Fletcher Strengths/Weaknesses

[jduds]

Hi guys-

Like some of you all I am deciding between Fletcher and SIPA.

Did you know that at Fletcher (as a MALD student specifically) you can only take four classes per semester (this includes cross-registered courses)? You can audit a 5th, but that's the limit. Beyond that you have to pay for each additional course.

Meanwhile, at SIPA you can take a maximum of 18 credits...and since classes come in 3-credit, 1 credit and 0.5 credit sizes, you could conceivably take 6 (or more but then that would start to get crazy) classes.

While I'm leaning towards Fletcher, I do wish they'd allow me to take more classes like Columbia. I happen to want an intensive curriculum experience and want to do as much as possible (and they have a great selection of classes). I think its not cool to ask me to pay for each class over 4 though...

I've been putting together a potential first-year schedule for the schools I'm considering. I put one together for Columbia, and while you can take 6 classes per term, you'll likely spend a significant amount of time taking core courses, for either the MIA core (assuming you're MIA), or your concentration. I haven't really looked that deeply into Fletcher, but I definitely think you'll have more curricular flexibility there despite the limit on how many classes you can take.

[zourah]

I've been putting together a potential first-year schedule for the schools I'm considering. I put one together for Columbia, and while you can take 6 classes per term, you'll likely spend a significant amount of time taking core courses, for either the MIA core (assuming you're MIA), or your concentration. I haven't really looked that deeply into Fletcher, but I definitely think you'll have more curricular flexibility there despite the limit on how many classes you can take.

I'm doing something similar. As an Econ & Political Dev student at SIPA, I'd have 16 credits mandated in one way or another (some electives, but only from approved EPD courses, not "take anything!" courses). Fletcher, well, if you balance your breadth and depth requirements just so, you can get everything fulfilled in 7 or 8 classes. So Fletcher equals fewer courses but more academic freedom all in all...

[spitts77]

And finally, while funding info isn't even available yet and it wasn't the top of my list, I've got near-strangers telling me I'd be crazy not to go to Kennedy, so they're also still in the running, somewhere probably on par with SIPA and Fletcher.

Hi - I've received similar comments about Kennedy but not from people in the IR world. Do you have any idea why the people who said that did so? Were these people are in the know when it comes to these schools? By the way, SFS is sort of still on my list too. Do you have any more thoughts on it?

[zourah]

Hi - I've received similar comments about Kennedy but not from people in the IR world. Do you have any idea why the people who said that did so? Were these people are in the know when it comes to these schools? By the way, SFS is sort of still on my list too. Do you have any more thoughts on it?

My people aren't necessarily IR people either. They are people who work in international affairs, but their backgrounds are usually in other specialties - these are people who have ended up working internationally more by accident than by design. The Harvard brand is just that strong, I think...

I personally have no thoughts on SFS - it was my first choice, but I can't take the stress of waiting 'til June to know what I'm doing, I think. I've been sufficiently pleased with these visit days that I intend to take an offer from one of my full admits and not look back. That said, it's another great program and I wish you luck in deciding.

Also, my notes from the Fletcher visit day, for anyone who couldn't make it. To sum up: I think I'm in love.

[javajava]

Zourah,

Thanks for taking the time to write up about your visit to Fletcher.

Am I reading "I'm in love" right? Did you choose Fletcher then, over HKS?

[javajava]

Also - did anyone else visit both/either Fletcher and/or SIPA? I'd love for more feedback as I'm overseas..

thanks heaps

[zourah]

Am I reading "I'm in love" right? Did you choose Fletcher then, over HKS?

Still not sure. I really, really liked HKS too - and so far, SAIS is really making quite an impression as well. It's going to be a hard choice - but Fletcher really put on a welcoming day that really felt like coming home. There are other things that matter in a grad program, but I certainly felt comfortable there from the get-go (to the point of starting an accidental snark-war with a prof in class!)

Also - did anyone else visit both/either Fletcher and/or SIPA? I'd love for more feedback as I'm overseas..

thanks heaps

Went to SIPA yesterday, left at lunch after spending all morning in a room with EVERYONE else in all degree programs, all concentrations, hearing very generic introductions with not that much Q&A time. I'm going to stick with the "if you can't say anything nice," rule, but it's the one program I'm ready to rule out right now.

