Yes, it’s only July. Yes, it’s true that we should be able to rest our brains in the summer. Yes, I agree that heat and humidity are not conducive to productivity. But if you’re planning to apply to graduate school for January or September 2009 entry, it’s time to start thinking. Fletcher’s application deadline for January enrollment in the MALD program is October 15, less than three months away. And the Early Notification deadline for MALD, MIB, MA, and LLM September enrollment is only one month later. So what are you waiting for?

Now’s the time to: craft an interesting and informative personal statement; line up your recommendations; take standardized exams (GRE or GMAT, and/or TOEFL or IELTS) and ensure that scores will be sent to all the schools to which you’ll apply; explore external fellowships and other sources of funds that will enable you to afford graduate study; request transcripts (or at least find out the request procedure) from all the colleges or universities you attended; polish up your résumé, with the aim of transmitting the maximum information in the least possible space. And, of course, you want to be making good progress in refining the list of graduate schools to which you’ll apply.

“Long-time” readers of the Fletcher admissions blog know that my son went through the college admissions process this past year. Smartest thing he did was to write his essays last summer. It’s a good strategy at the grad school level, as well. No matter whether you’re a college senior, a Peace Corps volunteer in a remote location, or a young professional in a demanding job, you’ll improve your results if you get a start on writing your essays while you have time to think — ahead of the pressures of application deadlines.

Which leads to the application itself. We make revisions to our application each summer. The new application will be up and accessible from the website by mid-August. But I can tell you now that the personal statement topic has not been changed. So why not get started on it?

Finally, yet another reminder to schedule your interview appointment (if you plan to participate in one) as soon as possible. Beat the rush and send us a request now.