diplomacy studies are Gtown and HKS. I'm not sure how Jackson fares in this area. I'm certain that Jackson has made strides in establishing itself in different facets of IR; however, I'm just not sure if Jackson is "known for" a certain area within IR. While this can certainly be attributed to the fact its a relatively new school compared to the others, I'm not sure how well this would translate with potential high profile employers who might be looking for specialists graduating with core concentrations (as is generally the case with other schools) in a certain area within IR; which also leads me to another similar point, that while being too flexible might appear nice, it might also be a severe disadvantage when meeting with employers who are looking for folks who specialized through a more structured and refined curriculum. I personally think there is much less uncertainty attached to structured curriculums as compared to unstructured ones. (These are purely my assumptions, and subsequent speculations) I guess I'll have to do a lot of thinking in the next couple of weeks on deciding between Fletcher or Yale. It just might be Fletcher, echoing what pyrhuss said, "I just can't get myself to come around attending Yale" especially with a 100K debt towards the end of it. I guess attending Yale's Admitted Student's Weekend will help clear some doubts.

It's because of the following reasons that I will be declining SAIS (apologies to all the pro-SAIS folks here!): 1.They didn't offer me any funding and I can't afford an education in Italy 2. Extremely large and impersonal class size 3. I got accepted through SAIS's EN process but there was barely anyone from SAIS who corresponded with me in the past couple of months (which also builds up on my previous point of SAIS's rather impersonal touch); compared to SIPA and Fletcher who were extremely active in promoting their programs and in reaching out to me 4. While SAIS and John Hopkins are pretty famous inside the US, I just don't think they are as prestigious as Yale, Columbia or Fletcher outside the US; I think the Ivy league brand matters internationally (I asked a contact of mine in China if he had heard of John Hopkins, he nudged,, when I told him about Yale and Columbia, he jumped off his chair) 5. Builds on the previous point, I think the Washington location of SAIS has more benefits for Americans who want to work for Federal Government agencies in the city than does it for non-Americans (including Canadians such as myself). I think the whole "being in DC helps in networking" applies more to American citizens. 6. While I did like the General IR concentration, I think its very unstructured 7. I didn't find SAIS very strong in Diplomacy studies 8. If I had to choose between Gtown (who are yet to get back to me) and SAIS, with either school providing no funding, I would go to Gtown anyday. Sorry if I went overboard with my critique of SAIS, but I just don't think its the right program for an international student like me.

Hi Colocho, and congratulations on getting into Yale and Fletcher (alongwith other schools)! The 65k is just an estimate I made pertaining to tuition specifically. While I am hoping to rely on some savings along with limited support from family, I am thinking I don't have to take as much a loan as might be required. I do agree with a lot of the points you have mentioned above; however, I can mostly speak from the perspective of an international student. While Fletcher is definitely "Ivy" within the International Relations community, particularly in the United States, Yale's brand resonates throughout the globe in every sector whether in Canada, the Americas, Europe, Africa or Asia. So for someone who is not necessarily averse to looking at opportunities outside the US, I think Yale is definitely huge and the brand itself will let you stand out. Having said that however, I think the Fletcher school, given its strong traditional reputation in IR and excellent networks, is also no less (and as many of us can argue, actually 'better') than Jackson in many areas and has some core strengths that make it unique. While you might not have bragging rights in many communities when you mention Fletcher in comparison to Yale, I think in terms of future prospects Fletcher definitely has had a much more established record being the oldest IR institution in the US. Also, while Yale does boast of a "small cohort", I think its also important to note (unless I'm wrong in my assumptions) that this might not necessarily mean a better student to teacher ratio. Every student undertakes an individualized course of study which could involve classes including 30 to as many as 50-70 students.Not sure if this makes a huge difference when compared to Fletcher's similar class sizes. I'm considering attending Yale's Admitted Students Weekend as I will need more information on Yale to make a decision. I won't be attending Fletcher's Admitted Students Weekend since I have a pretty solid understanding of Fletcher's program, based on a lot of research I conducted on Fletcher and having talked to Fletcherites.

Hey guys, So I've been accepted into a couple of programs including Yale, Fletcher, SIPA and SAIS, but have narrowed down my choices to Yale and Fletcher for now. While Fletcher has given me around 20K for two years, Yale gave me nothing. I like both the programs as IMO they are more academically focused compared to the others, which I like personally. If financial aid was not such a concern I would have been inclined towards Yale as, beyond the brand name (which is important for an international student like me), I like the idea of a small cohort and the flexibility that Yale offers in its program. I like so many things about Fletcher, including its strengths in Diplomacy studies, its traditional reputation as a strong and flexible IR program, the really nice and friendly admissions and student community, as well as the opportunity to cross-register for courses at Harvard and MIT. Had I not received an offer from Yale, I would have pretty much pressed the accept button by now for Fletcher. I realize I'll have to take student debt to attend either schools, which is not as scary with Fletcher (65K with high possibility of TAship) but really scary with Yale (almost 100-120K including living and board). I'm wondering if the MA degree at Yale is worth the >100K given that its a relatively new program? Or Should I just go with Fletcher? Since I'm an International student from Canada I need to make a very careful choice in terms of which school to attend. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Wow! Congratulations Ejc5ys! I got no fellowship support however so I'm kind of heart broken. I'll have a discussion with Cristin to see what can be arranged. Almost feels like a rejection when you don't get any funding support. I am waiting to hear back from Fletcher tomorrow; I might just have to give up on Yale if Fletcher gives me a competitive offer.

Definitely helpful! Thanks for sharing Ejc5ys

Hehe.. Thanks for the encouraging words Colocho. I am just concerned about funding now Yes I did reply to the initial email but no response yet.

I see. I haven't got any calls yet, wonder what that means...

Nope, no 2nd year students reached out to me yet. It's indeed a bit weird how responses are being managed from Yale. I have a feeling the Jackson Institute and GSAS might be having coordination issues which is affecting responses to students. Anyways, keeping fingers crossed at the moment! Will post as soon as I get any update from the school.

Rejected as well. Good luck others!

Accepted into EN as well, just nothing on funding yet.