Fletcher 2020

[mtnbluejay]

In with 20k a year! 

[roseyhoney]

Im in with 12k a year. Also in at 4 other schools, including Denver 6k a year and AU SIS 9k a year. UGH IDK what to do yall! Can we all talk? haha

[Byrek]

On 3/10/2020 at 2:39 PM, ab1987 said:

Received admit with a $10k financial aid per year. Have a slightly higher aid from SAIS Europe but am super confused now. Still waiting to hear from Harvard and Columbia. 

Curious to hear your thoughts on SAIS europe VS. fletcher. Same boat tho I have no funding at sais Europe 

[whatdoesthismean]

Anyone planning on going to admit day? I just emailed them to make sure it was still happening since I know the entire university is taking a social distancing approach and has shifted to online classes, undergrads have to move out of the dorms, etc. I’ll post again once I get their response. Hope it’s still gonna happen!

[whatdoesthismean]

1 hour ago, whatdoesthismean said:

Anyone planning on going to admit day? I just emailed them to make sure it was still happening since I know the entire university is taking a social distancing approach and has shifted to online classes, undergrads have to move out of the dorms, etc. I’ll post again once I get their response. Hope it’s still gonna happen!

Update: it has been cancelled and they are looking into virtual alternatives ?

[roseyhoney]

6 hours ago, whatdoesthismean said:

Update: it has been cancelled and they are looking into virtual alternatives ?

All of the schools Ive been admitted to have cancelled

[ab1987]

On 3/11/2020 at 7:24 PM, Byrek said:

Curious to hear your thoughts on SAIS europe VS. fletcher. Same boat tho I have no funding at sais Europe 

Im leaning towards SAIS Europe for now due to higher aid, strength of program in my area of interest, a full year in DC and lower cost of attendance during the year at Bologna. However, I really like the flexibility offered by the MALD program in contrast to the mandatory economics concentration at SAIS, especially as I want to explore other career sectors before finalizing one. Also the tight-knit community of Fletcher, its strong alumni base, and its collaboration with Harvard Graduate Schools seem important to me. I will be requesting both schools to reconsider financial aid and I will factor that in as well before taking a decision. 

[Anonymous_2019]

Hello all, I am currently at Fletcher. I act as an “alumni Ambassador”. I have held a number of meetings on campus with prospective students and already admitted candidates. I am also cross-registering for courses at Harvard. I had also applied to Georgetown and Yale (not SAIS and Columbia for specific reasons). More than happy to answer any questions you may have about Fletcher as well as the other universities I mentioned.

Edited March 17, 2020 by Anonymous_2019

[Kevin1990]

On 3/17/2020 at 7:21 PM, Anonymous_2019 said:

Hello all, I am currently at Fletcher. I act as an “alumni Ambassador”. I have held a number of meetings on campus with prospective students and already admitted candidates. I am also cross-registering for courses at Harvard. I had also applied to Georgetown and Yale (not SAIS and Columbia for specific reasons). More than happy to answer any questions you may have about Fletcher as well as the other universities I mentioned.

Hi!

Recently admitted MIB student!

PM sent!

[Byrek]

On 3/16/2020 at 8:02 AM, ab1987 said:

Im leaning towards SAIS Europe for now due to higher aid, strength of program in my area of interest, a full year in DC and lower cost of attendance during the year at Bologna. However, I really like the flexibility offered by the MALD program in contrast to the mandatory economics concentration at SAIS, especially as I want to explore other career sectors before finalizing one. Also the tight-knit community of Fletcher, its strong alumni base, and its collaboration with Harvard Graduate Schools seem important to me. I will be requesting both schools to reconsider financial aid and I will factor that in as well before taking a decision. 

Thanks for that. 
 

I’m in at the 2 year bologna program and fletcher. Honestly I will probably be fine regardless of which I go to, but it’s still hard to come up with reasons. 
 

