I’m all done with my applications. Now what?

My son just had his last interview on Saturday. Otherwise, he’s enjoying the quiet period between submitting applications and hearing back. It’s one point in his application year when not stressing is definitely the way to go.

But what about applicants to grad school? Relaxing a bit is well within your rights! After all, once you’re absolutely sure that all materials (test scores, recommendations, transcripts, etc.) have been received by Fletcher and the other schools to which you have applied, there’s not much you can do. The grad schools all have their own processes and you can’t make them go any faster.

But there’s one thing that you can and should do, which is to take any steps necessary to ensure the financial viability of your proposed study. Yes, Fletcher and our peers offer full-tuition scholarships to some of our students. But most APSIA schools are, at best, not routinely waiving tuition for all students. Maybe Fletcher’s admissions committee will consider you to be a top applicant and offer you a sizable scholarship – but you don’t have that information yet. How will you finance your studies if you aren’t offered the level of scholarship assistance for which you had hoped?

So now is the time to save your pennies, ask family members for support, research loan possibilities, and search for external fellowships. If you wait until April, you will have a painfully short time to pull everything together. We see it year after year – otherwise wonderful applicants who have not considered how much it will cost to (among other expenses) move out of their current home, travel to their graduate school, buy a computer and books, rent an apartment, and, of course, pay tuition. There’s no avoiding it – graduate study is an investment, and now is the time to prepare to invest.