<p>Is anyone out there at Fletcher?</p>
<p>I'd love to hear about your experience, good/bad profs and classes, social life, housing, internships etc.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I'm not at Fletcher, per se, but I am an undergraduate International Relations major. The undergraduate program is run through Fletcher, but the degree is from Tufts' College of Arts & Sciences. Nevertheless, as a senior now, I have had the opportunity to take many classes at Fletcher as well as Tufts classes taught by Fletcher professors. My experiences have been outstanding! If you want to ask about a specific program, you might want to call Fletcher, though. They can put you in touch with a current student in your programs of interest.</p>
<p>There is Fletcher housing on-campus which is convenient. I have seen a room and they're in suite-style and very cozy. However, the one bedroom I did see was rather small. But if you come take a tour, you can look at it yourself. If you don't want to live on-campus, the Medford/Somerville area is very young and hip (if you're familiar with Brooklyn in New York, this is what Brooklyn was 10 years ago -- still relatively affordable and becoming trendier by the second).</p>
<p>You'll have amazing contacts at Fletcher for internships/job placement, etc. Again, talking to the admissions office there, you'll get more info.</p>
<p>I highly recommend a campus visit.</p>
<p>Thanks lolabelle.</p>
<p>Good to hear about your experience. Any Profs you would recommend? My impressions so far have been very good. In fact, I really haven't heard anything bad except for the fact that it is not in DC - which is actually kind of a plus for me. I love Boston.</p>
<p>Actually I did visit the campus when I came up for my interview - though it was a bit rushed due to timing. I have been meaning to contact Fletcher about talking with other students, I am sure I'll get round to that eventually. It will be off campus housing for me, I know somerville is pretty cool especially near Davis - just curious to hear about prices, locations etc. How far is it to walk to Davis anyway?</p>
<p>It's about a 5-7 minute walk. 10 if you like walking at a "leisurely pace". There's a shuttle that runs from Davis to Tufts every 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the time of day, so if it's rainy or especially blustery, you can just take the shuttle. That's not a problem at all.</p>
<p>Prices for housing... well, if you're sharing (living by yourself makes the price skyrocket) a house or a floor of a house in the places around the Tufts campus, expect to pay between $550 to $750/month plus utilities. Every now and then you find landlords who will include utilities in your rent which is nice because that way you know what to expect, and don't have to worry about using too much heating in the winter.</p>
<p>Some professors I highly recommend... Prof. Ayesha Jalal, an expert in South Asian studies & history as well as diplomatic history. She's also a MacArthur ("genius grant") recipient. I took a class with retired general Russell Howard on China which was great; he also teaches classes on Central America and defense/military issues. I've heard great things about Louis Aucoin and Ian Johnstone.</p>
<p>Please note, my experience in Fletcher is not extensive as I'm not a graduate student. But from what I hear, the full experience is incredible!</p>
<p>Davis is definitely walking distance, and there's always Tufts' "Joey" shuttle that runs from Davis to the Campus Center (and other places on campus).
Definitely check out the off-campus housing website. Not only does it have information on average costs and so on, landlords list on the site, too. If you're looking for a lease beginning in September, there aren't too many yet (the best time to look is closer to March, I think). It's at <a href="http://ase.tufts.edu/och%5B/url%5D">http://ase.tufts.edu/och</a>
(I love Tufts' Off Campus Housing Resource Center, but that could be because I now work there. The woman in charge there knows her stuff and is always excited to help students)</p>
<p>check craig's list for Boston area housing.</p>
<p>You can find some decent places in the Medford area for around $800-900 bucks. Not too shabby. Any price lower than that (if we're talking about 1 bed 1 bath apartments) is probably going to be suspect; I should know I've done quite a bit of looking, but for $800 you can get a really nice and a really clean place for sure. There are some nice places in Malden, Everett, Medford for sure. If you check on the Tufts webpage under studentsevices (I think) they have a list of places in the immediate area all in a the price range I'm talking about. Sometimes you can get a seasonal place for pretty cheap.</p>
<p>But yeah, check craig's list first that way you might be able to avoid paying that blasted finders fee which in and around Boston is going to be $400 minimum. </p>
<p>Don't wait till a few days before the semester to start looking for housing like I always did though. Something about starting the semester off in a Motel 8 that's just so ghoulishly wrong.</p>
<p>there's only a finder's fee if you go through a realtor. if you check out places through craig's list or the off-campus housing website, there shouldn't be any fees.
