Fall 2022 Decision - GW Elliott IDS VS Fletcher MALD

[sonnchou4456]

Hi everyone!

This is my first post (and an international student), so bear with me if my English is a bit strange...

Anyways, I am hoping to get some thoughts on the two grad programs I was luckily admitted to!

I am a Japanese undergraduate student graduating March 2022, who studied liberal arts (not sure if I can call this a field haha) in Japan. 

My career plan is to become a practitioner in the field of conflict resolution, countering violent extremism, and peacebuilding, thus decided to pursue a graduate degree that enables me to gain the necessary knowledge and experience (e.g., project design, management, m&e, and a preferably third language too) for such a profession.

Much to my luck, I got offers from GW Elliott IDS (have to self-fund 10k/year), and Fletcher MALD (self-fund 16k/year), and am currently leaning towards going to Elliott, for its location in DC as well as its lower cost compared to Fletcher.

However, looking into the Gradcafe forum, I see lots of positive posts (negatives posts equally) about the MALD, and not so much on Elliott IDS, so I am reconsidering once again...

If I summarize my thoughts, it would be like this:

Elliott: DC location (thus better connection?), cheaper option, wider varieties of fields I can study

Fletcher: Better recognition and reputation? (not sure about this...),  Fletcher Mafia, more rigorous? (again, I'm not sure about this too), prestige in the IR community?

Are my image of both schools correct?

Could anyone give me more insight on the two programs?? 

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 3/27/2022 at 1:41 AM, sonnchou4456 said:

Hi everyone!

This is my first post (and an international student), so bear with me if my English is a bit strange...

Anyways, I am hoping to get some thoughts on the two grad programs I was luckily admitted to!

I am a Japanese undergraduate student graduating March 2022, who studied liberal arts (not sure if I can call this a field haha) in Japan. 

My career plan is to become a practitioner in the field of conflict resolution, countering violent extremism, and peacebuilding, thus decided to pursue a graduate degree that enables me to gain the necessary knowledge and experience (e.g., project design, management, m&e, and a preferably third language too) for such a profession.

Much to my luck, I got offers from GW Elliott IDS (have to self-fund 10k/year), and Fletcher MALD (self-fund 16k/year), and am currently leaning towards going to Elliott, for its location in DC as well as its lower cost compared to Fletcher.

However, looking into the Gradcafe forum, I see lots of positive posts (negatives posts equally) about the MALD, and not so much on Elliott IDS, so I am reconsidering once again...

If I summarize my thoughts, it would be like this:

Elliott: DC location (thus better connection?), cheaper option, wider varieties of fields I can study

Fletcher: Better recognition and reputation? (not sure about this...),  Fletcher Mafia, more rigorous? (again, I'm not sure about this too), prestige in the IR community?

Are my image of both schools correct?

Could anyone give me more insight on the two programs?? 

So this depends on how much support you feel like you need. GW Elliot has lots of opportunities for you do research and conduct internships with the local DC environment, but it might be tougher to get those roles outside of the school as an international student. You also have to aggressively advocate for yourself.

Fletcher is a kinder gentler more community driven program. It has an issue with brand (no one outside of the IR space knows what it is) and comparatively is less diverse in terms of background (disproportionate non-profit / liberal arts background). The opportunities to have internships and research are okay at best to boring  at worst. There are some awesome opportunities to get in the Harvard circle and do stuff with them, but that is a lot of work and commuting. It is also not as easy as they make it sound out to be. 

The people I know who went to Fletcher as unmarried singles came out rather smug and overly obssessed about the Fletcher mafia, that they became kind of annoying people to spent time around. Some married people go to Fletcher because it is in the suburbs. 

So it all comes down to what are you willing to risk. 

[d2ear]

On 3/27/2022 at 1:41 AM, sonnchou4456 said:

Hi everyone!

This is my first post (and an international student), so bear with me if my English is a bit strange...

Anyways, I am hoping to get some thoughts on the two grad programs I was luckily admitted to!

I am a Japanese undergraduate student graduating March 2022, who studied liberal arts (not sure if I can call this a field haha) in Japan. 

My career plan is to become a practitioner in the field of conflict resolution, countering violent extremism, and peacebuilding, thus decided to pursue a graduate degree that enables me to gain the necessary knowledge and experience (e.g., project design, management, m&e, and a preferably third language too) for such a profession.

Much to my luck, I got offers from GW Elliott IDS (have to self-fund 10k/year), and Fletcher MALD (self-fund 16k/year), and am currently leaning towards going to Elliott, for its location in DC as well as its lower cost compared to Fletcher.

However, looking into the Gradcafe forum, I see lots of positive posts (negatives posts equally) about the MALD, and not so much on Elliott IDS, so I am reconsidering once again...

If I summarize my thoughts, it would be like this:

Elliott: DC location (thus better connection?), cheaper option, wider varieties of fields I can study

Fletcher: Better recognition and reputation? (not sure about this...),  Fletcher Mafia, more rigorous? (again, I'm not sure about this too), prestige in the IR community?

Are my image of both schools correct?

Could anyone give me more insight on the two programs?? 

Your insights on both programs are accurate. Fletcher is an excellent choice for the fields you mentioned, but they are primarily focused on the Middle East. In contrast, GW offers more courses and professors with an Asia-Pacific focus. While both schools are fantastic, Fletcher has a stronger sense of community, whereas GW is more competitive due to DC's nature. Ultimately, the decision comes down to your personal preferences.

Regarding the previous comment, accessing Harvard is quite simple. I personally know several individuals who conduct research and attend classes there, and the opposite is also true.

Edited April 19, 2023 by d2ear