Admissions annual “retreat”

We admissions types often hear some version of a comment about how things must slow down in the summer with no students around. It’s understandable that this might seem true from an outside perspective, but there is plenty to keep us occupied in the summer months between on-boarding the class arriving this fall and planning for future classes that will arrive in 2023. Yes, we’re already thinking that far ahead.

If calling summer a break in admissions is a misnomer, it’s even more so that we refer to our annual admissions huddle as a “retreat,” as it is anything but. At this time of year it’s helpful for us to clear our calendars for a full day so we can plan out much of the coming year, and we covered a lot of ground at this year’s edition earlier this week. The next couple months, and more broadly the year ahead, promise a bunch of exciting developments: some new team members will join our office, we’ll be overhauling a significant portion of our communications work, and we’re anticipating a return to many more in-person recruitment and outreach events (both on the road and at Fletcher). It’s a lot of planning!

While calling it a retreat is mostly a gussying-up of what really is a full-day meeting, it’s nice to have the opportunity for some sustained conversation among our team since we’re often otherwise all pulled in many directions at once. With a table well-stocked with snacks, and the good fortune to have one of the season’s nicest days so far for an outdoor lunch, our retreat did feel like a nice change of pace in spite of the ambitious agenda!