I wrote not too long ago about some recent publications by Fletcher faculty and alumni, and just stumbled upon a unique addendum to that post. With occasional exception, most Fletcher authors tend to focus on policy-related work, or at least lean heavily toward non-fiction. Not so with alumnus Christopher Demos-Brown, whose play American Son recently concluded its Broadway run.
Read moreRecently I made a relatively brief mention of the waitlist in discussing all the types of admissions decisions our applicants receive. The waitlist tends to generate a lot of questions, and I figured it would be worthwhile to dig into it a bit more. The unavoidable truth is that the waitlist involves waiting, and waiting means uncertainty. So, while I’ll do my best to answer some of the most common waitlist questions, prepare yourself for the fact that many answers come down to some version of a non-committal “maybe” or “it depends.”
Read moreI had the great pleasure of catching up with my former colleague, blog mentor, and friend Jessica the other day. To long time readers who miss her voice here, I’m happy to report she’s doing very well, and misses you all, too. Among the many things we chatted about was the ongoing scandal in the undergrad admissions process at several major US institutions, and Jessica was kind enough to blogify her thoughts on the subject.
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With decisions out and many applicants in conversation with our team about enrollment logistics and financial planning, one unspoken but obvious reader query has been hovering over this blog for the past week or so: what’s the latest with the snowman?
Read moreScholarship funding is on many applicants’ minds around this time of year, for good reason. I’ve written recently about the importance of working on a broad-based financial plan, and most applicants hope that scholarship funding will make up as large a part of that plan as possible. Each year the release of admissions decisions triggers a deluge of requests for scholarship reconsideration and increased funding, and I figured a bit of detail on how our process works (and more specifically, why it works the way it does) could be helpful.
Read moreWith the bulk of this year’s admissions decisions recently released, it’s time to be thinking about a financial strategy for grad school. Our hope, in fact, is that applicants planning on fall 2019 enrollment have already been working on this for some time, at least conceptually. Pointing out that U.S. higher education is a significant investment is as obvious as noting that Samuel L. Jackson wasn’t pulling for Green Book to win Best Picture. As such, it’s crucial to think expansively about potential sources of funding.
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Spring break is still over a week away, and the weather of late certainly hasn’t indicated that winter is leaving anytime soon, but that hasn’t stopped Fletcher students from taking a study break to make the best of our latest round of snow. This fellow showed up outside of Ginn Library this week, ready with a flimsy high five and general good cheer for passers-by, and even sporting a dash of Fletcher orange.
Read moreFriends, 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.
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Something I’ve always loved about Fletcher’s physical space is how it lends itself to interesting little corners and curios. Our building is a bit weird, in that’s it’s actually three buildings, but also one building. Fletcher rooms are all located in the Goddard, Cabot, or Mugar buildings, some of which years ago were discrete structures, but which are now connected into a single agglomeration, more artfully in some places than in others. I’m grateful to have an office with a window, for example, but rather than looking outside I get to peer down a floor to the reading room in Ginn Library, surely freaking out the occasional student who looks up to see me spacing out and emptily staring down at them. Other windows in the school give a view between floors of the adjacent building, or into the middle of a stairwell, and there are at least a few study spaces tucked underneath staircases. The effect in some places is a bit Hogwarts-ish, making it no surprise that the stately main reading room in the library is known informally as the Harry Potter Room.
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If you’ve poked around our website enough, or otherwise have more than a passing familiarity with Fletcher, you’ve likely come across the term “public diplomacy” at some point. While it mostly makes intuitive sense to me, I’ve rarely stopped to think specifically what we’re talking about when we refer to public diplomacy. An interesting piece of web content recently trickled down to me by way of one of Fletcher’s longest-tenured faculty members, as well as our Dean of Admissions, which I thought worth sharing.
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