hesitant_grad

Hi Gradcafe. Long time lurker, first time poster. I'll get right to the point: I'm supposed to be starting my first semester at Fletcher in January, and I'm having some serious concerns about the value of attending the program. Would love any input from current or past Fletcher students about whether or not getting a MALD is worth the price of admission. I realize that this is a subjective question to a large degree, so to help I'll detail myself briefly. I'm slightly older than Fletcher's median student, relatively debt-free from undergrad, interested in pursuing a career in international relations, something I have not been able to do in my post-undergrad career so far. I'm interested in Fletcher's course offerings, particularly those centered on international trade and commerce. Keeping my options open employment wise, but I'd be very happy with either State Department or private sector IR-themed work, perhaps finance related per my former career. Fletcher has also generously offered me about $30k towards tuition, I have some savings, but would still need to borrow a significant amount to make up the difference ($50-$80k, depending on best case/worst case scenarios). I attended the orientation earlier this year and I liked the school a lot; everyone was very nice. If it wasn't for the significant debt load, I wouldn't be posting this. That's life, though. I suppose it may be last minute jitters, but I've struggled these past few weeks with forking over the money. Fletcher seems like the gateway to the type of career I want... but it's still seems *so* expensive. And yes, I have spoken to Fletcher alums/students and asked them this same question, but I'm a little wary as I came into contact with them through the university. Not to be overly paranoid, but I want the real, unvarnished truth about The Fletcher School, which is why I'm posting anonymously on Gradcafe. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, especially from current/prior Fletcher students in the MALD program. Please help set my mind at ease! Thanks for your time, Hesitant Grad