Fletcher Fall 2014 - Early Notification

[joseon4th]

Thought I'd finally commit to this site and start a thread for Fletcher EN. 

 

Going off previous years, early notification decisions seem to land on the second Friday of December, which would be this Friday. I haven't heard anything from them, which I suppose makes sense.

 

Anyone out there counting down the hours as well? 

[terrapin]

Same boat here. They say they will render decisions by 1 January, so I am trying not to get my hopes up for a decision this week, but you're right, history seems to indicate this Friday or so.

 

It's Thursday here in Japan... that means I might find out tomorrow, right?? 

[joseon4th]

I suppose I was thinking they would release them before classes finish, which is next Thursday, because they have students and professors on the AdCom. It is funny, of course, that these are the exact same trepidations expressed in years prior. 

 

I used to live in Korea -- so yes, you are in the future, and will find out sooner than us in the States! 

[pantereal]

I have waited all day long but nothing came up.

Does Anybody have idea when the result comes out? Maybe next Friday?

[terrapin]

I'd imagine sometime next week, but who knows! It's possible they got more early applicants this year than in years past, or they just need some extra time to put everything together. I have kept a close eye on their admissions blog, which provides good updates on their goings-on. 

 

http://sites.tufts.edu/fletcheradmissions/

[joseon4th]

As far as I can tell from their academic calendar, last day of exams is Wednesday, and they have previously stated they try to get them out by the end of term. I agree with terrapin, they must have received more than usual. My best guess is by Wednesday.

[joseon4th]

Decisions are in! Good luck everyone. 

[leon32]

If you don't get in, don't worry too much about it.  I applied early notification, didn't get in then, but am now a current student at Fletcher who got admitted during the general intake.

[pantereal]

Thanks leon, I got in. The thing is that I really need financial aid and don't know the results of other schools.

[rhodeislander]

Current Fletcher student here, just want to say good luck to everyone! Also, if anyone has any questions I would be happy to try and help.

[joseon4th]

Current Fletcher student here, just want to say good luck to everyone! Also, if anyone has any questions I would be happy to try and help.

 

rhodeislander, I know this is The Question always asked, but what pushed Fletcher to the top of your list? I see you got a substantial 1st year offer from SAIS, which as of now is probably my #1 (if I get in). 

 

I will need/want to continue building on my language skills. As far as I know, Fletcher allows for students to take not-for-credit language classes at Tufts -- do you have any more perspective/information on this? To be clear, I'd say I'd just need another semester or two to be competent for the required language examination. 

 

Any feedback's appreciated! 

[rhodeislander]

rhodeislander, I know this is The Question always asked, but what pushed Fletcher to the top of your list? I see you got a substantial 1st year offer from SAIS, which as of now is probably my #1 (if I get in). 

 

I will need/want to continue building on my language skills. As far as I know, Fletcher allows for students to take not-for-credit language classes at Tufts -- do you have any more perspective/information on this? To be clear, I'd say I'd just need another semester or two to be competent for the required language examination. 

 

Any feedback's appreciated! 

Hey Jose, I'd be happy to answer. Basically, Fletcher was the only one that had the fewest strikes against it. Georgetown was too expensive, Maxwell wasn't in the same tier as the others, Chicago seemed kind of hopeless outside of academia, and I just didn't get a great vibe from SAIS when I visited. In a nutshell, it was far toohigh-strung and "DC" for me, although I'm sure many people like it for precisely that reason. Also, the econ requirement is just silly if you're not going into a field that needs a ton of econ (for a bunch of people who fancy themselves economists they don't really seem to grasp the concept of opportunity cost). It IS a really impressive school though.

Anyway, in the end Fletcher seemed like a very welcoming place with a great community, and I'm happy to say that has turned out to be an accurate assessment. EVeryone here is great, and the resources of the school are absolutely amazing. I'd be happy to answer whatever specific questions you may have about the place to the best of my ability.

The one negative thing I will say about Fletcher is while you can study a language here, they really don't make it easy. It can be done, my roommate is in accelerated Chinese and managing, but it can be a pain. I guess you just really have to be disciplined and block out the time.

 

[Katrun]

Hey Jose, I'd be happy to answer. Basically, Fletcher was the only one that had the fewest strikes against it. Georgetown was too expensive, Maxwell wasn't in the same tier as the others, Chicago seemed kind of hopeless outside of academia, and I just didn't get a great vibe from SAIS when I visited. In a nutshell, it was far toohigh-strung and "DC" for me, although I'm sure many people like it for precisely that reason. Also, the econ requirement is just silly if you're not going into a field that needs a ton of econ (for a bunch of people who fancy themselves economists they don't really seem to grasp the concept of opportunity cost). It IS a really impressive school though.