If you go for a one bedroom apartment, it's definitely going to be more expensive, but we rarely get listings as high as rightbackatyou's estimates on the website, especially if you look at the right times (and for multiple bedroom apartments). Unless he's including utilities, of course.</p>
<p>And what are the right times to look? I've looked in January and August, not sure if those are the most terrible times but $800 is pretty standard for an apartment in the United States. I don't know where you're going to find anything that has is reasonably clean and reasonably spacial for substantially less but who knows, I could be wrong.</p>
<p>I know payed $725 for an apartment in Kenmore square that wasn't much bigger than a closet. Sure that's in Kenmore square but for $725 in the Boston area I'm skeptical as to how clean the place would be and in what type of neighborhood. I lived in Dorchester too and the novelty of having quadruple homicides on your street can wear off much more rapidly then I would have expected.</p>
<p>I'm trying to be helpful here so maybe I'm wrong. I just don't know how great a place you can get for less than around $800. But again, maybe I'm wrong. I have done quite a bit of apartment hunting in my day though.</p>
<p>It depends on when you're looking to start your lease. January is definitely early if your lease starts in September. The earlier you look, the less listings there are and the higher the prices will be. If you're only going for single bedroom apartments, that will definitely jack up the price, too.
I couldn't testify to whether the apartments around here are any good, it's true, but there are places for somewhere between $550-750 like lolabelle said. I think the most tend to be between 600 and 700, though (which may be quibbling, but whatever). But again, that's not including utilities.</p>
<p>I pay $550 a month and it's VERY nice here - and extremely close to campus. Literally right next to a dorm.</p>
<p>As far as housing is concerned, I am specifically interested in 1 bedrooms, preferably in Somerville near Davis. Being right near campus isn't real important to me because I'll be living with my GF who will most likely be working down town. Thanks for all the info on housing, I'll take a look at some of those resources.</p>
<p>Back to Fletcher - Lolabelle thanks for the on Profs. Anyone else taken classes with Fletcher profs?</p>
<p>this semester I'm taking Macro with a Fletcher professor - he is UNBELIEVABLE, his name is Michael Klein. He is extremely clear, provides very illustrative examples, and is absolutely hilarious, so he keeps the class engaged. I always want to come to class, because I know he'll make the material really interesting and relevant.</p>
<p>I also sometimes hang around in the Ginn Library and overhear the Fletcher students - they all seem pretty smart and awesome. Also, one time I was there working on my IR paper and reading a book about the Soviet war in Afghanistan. A guy across the table from me says in a thick Russian accent, "I wrote a paper on that subject ten years ago!" And I said really? so am I. He goes, "what's your topic?" So I told him my thesis, and he says, "Well, remember, this was all taking place shortly after the United States was beginning to get friendly with China - Russia needed to flex its muscles, and then - boom. Afghanistan invasion." I ended up including that as a big point in my paper, lol. Then we talked in Russian for like ten minutes, haha.</p>
<p>"I pay $550 a month and it's VERY nice here"</p>
<p>There's no way you're living by yourself. Maybe $550 per person for a double.</p>
<p>Yes That Is What We're All Talking About. Sharing An Apartment.</p>
<p>Oh OK, lol. I thought we were talking about 1 bedroom apartments for some reason. Yeah, $550 is certainly conceivable. Shoot, if you're willing to share a house with 4 or 5 other people I've seen places as low as $230, nice places, in great neighborhoods.</p>
<p>If anyone is actually in a 1 bedroom I'd love to hear about it.</p>