Readying for the fall: your Pre-semester Preparatory Primer

It’s only early August, and there’s still a full month until the start of classes. Incoming students are hopefully enjoying some summer fun before getting back into school mode. Whether it’s been a brief or long while since you’ve last been a student, though, the transition to the academic year will involve a few adjustments to get re-acclimated to the rhythms of academic life in general, and the culture of Fletcher in particular. While I’ll emphasize that it’s totally fine – encouraged, even – for your main priorities to be the proper application of sunblock, maintaining an adequate supply of freshly cut limes for your perfectly arranged cooler of Coronas, and winning the annual Top Gun Academy beach volleyball tournament, there are a few points to which it’s worth dedicating a bit of time that will make the initial flurry of the academic year feel less hectic. You’ll have a lot coming at you in those first few weeks of the semester, and the more you’re aware of what to expect, the easier the transition will be.

Enrolling students have been sent a variety of online resources to help prepare for their arrival at Fletcher, which are worth keeping bookmarked for quick reference. Over the next week or so, I’ll discuss a number of topics that tend to generate the most questions from incoming students, hopefully dispelling confusion and providing some helpful contextual information, as well as giving future applicants to Fletcher a sense of some of the things you’ll need to think about as you consider applying to grad school. Check back here next week for the first installment!