Mid-Cycle(s)

With all we’ve written about reading applications, you might think that we’re single-mindedly focused on selecting our fall 2007 entering class. That would not be good news for those of you who are reading this during the earliest phase of your graduate school planning. In fact, though, we’re never free to focus completely on the admissions process for just one entering class.

To get a sense of how this plays out, I might describe some of the tasks I took on today. First, I reviewed some applications for September 2007 admission. Then, I updated the scholarship renewal application for continuing students who enrolled at Fletcher in January 2007 or earlier. I answered emails from prospective students who hope to start their studies in January or September 2008. (Though it wasn’t this week, it’s also worth noting that the Admissions Office just organized the Orientation program for students who enrolled in January.)

Admissions people tend to think of our work as highly cyclical: Talking about the program on the road or in the office each fall; evaluating applications each winter; working with admitted students each spring; regrouping and preparing for a new cycle in the summer. But each “cycle” is not limited to only a year. Instead, it starts more than a year before students enroll, and continues until they graduate.

If you are one of those potential applicants who have just started to research graduate school options, please rest assured that Fletcher’s Admissions Office is a busy place right now – but not too busy to answer your questions. And, as noted in an earlier entry, we will be offering Information Sessions throughout the spring. Three years of construction have just come to an end and it’s a perfect time to visit Fletcher.

But as for those applications, I’ll be strapping on my fuzzy slippers tomorrow to attack the mountain of folders currently waiting for me in my kitchen. At least for one day, my focus will be single-minded.