Sooooo close!

We all needed to walk slowly through the office yesterday.  There were letters in piles everywhere, and we had to be careful not to create a breeze that would flutter them from pile to pile.  Here’s where the letters are today:

Packets ready for pick-up

The packets for the first big batch of admitted students are almost ready to mail.  We use the paper letters to check our own work.  Is the right decision in place?  The right scholarship award?  Is the mailing address correct?  Proofing the letters and loading up the packets has been a two-day job.  We had a lively crew (highly caffeinated) working on it this morning.  Our two early-bird student staff members, Rebecca and JR, had the honor of sealing the envelopes.

Plenty of coffee

What does all this mean?  It means we’re nearly ready to release (online) that first bunch of decisions.  To protect your own nerves, please note:

1.  We haven’t released anything yet.  (I’m writing at about 11:30 a.m. on Friday, U.S. East Coast time.)

2.  You’ll receive an email when your decision is ready to be viewed online.  If you have already been admitted, you’ll receive an email telling you to check for any updates, including scholarship decisions.

3.  If your decision isn’t included in the first batch, please don’t waste brain cells coming up with a theory of why you’re in the latter batch.  It’s not good news and it’s not bad news.  It’s no news — except that you must be an applicant to the LLM, MIB, or PhD program, and your application will be discussed at next week’s meeting.

4.  Those last decisions should all be released by March 23.  I know I said the 22nd yesterday, but the LLM Admissions Committee is meeting a day later than I had originally heard.

5.  The first batch (which, as I’ve said, includes at least 90% of decisions — including most of the MIB and PhD applicants) will be released at latest by Monday (the 15th).  (That includes the wriggle room we need to deal with technology crises.)

6.  1800 applicants all checking the online system in a short period of time will bring the system down.  We’ve warned the IT folks, but there’s not much they can do.  If you find yourself unable to view your online decision, make yourself a nice cup of tea, relax, and try again later.  We’ll be crossing our fingers that we’ll go crash free, but history tells us not to be unrealistic.

As this long process winds to a close, I want to thank all of you again for sharing your goals and stories with us.  There are applicants we first “met” on paper via the essays, and those we met several years ago at an APSIA fair.  No matter when our contacts began, we wish you all the best of luck as you plan your graduate studies!

16 thoughts on “Sooooo close!

  • March 12, 2010 at 10:06 pm
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    Thank you, Pon, Michael, Jay, and Ashlee for your patience (though I’m really sorry your tea ran out too soon, Ashlee!!).

    Here’s what I think has happened. As our decision-processing team (also known as Roxana and Laurie, with minimal help from the rest of us), loaded the decisions in the system, the word started to spread that you could access your decision if you login (even before the emails were sent). Lots of pressure on the system! It will come back! I’m home now, but I will post something if I hear anything else about the system. (That is, anything besides that intense usage has brought it down.) More tea, everybody!

    Jessica

  • March 12, 2010 at 10:02 pm
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    Is anyone else not able to get in….this is horrible….I hope we don’t have to go all weekend without knowing….ahhh the nerves…

  • March 12, 2010 at 9:18 pm
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    The system has crashed 🙁 Can’t login to check decision. And I’ve run out of tea! 🙁

  • March 12, 2010 at 9:16 pm
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    Hi Jessica,

    I like to also extend my gratitude and a big thanks to you and the rest of the admission staff. It’s Friday night here and I already received my e-mail notification. YAY! However, I think the system just crashed so I am unable to check my decision at the moment:( I guess regardless of the decision, this whole process has been an amazing one and I just want to say “KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!”

  • March 12, 2010 at 7:57 pm
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    Alright guys…. stop asking questions. Jessica needs to input the decision into GAMS. 1 more question = 5 less decisions uploaded.

    Monday..Yes!

    = D

  • March 12, 2010 at 5:46 pm
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    Hi Lee,

    I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that. Whether the decision-posting team will reconvene on the weekend will depend on their progress. Again — decisions by Monday for sure. Sooner if possible. The last batch for sure by the 23rd. That’s as clear as I can be right now.

    Thanks for the kind words,
    Jessica

  • March 12, 2010 at 4:57 pm
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    Hi Jessica!

    Like everyone else here, I have been really impressed by and thankful for this blog. Today’s pictures are been priceless!

    Will your staff be sending out notifications over the weekend? In other words, if I don’t hear from Fletcher today, does that mean that I will hear on Monday?

    Thank you!

    Lee

  • March 12, 2010 at 3:38 pm
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    Thanks so much, Juan! And I’ll make sure to extend your thanks and compliments (and those of other writers) to the rest of the staff.
    Jessica

  • March 12, 2010 at 3:35 pm
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    Jessica

    Whatever the decision might have been, THANK YOU!!! You and your team have made an amazing job totally out of the box, connecting the dots not only for your own admission process but for our mental health’s sake.

    Let me tell you something else: Your blog has been one additional reason that led me to apply to Fletcher, as it reflects a school with rules, discipline and hard work that keeps itself as a reference to the state of the art not only in academics, but also on technology and networking, which I find truly appealing.

    Congratulations again, and again, and again!

    Best regards!

    Juan.

  • March 12, 2010 at 2:56 pm
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    Thank you for the entire hard work, Jessica and other admission staff members!

    I’m so pumped up to see the admission email and the decision page. In fact, it’s mixed with some scare though.

  • March 12, 2010 at 2:07 pm
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    Thanks, Sandra! This seemed like one day that it was worth letting a picture tell the story.
    Jessica

  • March 12, 2010 at 2:03 pm
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    Jessica,

    What a great insight those pictures are. They definitely complement your blogs and insert us a little bit in the world of Fletcher admissions. Thank you for all the amazing work you guys do on your end.

  • March 12, 2010 at 2:02 pm
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    Good try, Jason! But I’m going to hang on to the wriggle room I created. The first batch will go by Monday, for sure! Earlier, if energy levels and technology allow. The decision-release specialists are at work — but the process takes hours and hours (and hours). It’s a two-person job, and I know the two people want to be done as soon as they can, but accuracy trumps speed.
    Jessica

  • March 12, 2010 at 1:56 pm
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    Jessica,

    Thanks for your updates. Sounds like you guys are very close to releasing decisions!

    What are the chances we’ll all get emails today? =D

  • March 12, 2010 at 1:03 pm
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    Hi Sam,
    Yes — EVERYONE gets an email when their update is posted to the GAMS system — admit, deny, wait list, and scholarship update — EVERYONE!
    Thanks, and good luck!
    Jessica

  • March 12, 2010 at 12:59 pm
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    Hi Jessica,

    Thank you very much indeed for keeping us posted throughout the process. Nice to know that the decision has finally been made. I know, over the last couple of days you have been pestered with a flurry of questions and you had to provide a lot of clarifications. However, just wanted to ask you one last question. Will there be an email informing those who are not admitted?

    Thanks a lot and great pictures!

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