The Slog

On Monday, Kate wandered into my office and found me slumped in my chair.  “I really want to post something to the blog, but I can’t think of a thing to say,” I whined.  Kate wisely suggested some timely news about the final deadlines, which also led me, yesterday, to think that an overview of the process could be useful.

Before Kate’s useful suggestion, the other idea tossed out was to find a way to link Sunday’s Grammy Awards to Fletcher Admissions.  There’s a challenge!  I suppose there’s the international origins of the musicians.  (“Good year for the Brits,” says my British-born husband.   “Jazmine Sullivan should have won!” says my dual citizen daughter.)  In particular, there’s MIA, with her Sri Lankan roots.  I’ve mentioned before in the blog that all of us in Admissions have a special interest in Sri Lanka, thanks to our beloved former student staffers.  (You’ll always be part of Team Admissions, Nirmalan and Sudila!!).  But that’s about the limit of my ability to connect award shows to our community.

This fall, Kristen met with a few new MIB students who were talking about the blog.  One said that he found it useful, but “sometimes it wasn’t about admissions.”  That’s true, past and current readers.  Sometimes there’s just nothing new to say.  This is the time of year when we just slog through our work.  Each morning I pull on presentable but comfortable office clothing, knowing that I will be glued to my applications/desk/computer all day.  Few meetings or anything else that would draw us out.  Just slog away.  Creativity?  Out the window.  All in the name of a good cause, though — getting decisions out on time!  And it’s not like there’s no joy in the process.

Despite the creativity freeze, part of the original motivation to start an admissions blog was the knowledge that the period between January 15 and April 1 is nerve-wracking for many applicants.  You want to start making your plans, but you don’t know what to plan for.  Where will you be going?  When will you need to be there?  We understand, and though we can’t work any faster than we already are, we’ll do our best to reassure you that we’re working hard!

Schedule note:  The University will be closed on Monday for the President’s Day holiday.  (Admissions Committee student and staff members will be reading applications anyway!)