ashes75

I was unable to attend SSP's open house. Can anyone that attended post their thoughts? Thanks.

A Couple Questions: Is SSP only 3 semesters long? Can SSP students take classes in the other MSFS programs?

Yesterday I actualy got an email from Fletcher outlining my funding package (scholarship, subsidized loans, unsubsidized loans, work study). But Fletcher seems to be very on top of its game in terms of transparency and getting information out quickly, which definately makes me want to go there more as I feel like they actualy care about my needs and run a smooth operation.

Thanks Aurora, that is helpful. I'm actually looking at SSP so I probably wont need the MSFS list. Im leaning pretty strongly towards Fletcher as they offered me scholarship money. Also, SSP seems more military oriented which may not be right for me as I do not come from a military background. As you alluded to, it is also harder to get information on Georgetown which I think comes from a haughty attitude where by they think that everyone wants to go to their school because it's Georgetown so they don't have to promote themselves. What are you thinking?

I'm trying to compare Fletcher's curriculum with that of Georgetown's and was wondering if anyone knew how many classes students take each semester. Thanks.

I dont have any savings and I assume that there is barely anyone that has enough money to pay for school. I'll be taking Stafford and Stafford plus loans. If I go to Fletcher I'll go about 70k in debt, if I go to Georgetown and dont get funding Ill probably go about 100k in debt. Then I hope for a job that will allow me to pay off 8k-9k a year in loans. It's depressing but I guess that's how the system works...

I didn't recieve any mention of funding either. All in all I havent been very impressed with the responsiveness of Georgetown's admissions people. I'm going to call on Monday to find out what the story is though I assume this means that I didn't get anything.

I think every language is different. I applied to the Arabic school in December and was accepted in January. Unfortunately they didn't give me any financial aid and I dont feel like borrowing $10,000 from private loan companies so I dont think im going. The school hasn't always been that responsive to me though. You might want to try emailing the coordinator of your language.

I haven't figured out any details but I plan on taking a bus from Boston to NYC after the Fletcher event then NYC to DC probably the day after the SIPA event.

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Umass, Amherst Previous Degrees and GPA's: BA Political Science, Certificates: International Relations, Peace and Social Justice. 3.62 GPA GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): V: 750 Q: 630 W: 4.5 Previous Work Experience (Years, Type):3 month internship in Israel for Coexistence org. 1 year in dc with Int'l non profit. 6 month internship with unknown think tank, 4 month internship with Security Consulting firm Math/Econ Background: minimal Foreign Language Background: Decent Hebrew, Starting Arabic Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Security Policy/ Human Security Long Term Professional Goals: US Security establishment Schools Applied to & Results: Accepted: Georgetown SSP, Fletcher (15k), Korbel (10k), GW Elliot (6k), Maxwell, SIPA Ultimate Decision & Why: Either Georgetown or Fletcher but Probably Fletcher. Top school with a Flexible curriculum and I like the community. they also gave me some money

Is anyone else annoyed that Georgetown wants a deposit in by April 15th? First of all they were the last one to notify, They still haven't released financial aid info, and that is one day after Fletcher's open house and the same day of Columbia's open house, making it impossible to consider other schools. I think its time for for a forceful email to the admissions office.

SSP and Fletcher allow students to audit undergraduate language classes for free. Other schools may do this as well. Unfortunately, I have a friend who goes to SIS and he told me that he would have to pay the normal fee to attend undergraduate language classes. The program actualy told him that if he wanted to take language classes he was better off doing it elsewhere as it would be so expensive to do so through American.

I agree that only three courses for a focus (i thought it was 4, but still) seems to be very few. You also raise a good point about part time students. My brother is currently at SSP and he says that alot of the students who already have jobs dont do their reading and dont take the classes too seriously because they are just in it for the degree and not the educational experience. On the other hand he said that professors are very accessible and one even got upset with him because my brother applied to an organization where the professor has contacts but didnt ask the professor for help. SIPA is first of all very expensive and I have heard that the program is very impersonal. I dont want to get lost in shuffle. This is particularly important for me as I dont have the most forceful personality and dont want to be competing with other students to get noticed by professors. That said I will be attending the open houses at SIPA, Fletcher, and SSP which might change my view of some of the programs. I also like that I can take undergrad Arabic classes for free at Fletcher and SSP, something I definitely intend to take advantage of.

deechi, I would be very interested to hear a synopsis of why you prefer Fletcher.

ajp_bkk, did you hear back about financial aid from SSP? I'm in a similar situation trying to decide between Fletcher and SSP. Fletcher offered me 15k a year so that might tip the balance but I haven't heard back from Georgetown yet about scholarships etc. In terms of how they compare, I think the Fletcher will give you a broader education, you'll have 2 focuses so you can study two different disciplines like Human Security and International Security, learning how they interrelate and also giving you the option of going in to different fields when you graduate. SSP will probably make you more of an expert in the field of security. Georgetown's faculty also seems more impressive, you'll learn under colonels and generals that work at the pentagon and top diplomats and politicians who either still practice or recently joined academia. Those are my thoughts, what are yours?