I can’t decide if the Econ focus is a plus or a non factor. As a person it would round me out, as a professional I’m not sure. With my aid package at fletcher they come out to roughly the same costs tuition wise, however, being American I could work while attending fletcher whereas in Italy I am not sure that is the case. I am also unsure of the internship opportunities provided by the europe campus.
 

not really sure what to make of the impact of the virus on this as well. Virtual classes would defeat the point of either of these schools, but especially bologna. 

[Yass]

On 3/18/2020 at 12:21 AM, Anonymous_2019 said:

Hello all, I am currently at Fletcher. I act as an “alumni Ambassador”. I have held a number of meetings on campus with prospective students and already admitted candidates. I am also cross-registering for courses at Harvard. I had also applied to Georgetown and Yale (not SAIS and Columbia for specific reasons). More than happy to answer any questions you may have about Fletcher as well as the other universities I mentioned.

Hey there! Wondering what your specific reasons were for not applying to SAIS and SIPA? 

[EspressoDoble]

8 hours ago, Yass said:

Hey there! Wondering what your specific reasons were for not applying to SAIS and SIPA? 

Not the guy you asked but I didn't apply to SIPA or SAIS either. 

SIPA has a reputation for attracting students who want the NYC life. I'd only heard about this, but then I met a few SIPA students, and that feeling got confirmed. Plus, they are stingy with funding as well.

I got pretty close to applying to SAIS, but since I was applying to Fletcher and Harris, it seemed like overkill to add another school that was in the same tier. Their application process was somewhat annoying as well, so I let them be. 

[QP6161]

1 hour ago, EspressoDoble said:

Not the guy you asked but I didn't apply to SIPA or SAIS either. 

SIPA has a reputation for attracting students who want the NYC life. I'd only heard about this, but then I met a few SIPA students, and that feeling got confirmed. Plus, they are stingy with funding as well.

I got pretty close to applying to SAIS, but since I was applying to Fletcher and Harris, it seemed like overkill to add another school that was in the same tier. Their application process was somewhat annoying as well, so I let them be. 

What do you mean by "the NYC life?" Of course it's located in NYC, just wondering if if that was meant to connote something that deterred you. Thanks!

[Anonymous_2019]

11 hours ago, Yass said:

Hey there! Wondering what your specific reasons were for not applying to SAIS and SIPA?

Hello!

I didn’t apply to SAIS for various reasons:

- Significant exposure to Asia, not of interest to me.

- Wanted to link my academic and post-academic work locations so not interested in Italy / China Erasmus options.

- SAIS cohort is huge. I would get lost in the crowd.

- SAIS more expensive than comparable options.

- I didn’t want to necessarily focus on political risk.

- Branding was important. Fletcher - Harvard collaboration has wider and stronger network. Georgetown also strong due to huge cohort.

[EspressoDoble]

14 hours ago, QP6161 said:

What do you mean by "the NYC life?" 

I speak in broad generalities, but IMO, there are far more distractions in NYC-area schools and it's easy to spend your time entertaining yourself and enjoying all that NYC has to offer, than to buckle down and focus on academics and professional networking. Sure, if you're 100% disciplined and focused, then you could be the exception, but I'd rather be in a school & location known for hard academics and professional networking, than for the general out-of-school quality of life. YMMV, but this was my personal preference. 

Happy to live in NYC, but for school, I want to be within a disciplined cohort of professionals and away from distractions. From the SIPA folks I'd met, this didn't seem to be the case. One of them flat-out told me how she spent the first year of her MIA having fun because, "when am I going to have so much free time while living in one of the best cities in the world?". 

Yeah, that's not for me. 

