Infrequently asked question

This seems like a good time to provide an admissions process update.  As I’ve written before, the Fletcher Admissions Committee is reviewing cases every week — even as we keep reading.  Other schools may review all the applications in a series of end-of-process mega-sessions, but that’s not how we do it, and we still have several weekly Admissions Committee meetings left.  We also have a new crop of applications that arrived by the February 10 deadline.  Some have already been read, while others are waiting for those last recommendations or other credentials.

Even after all the applications have been reviewed, there’s a lot more work to be done, including scholarship consideration.  Personally, I don’t quite see the light at the end of the tunnel.  More of a halfway-there feeling.

This is also a convenient moment to answer a question that blog readers may be thinking, but aren’t necessarily asking.  That is:  I submitted my application in January (or November or February).  Is there anything I should be adding to it now?

The answer is that there aren’t useful additions now, with one big exception.  If you have new test scores, new grades for fall 2012 courses, or a résumé that reflects a new job, then I would encourage you to send them in.  You never know — the Admissions Committee may be holding on your application, in hopes that your most recent grades will arrive.  Or maybe that promotion at your job might be just enough to nudge your application toward admission.  So if you have new information in one of those categories, please send it in.

I also should say that some additional information is just not helpful.  Have you been kicking yourself since January 10 about a typo in your personal statement?  The best policy is simply to let it go.  Sending an updated personal statement, or a résumé with a new font but no new content, is not likely to boost your cause, and may have a negative effect.  So stop ruminating over a phrase that could have been worded more elegantly, and use your time to think through your financial plans, as well as to enjoy this quiet moment before grad schools start releasing decisions next month.

And now, I’m off to this week’s Admissions Committee meeting!