Is summer a good time to visit Fletcher?  Well…truth be told, it’s not optimal.  But there are plenty of people for whom summer is the only opportunity to visit.  If that’s you, come on over — we’ll do our best to provide a warm welcome!  We’ll be offering Information Sessions most Mondays from June 4 to August 6, and we have just hired two new interns who can answer your questions about the student experience. You can also arrange an evaluative interview.

What we don’t have a lot of is classes to attend.  Or buzz.  It’s crazy quiet here in the summer.  But a summer visit is better than no visit, so check out the list of sessions and sign up for the one that’s convenient for you.

Meanwhile, I just finished talking to Kristen, who updated me on plans for this summer’s Coffee Hours.  She put out the call yesterday, and within minutes (in that wonderful Fletcher way), 25 students had offered to host a coffee in their far-flung locations this summer.  Kristen will finalize the plans in the next few weeks, and then you’ll be invited to sign up for a coffee near you.

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I’m very pleased with the results of my first ever blog survey, which has provided me with a nice list of topics of interest to readers.  Several people asked me to write about the waitlist.  Done!  And the suggestions of others will be covered in future blog posts.

A few people asked me to pull out my reporter’s notebook and start writing about professors and students.  As it happens, I have been working on a long post about one of our soon-to-graduate students.  Look for it next week!  And I’ll try to do more in the future.  Meanwhile, I’m going to use today’s post to point you toward information about students that’s already on the web site.

First, there are the brief pieces, including pre-Fletcher work and education experience, about the fall 2011 entering class — the folks who will still be around to meet our incoming students, and the fall 2010 entering class — the students to whom we’ll soon say good-bye.  And, you can access more profiles by degree program for MALD, MIB, LLM, MA, and PhD students.

I enjoy interviewing people, and I will definitely take the time to include more features on the blog in the future.  But I’ll also occasionally point you toward information that’s already out there and ready for you to read.

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Writing about the waitlist is a dangerous exercise for me:  I don’t want to be either excessively rosy or unnecessarily gloomy.  Today, though, I’ll throw caution to the wind and try to shed a little light for you.  Let’s start with the chronology of the waitlist so far.

March:  We made a bunch of offers of a space on the waitlist for each program.

March/April:  Applicants let us know if they wanted to wait.

April 20/May 1:  Admitted applicants responded to their offers of admission.  We added everything up to figure out whether the number of enrolling students was too low, too high, or just right.

May 1-3:  The staff sifted through the boxes of application files of those who had decided to remain on the waitlist.

And that brought us to Friday, when the Admissions Committee offered admission to a very small group of MALD applicants on the waitlist.  Why such a small group?  We need to ensure we meet that “just right” number, but we’ll go slowly so that we don’t end up with more students than will fit in the school.  Having made the offers, we’ll wait for the responses, and check the numbers again.

What does this mean for you, if you weren’t in that small group?  More waiting, I’m afraid, but we admitted so few students that you should not draw any further conclusions about your prospects.

For now, continue to update us on any changes to your profile.  I usually suggest that applicants decide how long they want to wait.  Some people have decided that they’d wait until May 1, but no later.  Others decide that, so long as they can give their employer two weeks’ notice, they’ll take an offer as late as August.  Most people fall between those two points.

Finally, I realize I’m not answering a key question, regarding how many more people we’ll admit.  I simply don’t know.  What I can say is that we’re watching those numbers for all degree programs, and we always aim to have our entering class defined by the end of June.

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As I mentioned back in March, Fletcher Admissions will provide feedback on unsuccessful applications to applicants who may want to reapply.  At the risk of increasing our workload, if you plan to reapply to Fletcher, I strongly encourage you to request feedback on your application.  To do so, send us an email.  Your message should include the following:

♦  A sentence or two for the request, noting the date of your original application.
♦  Any special questions you have about your application.
♦  Your plans for the coming year.
♦  Your expected timeline for reapplying.

In this recent admissions cycle, we reviewed applications from people who requested feedback, followed the advice, and were admitted this time around.  We also read applications from reapplicants who didn’t request feedback, made the same mistakes a second time, and were not offered admission.  Asking for feedback and following the suggestions can give a real boost to an applicant.

Last, now that I’ve encouraged you to make us work harder, please be patient.  Reviewing applications takes time, and there’s already a bunch of waiting requests.  We’ll get back to you as soon as possible, but it may take a little while.

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Like all semi-serious bloggers, I have an analysis program telling me what type of person is checking out the blog.  For example, I  know that there are Admissions Blog readers throughout the world, even if most are in the U.S.:

Why no readers in Greenland?  Must do something about that…

What I don’t know is the reader characteristic most relevant to the Admissions process:  Are you an applicant, looking for nitty-gritty information about the application process?  Or are you a current student, looking for different information entirely.  So I decided to put together a survey.  It’s only three questions, and I hope you’ll provide your input so that I can best tailor the blog to readers’ interests.  Thanks, in advance!

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The Boston Marathon is so important that it’s a public holiday!  Or maybe, Patriot’s Day was already a public holiday, and the Boston Marathon became a Patriot’s Day tradition.  Either way, Fletcher, like the rest of Tufts University, is closed today.  We’ll be back tomorrow, Tuesday.

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On Tuesday, Jeff and I decided that the time had come again for us to hang out in the Hall of Flags and chat with students.  With the Open House right behind us and admitted student decisions in front of us, the question of the day was obvious:  Why did you choose to come to Fletcher?

We started our conversation with two students from Germany who first met each other here.

Frieder, second-year MALD, told us that just over two years ago, he was “Ready to apply to ten programs.  Fletcher was number one — my favorite — on the list.  Then I received early admission.”  Story over.  But he also said, “Fletcher was my favorite because of having access to law classes, along with the opportunity to focus on business and economic development” (which is his career direction).  “It’s a unique combination.”

