Welcome back!

Welcome to Fletcher’s Office of Admissions Blog, 2007-08 edition! For the past year, we have been using this portion of the web site to share information about the admissions process, and about our admissions office. We’re not as informal as some of the blogs out there, but also not as formal as most Admissions Office written materials. I’m usually the writer, but everyone in the office will contribute something during the year.

Last year, applicants occasionally told us that they had checked the blog, and we could also tell from the flow of phone calls and emails if something we posted was drawing a response. Aside from that, though, we don’t have much information on who reads these entries. We assume that our readers are at some point in the admissions process, but while some are conducting early research, others are planning their enrollment. For those of you at the earlier stages, I encourage you to learn as much as you can about The Fletcher School, and the web site is a great place to start.

This isn’t the only blog on the Fletcher site. Quite a few faculty members write them, and there are students who write specifically for the student blog site. Since both students and professors may be busy this week, I’ll mention that Fletcher’s fall semester began today. We start off with a “Shopping Day” during which students can sample classes before they need to make final decisions. Tomorrow will be the real first day of classes. Our incoming students arrived in time for last week’s orientation, but their more experienced classmates (second-year) have been straggling in over the last few days. There’s always a buzz around here on the first days of classes, and it’s a nice change for those of us who need to work during the summer, when the campus is very, very quiet.

Throughout the fall, I’ll be including reminders of upcoming deadlines or admissions events. For now, I want to encourage all our readers to plan a visit, or to attend one of the information sessions we’ll be offering in cities around the U.S. and several other countries.

I’d love to hear from more readers this year. Post a comment, or send an email to let me know if we’re providing useful information!

Dates to note:

October 15: Deadline for applications for January 2008 enrollment
November 15: Deadline for Early Notification applications for September 2008 enrollment
Ongoing: Plan a visit to the campus, arrange for standardized tests, request recommendations from professors and workplace supervisors.