FredMims

Thanks. I sent you a PM.

I'm interested in applying to Fletcher for the MALD. Since I would be heading to Boston completely alone and know no one there, the idea of a good community for my grad students sounds good to me. I work hard but am not ultra-competitive and would prefer to enjoy grad school. However, I know absolutely nothing about Boston. Nothing about Medford/Somervillle, nothing about getting an apartment in Boston. Never been there and don't know anyone from there. So a few questions: 1) Is the sense of community at Fletcher as good what they say? A friend recently entered grad school in a social sciences program at a Midwest state university and was told beforehand how the department works hard to create a good sense of community among the grad students. But it turned into the most socially-isolating experience of his life since it's in a small town and the "sense of community" wasn't really accurate. 2) What is the cost of living in Boston compared to DC or Chicago? Is Medford/Somerville cheaper because it's a bit of a suburb? And is housing an issue there? It sounded like it can be difficult to get an apartment. Tuition would be much higher than other schools I am reviewing but I wondered if the cost of living would be lower in Medford compared to DC or other major cities. 3) What is Medford/Somerville like? With no knowledge of Boston, I have never even heard of the area. As for the Bush school's IA degree, I am very curious about the quality of the professors since it is a new program. From the online materials, it actually looks like a great program and flexible enough to satisfy my focus areas. Very affordable compared to Fletcher. But I wonder about the quality since it's relatively new. I will also be an older grad student with a lot of foreign policy experience (but no M.A.) so I wonder if I would fit in better at Fletcher since the students supposedly have international experience usually. And in terms of quality of life, what is College Station like? I have never been to Texas either. If anyone on here has attended the Bush School, please let me know your opinion of the experience. Thanks!

I worked for DOS before on a temporary appointment and have worked with many DOS FSOs and civil servants, On the topic of FS hiring, went_away is completely correct when he says it is one of the government agencies most highly attuned to pedigree. In fact, I agree with everything went_away has written based on my experience working in the DC area. Capable policy applicants who go to schools outside the beltway have a much lower chance. That's just the reality. The article in the link below has the chart of feeder schools and it is not just crazy, wacky coincidence that so many Georgetown, GWU (a few blocks from DOS), American, etc. graduates working in DOS just happen to hire so many other graduates from the same universities. While you might call it corruption in another country, here it's called a network. If it was actually a level playing field, you would have far more FSOs from outside the DC area. I have read many hopeful posts on here from people who haven't worked in the DC area claiming "university doesn't matter for govt jobs" and things like that but graduates from DC area schools often help out those from their schools. https://newsdesk.gmu.edu/2015/02/mason-ranks-seventh-country-placing-foreign-service-officers/

I previously applied to some programs and will reapply for the fall so perhaps this will be helpful based on my research. One thing you might consider is heading to the Middle East for six months to study Arabic in Jordan and then return to the US to apply to programs. If you're doing Comp Lit, you might want to focus on Near Eastern Studies programs as opposed to Middle Eastern Studies. If you have no work experience related to the Middle East and your undergrad degree was not related, you'll likely have difficulty getting into a top program. The University of Chicago is usually considered the top program for Middle Eastern Studies and that master's degree would give you a good foundation for later Near Eastern PhD studies. Georgetown has an M.A. in Arab Studies that has a great reputation. Harvard's CMES has a good reputation but I've actually heard from several people that Princeton is not that great despite the Ivy League name. If you don't have ME-related experience and don't want to get it before applying to programs, I suggest you look at middle-tier programs such as the Jackson School at the University of Washington, Indiana University's NELC, UT Austin, GWU, University of Michigan. You might want to consider American University of Beirut to get some ME experience during your graduate studies. Perhaps someone else has experience there and could let you know what it's like. Good luck.