Anyway, in the end Fletcher seemed like a very welcoming place with a great community, and I'm happy to say that has turned out to be an accurate assessment. EVeryone here is great, and the resources of the school are absolutely amazing. I'd be happy to answer whatever specific questions you may have about the place to the best of my ability.

The one negative thing I will say about Fletcher is while you can study a language here, they really don't make it easy. It can be done, my roommate is in accelerated Chinese and managing, but it can be a pain. I guess you just really have to be disciplined and block out the time.

 

 

I have a couple questions for you if you don't mind.

 

What exactly makes it so hard to study a language? Is it not pushed as much? Are there few students who pursue language classes?

 

How are the development focused classes?

[rhodeislander]

I have a couple questions for you if you don't mind.

 

What exactly makes it so hard to study a language? Is it not pushed as much? Are there few students who pursue language classes?

 

How are the development focused classes?

Hey Katrun, sorry I'm only getting back to you now (so busy these days with midterms and the internship hunt and whatnot), but basically, on top of all your other committments language study is just very difficult. A lot of people end up not being able to cut it and drop out before the end of the semester. You can do it though if you make a concious choice to make it a priority.

As for the i-dev stuff, that really isn't my area of expertise I'm afraid, but the people doing it here seem happy (and you always have that Harvard connection for additional options). We do put a lot of people into nonprofits/NGOs.

[spartuckeye]

2014 Fletcher Open House Review

 

To start off, Fletcher was the school I probably knew the least about, but the open house probably made the biggest impression on me.

 

Sunday night they had an alumni panel and reception. They were all of course, very accomplished individuals: a PMF Fellow, a military veteran, an international student working in the private sector, a Foreign Service Officer, and a guy who got his MA and PhD from Fletcher and a law degree from Harvard who started his own company in Boston that works on social innovation. They were the most enthusiastic alumni panel of any school I had visited, and could not say enough great things about their experience during school and after with the Fletcher alumni network. There was a bit of the Fletcher v. Harvard that arose in some of the questioning. The Fletcher/Harvard dual degree guy said that in his personal experience, the contact back rate with alumni from Fletcher was 95% whereas Harvard was 5%. And other panelists told similar stories about landing great opportunities through the Fletcher network. Fletcher students cross-registering at HKS seemed to be very highly regarded by those professors for being “hard-working, intelligent, good-people.” I think of any of the schools I visited, Fletcher had the best reputation in terms of the people they produce, rather than the skills tacked onto their resume like SAIS for example.

 

In terms of “skills”, I was really surprised by the amount of econ and quant courses available in the course bulletin.  Like one of the panelists said, Fletcher doesn’t “shove them down your throat.” I like that I can choose which of these courses I want to take (and how many), rather than a standardized curriculum.

 

The next day was a mix of class visits, student panels, guest lectures and career and financial services sessions. You could choose which ones you went to, which kept things relevant and interesting. The Dean also gave a great presentation about the school and how they prepare graduates for the international issues we will be facing in the future. I think him having gone to Fletcher is a huge plus for the school since he is always looking for ways to build the program and clearly has a personal interest in doing so…rather than it just being a job. He had a very impressive background, but was still very personable and took the time to go around and talk to the admitted students. The faculty panel that followed was informative as well. They emphasized “student-centered” learning, talked about various things people did for their capstones (which ranged from the traditional thesis, to publishing op-eds to creating a business plan).

 

Another thing I was surprised by were the amount of admitted students interested in entrepreneurship and innovation, and I guess having the Masters in International Business really attracts those types of people. I would be doing the MALD, but it’s nice that the MIB courses are made available to take.

 

Of course the one thing that everyone harps on is the location. The students did not really see it as a big deal. Every year they said about half of Fletcher grads end up in DC, with the rest working either internationally, elsewhere in the U.S. and some stay in Boston. A lot of the students at Fletcher had already been working in D.C. for a number of years or studied there in undergrad and seemed much less insecure about the need to be in D.C. or NY than people at other schools. They said their professors and the alumni had great connections and got them internships at places in the U.N., think-tanks in NY and DC and elsewhere. There were a number of students interested in the private sector and had a variety of internships in Boston with different companies and also the FBI during the year related to cyber-security and technology…. another strength of the program that I did not know before the open house.

 

As for diversity, Fletcher gets an A. There was a great representation of international students, a lot of U.S. minorities, military veterans, and people of varying age ranges. And they were all interacting like one, big happy family. Everyone pretty much knew each others’ names, too.

 

And the only low point….financial aid. I know they give a little to everyone, and most people are taking out some amount of loans here, but in the face of competing offers that is the only thing keeping me back from immediately accepting. Hope this review helped for those not able to make it!