Decisions, decisions.

Friends, it’s almost time for the Admissions equivalent of dropping the bass: the release of decisions! This has involved a lot of preparatory work on our end, and a lot of anxious waiting for many of you. We appreciate your patience, and look forward to continuing to be in touch with many of you in the coming weeks and months.

I find myself once again stepping on the toes of my former colleague Jessica, the doyenne of Admissions blogging, who last year provided a pair of posts outlining all possible decision outcomes, and the implications of each. As I frequently do, I’ll recommend you review her posts, which remain relevant today. Following the “if you haven’t seen it, it’s new to you” philosophy, though, I’ll recap the crucial details here, as well.

One important thing to understand is that decisions aren’t simply a matter of “admitted” or “denied,” at least not for every applicant. It’s of course true that some candidates will be denied admission. It may seem cold comfort, but I’ll underscore to these candidates that we enjoyed getting to know more about you, and we’re grateful for the time and effort you put into your application. I’ll also add that it’s common for candidates denied one year to be admitted in a subsequent one. Our hope each year is that denied candidates will continue to deepen their experience and skills, and consider re-applying to Fletcher in a future term.

Some candidates will learn that they’re being offered a spot on our waitlist. A reality of our process each year is that there are more well-credentialed candidates than there are spots in the class, which means that it’s possible to have relatively solid overall qualifications but still not quite clear the bar for immediate admission. These candidates will need to decide whether or not to accept or decline a spot on the waitlist. Accepting a waitlist spot also means accepting a period of uncertainty, and it’s up to each candidate to decide whether or not that fits with your plans. I’ll get into more waitlist-related details in a subsequent post, but suffice to say that in most years we admit at least a handful of candidates off the waitlist.

Let me now offer the first of many congratulations to candidates about to get the news of their admission! Hopefully you can take a few days to bask in the warm glow of that news before turning to the work of making your enrollment decision. These candidates will find a lot of additional information in their letter of admission. Those who applied for scholarship consideration (including candidates admitted previously via Early Notification) will find scholarship details in this letter, as well as additional information on financial planning (which I’ll also revisit on this blog in the future).

Some  candidates will be admitted conditionally, contingent upon completion of additional preparation prior to matriculating at Fletcher. We want all Fletcher students to be in the best possible position to succeed here, and in some cases the Admissions Committee concludes that this requires additional language or quantitative study before the start of classes. Your admissions letter will provide further details on any condition attached to your admission. Most admitted candidates will not have a formal condition, but I’d encourage ALL admits to consider how you might usefully prepare for the start of classes. The summer before I began my own MALD studies, I spent a few hours each week working through a microeconomics textbook on my own, since my prior economics exposure was both minimal and long ago, and I was astonished at how helpful this ended up being in a number of classes once I arrived at Fletcher. Even part-time, self-directed study or review in your areas of relative weakness can make a big difference.

Regardless of the decision you receive, we wish you the best of luck for the future and thank you for your interest in Fletcher!