Wrapping up Admissions’ staff advice to incoming students is Laurie, focusing on the value of getting a variety of nagging practical matters taken care of prior to the start of the academic year.
Read MoreContinuing 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 MoreEvery 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 MoreAs summer approaches, the general pace of things around Fletcher likewise undergoes a seasonal shift. We still have a lot of work that keeps us very busy, but with most students (and many faculty) gone the place is definitely quieter, and our attention turns toward larger projects that tend to get sidelined during the semester, as well as planning for the upcoming year. The typical day gets a bit less hectic, and many of us actually take the opportunity to get away a little and use up some vacation time. While there’s no formal policy restricting vacation to the summer months, in practice the demands of our work make it difficult to get away for more than the occasional long weekend here and there during the academic year. There’s a lot for us to get done over the summer, but also a bit more breathing room to schedule a bit of away time.
Read MoreIf ever there were a news item worthy of the “Cool stuff!” tag, it’s the list of “Foreign Policy Next Generation Leaders” from the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community recently published by The Diversity in National Security Network and New America. The list is an impressive collection of talent as a whole, but what we’re obviously most interested in here is the fact that it’s positively larded with Fletcher alumni!
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Far from being a period of laid-back indolence, the summer months have increasingly seen a pretty full roster of Fletcher admissions events. This year is no different! Prospective students should obviously feel free to visit us in Medford at any point, but there are also many upcoming opportunities to meet our staff, as well as current students and alumni, throughout the world this summer.
Read MoreReaders, 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 MoreI’ve been happy to see the revival in recent years of Capstone haikus, one of my favorite unofficial Fletcher traditions. Finals week is a stressful time, and for graduating students, the push to finish the Capstone adds an extra layer of anxiety (as well as likely removing several hours of sleep) to an already fraught period. As students approached the finish line over the past few weeks, many shared these Capstone encapsulations in haiku form on the social list.
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And just like that, members of the Fletcher Class of 2019 are officially alumni! It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were busy convoking the academic year, and here we are already recapping the season’s most anticipated finale outside of Westeros. On the weather side of things, there’s mixed news to report. For Saturday’s Class Day festivities, we lucked into probably the nicest day we’ve had all spring. Sunny, warm, and just generally the kind of day that makes you want to hang around outside. For Commencement itself on Sunday, less so. While the big tent provides good protection from the vicissitudes of the sky, the ground makes itself felt in a downpour, too, and there are likely a few muddy pairs of Maglis and Manolos due for a cleaning this week.
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Commencement activities will take place at Tufts this weekend, and they’re on the radar either directly or indirectly for virtually all administrative corners of Fletcher. But even an out-of-the-loop, first-time visitor to Tufts this week would be able to tell that something’s afoot, with all the visible prep and last-minute campus beautification going on. To be fair, the window of decent weather in which to work prior to graduation is pretty small in this part of the country, and the several weeks of chill, rain, and gloom we’ve recently endured here hasn’t helped matters, but there’s nonetheless still something of a madcap quality to all the buzzing about and cosmetic improvements happening at the moment.
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