Applications turn into people

I always enjoy the Open House that we put on for applicants admitted through the Early Notification round.  Only a small group (fewer than 20) prospective students join us each year, and it’s always a mellow day for us, but a productive day for them.  Unlike the April Open House, when visitors add an additional fifty percent to the student body and thus dominate the building, today’s attendees can slip into classrooms in a much more natural way.

One of the best features of the day is the opportunity we have to connect (or possibly reconnect) names and faces.  I just finished two one-on-one meetings with folks I had met during the fall — one at a campus visit, and one here at Fletcher.  But even more special is that people who were little more than online applications until today are now real people.  And meeting these real people reminds us that the applications we’re still slogging through will become real people later in the spring.  Sometimes I need that reminder!

The morning’s activities have included breakfast, a session to introduce the School and the degree programs, and choice of a class visit or an informal chat with current students.  We’ll all meet up again for lunch, and then more classes, or a student panel/Q&A, or a Fletcher tour.  Like I said, a relaxing day, but one that offers admitted students a nice glimpse into an average day at Fletcher.