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 3/16/2020 at 11:02 AM, ab1987 said:

Im leaning towards SAIS Europe for now due to higher aid, strength of program in my area of interest, a full year in DC and lower cost of attendance during the year at Bologna. However, I really like the flexibility offered by the MALD program in contrast to the mandatory economics concentration at SAIS, especially as I want to explore other career sectors before finalizing one. Also the tight-knit community of Fletcher, its strong alumni base, and its collaboration with Harvard Graduate Schools seem important to me. I will be requesting both schools to reconsider financial aid and I will factor that in as well before taking a decision. 

@ab1987

Yes... you can take Harvard graduate school classes from Fletcher. HOWEVER... 

A: that will be a logistical pain to get from Somerville to the Harvard schools (especially if you end up living in Medford like many Fletcher students).

B: Yes... you take a class, but what really makes an experience meaningful is collaboration and involvement. Hypothetically you can... but realistically, you don't get all the benefits of being a Harvard student and all the involvement opportunities. 

[roseyhoney]

Anyone got any insight on choosing between Fletcher and American SIS? They both gave me the most in funding so....IDK!

 

Any advice on how to ask for more money?

[Bubba94]

On 3/17/2020 at 4:21 PM, Anonymous_2019 said:

Hello all, I am currently at Fletcher. I act as an “alumni Ambassador”. I have held a number of meetings on campus with prospective students and already admitted candidates. I am also cross-registering for courses at Harvard. I had also applied to Georgetown and Yale (not SAIS and Columbia for specific reasons). More than happy to answer any questions you may have about Fletcher as well as the other universities I mentioned.

Hi are you still checking this site? I'm choosing between Fletcher Yale and Georgetown right now and would love to talk to someone!

[Anonymous_2019]

Hello Bubba94. Yes, I am regularly checking the website. More than happy to discuss with you. PM me and we can organize a call. Normally, I hold them on Mondays at 1000 Boston time.

[Anonymous_2019]

To clarify comment below from GradSchoolGrad:

“Yes... you can take Harvard graduate school classes from Fletcher. HOWEVER... 

A: that will be a logistical pain to get from Somerville to the Harvard schools (especially if you end up living in Medford like many Fletcher students).

B: Yes... you take a class, but what really makes an experience meaningful is collaboration and involvement. Hypothetically you can... but realistically, you don't get all the benefits of being a Harvard student and all the involvement opportunities.”

 

Indeed, there is a logistical issue. For example, I took a course at Fletcher ending at 1130 and I had another one at HKS starting at 1215. It was generally ok to get there within the 45 minutes. I walked from Fletcher to the Davis Square T stop (around 15 minutes) and then took the T for two stops (Porter and Harvard) which took some 10 minutes. Getting out at Harvard Square meant an additional 5 minutes walk to HKS. I had a 15 minute buffer which sometimes was necessary if I needed a bathroom break or the T was late. More than 45 minutes is perfect. Less than 45 minutes will be challenging. The location of your residence many of course further negatively impact this scenario.

The real issue is not the logistics so much as is the overlap of class schedules. Due to this, one has to choose between classes that are interesting leading to difficult decisions.

Regarding the second point, I disagree. Fletcher students have access to all Harvard groups and events. For example, the European Conference at Harvard, which brings high-level European politicians to the school, is actually a joint Harvard-Fletcher effort. One doesn't hear about Fletcher too much because the school doesn't market itself as well as Harvard does (the latter has a much larger budget to do so). For the networks, for example the Harvard Club of Boston (for alumni only) accepts graduates from Harvard, Yale, MIT, and Fletcher (not Tufts). Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “School affiliation” to see the drop-down options:

https://www.harvardclub.com/memberships/

Edited March 30, 2020 by Anonymous_2019

[GradSchoolGrad]

2 hours ago, Anonymous_2019 said:

To clarify comment below from GradSchoolGrad:

“Yes... you can take Harvard graduate school classes from Fletcher. HOWEVER... 

A: that will be a logistical pain to get from Somerville to the Harvard schools (especially if you end up living in Medford like many Fletcher students).