Joachim, second-year MALD, said he likes several things:  “The broad range of courses at your disposal.  The small size of the community.  And the closely-knit alumni network.  I really like the Boston location, too.  Personally, I also like the way the nice Tufts campus is quiet, but you can still get to New York or D.C. easily.”

But then Joachim made a distinction between why he chose Fletcher and why he likes it now.  Coming to the end of his Fletcher experience, he says it’s “The people in the community and the diversity are what I like the most, and you can meet a Fletcher student or Fletcher alumni anywhere in the world.”

Matt, second-year MALD, agreed to compose his thoughts for a quick video!  (If you don’t have the plugin to view the video, you’ll need to trust me when I say Matt is very enthusiastic!)

Matt.mov.wmv

Next we called over Kartik, second-year MALD from India, who was chatting with Hanneke.  Kartik used to work in our office, but now he’s a big time teaching assistant and doesn’t visit us enough anymore.    Anyway, Kartik, who pre-Fletcher had been working in the local area, told us how he ended up at Fletcher.  “I took the T to Davis Square, and took a left turn, and here I was.  It felt like home.”  (Hanneke made fun of him just a little for this sweet sentiment.)

Then along came Jeff, a second-year MALD from Canada.  He said, “I joined Fletcher because of its reputation for academic rigor, great student body, and connection to the broader Boston academic community.”

Second-year MIB Jonathan came by and told us, “Fletcher offers really unique and interesting opportunities.  I had a great internship experience in Hong Kong, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything more conventional.”  He and Jeff had met up while Jeff was in Hong Kong for recruitment travel last fall.

Manjula, second-year MALD from Sri Lanka, said, “I was making a career change from finance to international development and social entrepreneurship, and Fletcher offered the diversity and flexibility, along with the skills and resources I needed, so I could explore new fields and make that switch.”  (I should also mention that Manjula is a rock-star in the community for what he has already achieved.)

Interrupting a study group, we found out that Alicia, second-year MALD from Jamaica, chose Fletcher, “because it’s such a nice warm and friendly place.”  And James, first-year MIB, chose Fletcher because it provides, “a more interesting international exposure than the other schools I applied to.”

Barry, mid-career MA, told us, “I came to the Open House last year and met with current students and faculty, and I was extremely impressed.  Yesterday was a little reminiscent for me.”

We wandered over to a table where students were selling Africana Night tickets.  Tallash, first-year MALD from Kenya, chose Fletcher because of the flexibility of the degree programs.  She said she is focusing on international environmental policy and development economics, and “doing so much in a two-year program that it’s like doing three different master’s degrees.”

Martin, second-year MIB, liked that “The MIB program offered a unique opportunity to integrate international business and international relations in one program, compared to a dual degree in parallel.”

Along came Dean Bosworth, who good-naturedly told us he chose Fletcher because, “I was offered a job, and I needed a job.  I was stepping down as ambassador to Korea.”  (I hope he also appreciated the warm community!)

Ethan, PhD candidate, joined us.  He and I did a quick reminisce about how I interviewed him a bunch of years ago when he applied to do his MALD.  He chose Fletcher because of “the ability to build a program with interdisciplinary balance.”  And also because the faculty includes “a healthy mix of practitioners and academics.”

Katie, first-year MALD from Egypt and Admissions intern said, “I like to know that I can leave campus and then come back to this warm Fletcher-orange environment.”

Sebastian, first-year MIB from Ecuador, took the broad view.  “World economics are going through a transition and the existing model of business study needs a new perspective, so the MIB program was perfect for my interests.”

And the last word is going to go to Liz, for about four years the first person you’d see when you entered the Admissions Office.  Liz told us, “I came to Fletcher because I was making a career shift and Fletcher was the right place to marry my workplace skills and my desire to work with students again.”

And that’s Liz’s last word in the Admissions Blog.  She has successfully pushed her career transition forward, and yesterday started her new post in the Tufts Residence Life office.  We wish her all the best!

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My moments out of the office ended yesterday shortly after the last of my posts.  Admitted students started flowing in with questions, and the next thing I knew it was nearly 5:30.  So I never made it over to check out the Roundtable Discussions, or anything else that happened after 2:30.  Maybe next year!  At least I was able to have my memory refreshed about one of our dual degree programs — with the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.

But as for admitted student events, the Fletcher Open House was only the first I’ll visit this year.  I’ll be accompanying my daughter Kayla to three others, though I don’t expect to attend more than the panel the undergraduate programs all organize for parents.  Then she can attend classes and activities while I visit friends, read a book, drink coffee, and otherwise pass the time until she has seen all she needs to see.

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I arrived at 51 Winthrop Street just as the Office of Career Services was getting set for their panel.  While Phillip was organizing, I grabbed a photo of Liz, Jeff, and Kristen.

And then a quick snap of the other OCS staffers who were standing by:

Finally, the presentation began:

Anyone not currently listening to Phillip might be attending a class or visiting with friends.  There are more classes at 3:20, as well as several special Roundtable Discussions.  Unfortunately for blogging purposes, I’ll be here in Admissions taking questions.  I’ll try to take a minute to grab a photo of the Roundtables.

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Another quick photo update.  Open House visitors are at lunch now.  I’ve stayed back in the office to answer questions from anyone who might wander in, but I asked Jeff to take some pix for me.  Here’s one that gives you a good sense of the scene:

There aren’t many sites at the University that can accommodate 200 people for lunch.  For the last few years, we have been using the multipurpose space that Tufts created a while back at an old church building.  After lunch, the Office of Career Services staff will do their own presentation.  I’m going to take a minute to wander over.  If it’s worth another photo update, I’ll be back with another post.

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