Staff recommendations to incoming students, Part Two
Continuing with advice for incoming students, Liz and Lindsey encourage everyone to make the most of the comparatively less-scheduled time before the semester begins.
Read moreAdmissions Tips
Suggestions from Fletcher admissions on best steps to take when applying to Fletcher or other grad programs.
Staff advice to incoming students, Part One
Every now and then, I like to be sure to have my Admissions co-conspirators contribute to this blog, since they’re a sharp bunch who are full of useful observations. It’s also a sly way to introduce them a bit to readers without having to force them to do a formal “About me”-type post. I sometimes forget that my off-handed references to Laurie, Lucas, Liz, and Lindsey may be confusing to readers who have no idea who all these L’s are. I asked my compatriots to share some advice for incoming students as they prepare to begin at Fletcher this fall.
Read moreIt’s not too early to start preparing your application. Seriously.
Readers, does it seem a bit bonkers to start talking about the application process for 2020 enrollment so soon after I’ve just been jabbering in this space about commencement? It certainly feels a bit bonkers, but then that’s life in admissions. Here we are still in the first half of 2019, months removed from welcoming new students this fall, and our heads are already deep into 2020.
Read moreOne last (I promise) deadline reminder
I’ve previously implied I was done haranguing you about application deadlines for awhile. I really meant it, too!
Read moreThe deal with the waitlist
Recently 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 moreA few details on scholarships
Scholarship 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 moreMaking your financial plan
With 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.
Read moreHolistic application review at work
I frequently find myself telling prospective students to expect to hear the term “holistic application process” bandied about as they apply to grad school. It’s pretty much an industry-standard trope these days, and I sometimes worry it can come across as a chunk of highfalutin jargon that sounds official without actually meaning anything, like “solutions,” “cross-functional,” or “leverage” used as a verb. In the admissions context, “holistic” means that there’s not a single attribute upon which a decision will consistently hinge for all candidates, and that all the information we request in an application meaningfully contributes to an applicant’s case for admission.
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More deadlines. More deadlines?
Are you tired of deadline reminders yet? If you’ve already submitted your application, it’s fair if your answer is “oh indeed,” and you can safely disregard this post. If, however, you weren’t able to submit your application by the previous January 10 deadline, I’ll underscore that it’s not too late! Most Fletcher degree programs have a couple more deadlines remaining, so there’s still ample time to submit your application for fall 2019 enrollment.
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You submitted your application: what now?
Thanks to all of you who submitted applications at last week’s deadline! We realize we ask you to commit substantial time and effort to gathering all the materials the application requires, and to figure out how you can put forward your strongest possible case for admission. The moments leading up to that fateful “submit” click can feel like the culmination of a long process, but in the moments just after doing so the hush is almost deafening, to paraphrase Spinal Tap. So, what now? Are you just supposed to, like, wait around until further notice?
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