B: Yes... you take a class, but what really makes an experience meaningful is collaboration and involvement. Hypothetically you can... but realistically, you don't get all the benefits of being a Harvard student and all the involvement opportunities.”

 

Indeed, there is a logistical issue. For example, I took a course at Fletcher ending at 1130 and I had another one at HKS starting at 1215. It was generally ok to get there within the 45 minutes. I walked from Fletcher to the Davis Square T stop (around 15 minutes) and then took the T for two stops (Porter and Harvard) which took some 10 minutes. Getting out at Harvard Square meant an additional 5 minutes walk to HKS. I had a 15 minute buffer which sometimes was necessary if I needed a bathroom break or the T was late. More than 45 minutes is perfect. Less than 45 minutes will be challenging. The location of your residence many of course further negatively impact this scenario.

The real issue is not the logistics so much as is the overlap of class schedules. Due to this, one has to choose between classes that are interesting leading to difficult decisions.

Regarding the second point, I disagree. Fletcher students have access to all Harvard groups and events. For example, the European Conference at Harvard, which brings high-level European politicians to the school, is actually a joint Harvard-Fletcher effort. One doesn't hear about Fletcher too much because the school doesn't market itself as well as Harvard does (the latter has a much larger budget to do so). For the networks, for example the Harvard Club of Boston (for alumni only) accepts graduates from Harvard, Yale, MIT, and Fletcher (not Tufts). Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “School affiliation” to see the drop-down options:

https://www.harvardclub.com/memberships/

So I want to clarify about my second point. I acknowledge that there isn't a hard barrier that a Fletcher students do have "access" to Harvard events and there are joint activities going on there. HOWEVER... I just wanted to dispel any notion that Fletcher students get access to the Harvard network both in school and out of school. For example, Fletcher Students have the Fletcher run DC Career Trip and NYC Career trip, which are both super awesome. However, Fletcher student's can't just hop onto the the HKS Career Services (at least back when I knew Fletcher) activities or some of the trips some of the trips certain Harvard grad programs plan (i.e. the Annual Israel Trip). That on top of the logistics of going to Harvard means you realistically acquire partial benefits (mostly in class + some joint activities). 

Bottom line, I recommend perspective students to think of the Harvard - MIT consortium matter as a bonus, but not a center-piece for choosing Fletcher.

[GradSchoolGrad]

5 hours ago, Bubba94 said:

Hi are you still checking this site? I'm choosing between Fletcher Yale and Georgetown right now and would love to talk to someone!

@Bubba94

So by Georgetown, I am assuming you mean MSFS. 

So I want to highlight that one real advantage about MSFS that I don't think people fully appreciate is the opportunity to do projects / part-time during the semester (granted it takes some life management) to pad your resume + maybe make some side income by virtue of being in DC. It is so much easier to go into a career field (especially if it is a drastic pivot), if you have a track record of research / internship or fellowship experience during grad school that you can speak to + put on your resume. My friends who went to Fletcher may have at most done research for a professor, a small non-profit, or some random things locally in Boston. At MSFS, my friends did IR work at Capital Hill, brought Amazon to Arlington, and etc. on top of their summer internships. 

Honestly the most important thing about such experiences is knowing what you like and don't like. Have this direct access will likely be more important as we about to approach recession. I remember during 2012, when my friends from Fletcher were taking random admin jobs at military bases because there was that much around. I would say having resume padding opportunities goes a long way. ALSO... if you go beyond the traditional IR school jobs (and that increasingly is the thing to do), the Fletcher brand doesn't mean anything. A lot of people outside of the Northeast don't even know what Tufts is.  

[Anonymous_2019]

Please see post below.

Edited March 30, 2020 by Anonymous_2019

[Anonymous_2019]

9 hours ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

A lot of people outside of the Northeast don't even know what Tufts is.  