[sgw]

I have a question somewhat relating to the "brand" issue for Fletcher, but I'm particularly interested in it from the security studies aspect. Based on the open house -- and this may just have been due to the people I happened to talk to -- it seemed like Fletcher is very strong in "softer" topics like development, international organizations, conflict resolution, etc. What I'm trying to work out is how strong the school is, both in terms of actuality and in terms of reputation among employers, from the "hard" security studies angle (I'm interested in things like WMD proliferation, intra-state conflict, etc.). Thoughts?

Also --

Also - did anyone else visit both/either Fletcher and/or SIPA? I'd love for more feedback as I'm overseas..

thanks heaps

I attended both Fletcher and SIPA. A few thoughts off the top of my head:

• [*:2ok5xpgy]Fletcher continued to push the strong community aspect, and I really did see it. They arranged to put admitted students up with current student hosts, which no other school I visited did. The night before the open house my host got a group of her friends together with their admitted students for dinner. Fletcher has its own complex of buildings, including its own library and dorm, and it seemed like students seemed to hang out there a lot outside of classes.
  [*:2ok5xpgy]The Fletcher professors who spoke during info sessions and whose courses I sat in on were all were engaged, friendly, and funny. They invited me to participate and ask questions during class if I wanted to. SIPA didn't let us attend classes.
  [*:2ok5xpgy]Fletcher emphasized the flexibility of their curriculum as both a positive and a negative. Basically it means you have a lot of choice, but it also means you probably need a decent idea of what you want to do, otherwise it's easy to just sort of drift without direction. SIPA's curriculum is much less flexible; most of your first year is spent taking core courses.
  [*:2ok5xpgy]Fletcher and SIPA both emphasized the importance of their diverse student bodies and the ability to take courses outside the school itself (ie at Harvard or at other Columbia schools)
  [*:2ok5xpgy]I didn't realize just how large SIPA was until I got there -- 1200 students in all, approximately 600 in each class (note this doesn't match what the website says, so maybe I'm mis-remembering?). So that means at least 300 MIAs alone (the website indicates it's more like 350), compared to 248 for Fletcher's entire 2008 entering class. And it really did feel huge.
  [*:2ok5xpgy]That said, the students I met at SIPA really seemed to love it. I asked about competitiveness and sense of community, since I'd heard less-than-positive things about those aspects, but the students I talked to said that it was a supportive and active community.
  [*:2ok5xpgy]SIPA talked a lot about their location in NYC and all the city has to offer, generally from the "why on earth would you want to be anywhere else" perspective.

I've never had much desire to live in NYC (yes, I'm one of THOSE people), and I think that factor -- plus the size and the time-consuming core curriculum -- may knock SIPA off my list. However, I spoke to several people there who loved it during their visit and had decided to attend.

[zourah]

I attended both Fletcher and SIPA. A few thoughts off the top of my head...

I'd like to second pretty much that entire list.

[riz1]

so -- to revitalize this thread -- are there any others out there on the Fletcher waitlist?

[riz1]

I'm pretty sure that at this point, no one really cares -- or perhaps no one visits the forum anymore -- but I just received my acceptance to Fletcher starting January 2010! They took me off the waitlist to start in the Spring because there were no more spots available at all for the Fall entering class.

To next year's round of applicants: GOOD LUCK!

[zourah]

I'm pretty sure that at this point, no one really cares -- or perhaps no one visits the forum anymore -- but I just received my acceptance to Fletcher starting January 2010! They took me off the waitlist to start in the Spring because there were no more spots available at all for the Fall entering class.

To next year's round of applicants: GOOD LUCK!

congrats!

[riz1]

congrats!

thanks Zourah. congrats to you as well on getting into HKS! who knows, our paths may cross (i'm looking at taking some specific courses at the K School). what are your fields of study?

[zourah]

thanks Zourah. congrats to you as well on getting into HKS! who knows, our paths may cross (i'm looking at taking some specific courses at the K School). what are your fields of study?

I'll be doing their int'l and global affairs track and will probably also cross-register some at Fletcher (I sat in on Drezner's class at the visit day and really enjoyed it, for one). In any case, I'd imagine our paths will likely cross, and I'm definitely starting to get excited about the fall.

[riz1]

I'll be doing their int'l and global affairs track and will probably also cross-register some at Fletcher (I sat in on Drezner's class at the visit day and really enjoyed it, for one). In any case, I'd imagine our paths will likely cross, and I'm definitely starting to get excited about the fall.

nice. if i had gone to HKS i would have done IGA as well -- the chance to work with Matt Bunn on the Managing the Atom project is what i really want. Drezner certainly is an interesting fellow -- do you follow his FP blog?