GradSchoolGrad, you and I have attended Georgetown McCourt and Tufts Fletcher respectively so we are biased. That’s why it’s important to be objective in our statements by providing specific examples. Grand statements such as the case in point here aren’t helpful. I can equally respond by saying that a lot of people outside of the Northeast do in fact know what Tufts is. For example, for the class of 2024 the Tufts admission rate was 13.99% (2,831 accepted / 20,223 applied). Conversely, Georgetown stood at 16.37% (3,276 accepted / 20,002 applied). So, more applications came to Tufts than Georgetown and Tufts was more selective than Georgetown.

Edited March 30, 2020 by Anonymous_2019

[GradSchoolGrad]

2 hours ago, Anonymous_2019 said:

GradSchoolGrad, you and I have attended Georgetown McCourt and Tufts Fletcher respectively so we are biased. That’s why it’s important to be objective in our statements by providing specific examples. Grand statements such as the case in point here aren’t helpful. I can equally respond by saying that a lot of people outside of the Northeast do in fact know what Tufts is. For example, for the class of 2024 the Tufts admission rate was 13.99% (2,831 accepted / 20,223 applied). Conversely, Georgetown stood at 16.37% (3,276 accepted / 20,002 applied). So, more applications came to Tufts than Georgetown and Tufts was more selective than Georgetown.

@Anonymous_2019 , first of all... I want to establish, I am in no way a die hard promoter of Georgetown McCourt or Georgetown University as is. I respect the institution for its pros and cons, and for it being a place of higher education. I also respect Fletcher and Tufts as a place of higher education that produces excellent leaders. Members of my family have worked for Admiral James G. Stavridis (former Dean of Fletcher) and some of my best friends from college have gone to Fletcher (both MALD and PhD). In no ways am I trying to disparage Fletcher. I just want to help people considering a major life decision to look at all the angles.

Now as to our conversation about brand recognition. The data you pointed out I believe is undergrad acceptance at Tufts undergrad vs. Georgetown undergrad for Class of 2024. First off, that is false analogy to associate brand equity with undergrad acceptance rates. I can conversely highlight undergrad US News rankings (Georgetown outstrips Tufts) to brand equity, but again that would be comparing apples and oranges. I mean hypothetically, the right way to do it by data is to do a Net Promoter Score survey or Likert scale survey across the country of each brand against each other. Barring accessibility of meaningful data, I think anecdotes can reflect a lot.

My anecdote about the Fletcher brand is this.  I had a best friend who was a Fletcher alum (this is before I went to Georgetown). Everywhere we went on our travels together (after her graduation) - her hometown in the Mid-West, seeing friends in the South, and even Washington DC policy (but not IR) circles, she had to explain over and over again of what Fletcher is. Some people may have had inkling of Tufts (like "I think it is a school somewhere"), but she always had to explain Tufts as well. When I was looking at grad schools, she even mentioned how often (living in DC and at her job which is kind of IR related but not really) she had to explain to people about her education background and the Fletcher brand on a regularly basis. The reason why I mention brand equity is this.

1. If someone in the traditional IR space doesn't know Fletcher, I would be concerned about working for that person / organization.

2. As I previously mentioned, in this brave new world we live + post recession world, I think it is smart to consider having career flexibility and broader brand appeal, especially as non-traditional IR jobs become more common (and I applaud how Fletcher has made significant inroads to non-traditional IR organizations and positions).

3. A big incentive for grad school is an investment into the brand and how much potential gain (career, social, or otherwise) that brand affords. I think it is important for people to hear the strengths and limitation of every brand they are considering. 

ALSO... as a matter of being in the graduate circles / graduate recruiting circles... how Fletcher is a "school of law and diplomacy" as non-JD or LLM granting institution, I will say has been a point of confusion at networking events (that I have seen over and over again). In the grand scheme of things, these are small chips that don' t really matter, but I think people should know to highlight what people face outside of the Fletcher/IR world as a Fletcher student / alum. 

Edited March 30, 2020 by GradSchoolGrad