Admissions Blog – Page 56

Happy holidays, and a few reminders

December 24, 2018December 20, 2018 Daniel Birdsall

A quick reminder here that our office (and Tufts at large) is closed today and tomorrow for the Christmas holiday, as well as next Monday and Tuesday for New Year’s. Whether or not you observe these particular holidays, I hope the season is providing you with a bit of downtime, and hopefully the chance to spend some of it with family and friends. At least some of our staff will be here on the days between these dates, so you can still feel free to be in touch with any questions, and we’ll respond as soon as possible.

General Admissions News

End of year odds and ends

December 20, 2018 Daniel Birdsall

Mid-to-late December is a bit of a strange time here in Admissions, as there’s a feeling of things simultaneously accelerating and winding down. We’re busy preparing for the arrival of our new “Januarian” cohort in just under a month, and we recently released decisions for our Early Notification applicants. Have I mentioned before that we also have another major application deadline approaching on January 10 (I think I must have at some point)? That’s still plenty of time for those of you working on your applications, but you should be very much in the weeds with it by now. We’re still around and available to answer whatever questions you may have as the deadline gets closer, but be aware that Tufts (inclusive of our office) will be closed for the holidays on December 25, 26, and 31, as well as January 1.

Admissions Tips

Early notification decisions, or the lack thereof

December 17, 2018December 14, 2018 Daniel Birdsall

Thanks to all of you who made the effort to submit your applications for Early Notification consideration. By this time of year it’s been a while since our office has read applications in significant numbers, and the “EN” round is a good warmup for the larger pool to come at the January 10 regular deadline. Mostly, though, it’s just fun to read applications. Applicants to Fletcher are an interesting and inspiring bunch, and although we can’t admit everyone, I learn something new from virtually every application I read.

Our Students

(Almost) end-of-semester advice from Madhuri

December 13, 2018 Daniel Birdsall

Madhuri, also a first-year Graduate Assistant in our office, generously took some time away from prepping for her first Fletcher finals season to share some advice for current applicants planning for grad school.

Our Students Uncategorized

Protips from John after (nearly) a semester

December 12, 2018 Daniel Birdsall

I’m frequently astonished by how quickly semesters seem to go by for our students. While I feel like we just welcomed our first-year Graduate Assistants to the Admissions team, here they are already in the midst of finals with a full Fletcher semester nearly behind them. I asked them to think about any advice they’d give to prospective students, or things they wish they’d known ahead of their arrival at Fletcher. John was kind enough to provide an insight for each week he’s been at Fletcher.

Our Students

A December farewell to our departing Januarians

December 10, 2018 Daniel Birdsall

A few months back I wrote about our January enrollment period, and some of the distinct features of starting your Fletcher experience in the spring semester instead of the more typical fall enrollment. The unspoken but fairly obvious addendum to all my chatter about the excitement of welcoming a new class of Januarians is that we’re also forced to say goodbye to a departing class each December, too. Last Friday saw the annual Januarian Farewell Ceremony, which has most of the trappings of a typical graduation without actually being one. Our departing Januarians still have finals to get through, after all, and their degrees will be officially conferred in February. At the risk of jinxing them, we like to hold this closing ceremony to acknowledge their contributions to the community, as most students (Januarians and otherwise) will scatter around the world after finals for a well-deserved break.

Admissions Tips

Decoding the application form

December 6, 2018 Daniel Birdsall

In an ongoing effort to provide a bit of helpful insight to the various pieces of the Fletcher application, today I’ll turn to the application form itself. This portion of the application may feel like a formality, a bit of necessary throat-clearing before the “good stuff,” but there’s a lot of detail that we learn about an applicant here, and it’s important that you complete it fully and accurately. I like to think that the form is mostly straightforward and self-explanatory, but there are a few segments that can cause mild confusion or uncertainty for applicants. I’ll do my best to give a bit of context for a few of these.

About Fletcher

Catching up with The Fletcher Forum

December 4, 2018 Daniel Birdsall

My hope is that many blog readers already have some familiarity with The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, our student-managed foreign policy journal. It’s been around since 1975, after all, and has really upped its digital presence in recent years, in addition to its biannual print editions. The Forum is a go-to resource for analytical essays, interviews, and podcasts from leading scholars and practitioners, covering a wide variety of international affairs topics around the world.

Admissions Tips

Recommendations: Help them help you!

November 29, 2018November 29, 2018 Daniel Birdsall

For those of you planning to apply by the January 10 application deadline, you should by now have lined up recommenders. If you haven’t yet done so, don’t panic, but also don’t delay any longer! January 10, while still well over a month away, is effectively closer than it seems. Keep in mind that many people – particularly potential academic recommenders – are likely entering one of the busiest times of the year, both professionally and personally. Final exams, holiday preparations, and related travel will be occupying a lot of bandwidth for many; it’s reasonable for them to need as much notice as possible, and probably a few reminders to submit their letters, too.

General Admissions News

Back at it!

November 26, 2018 Daniel Birdsall

We’re back! We might collectively weigh in a bit heavier after celebrating Thanksgiving, but it takes more than a few pounds of turkey and pie to slow our operation down. With our Early Notification deadline last week, we’re largely occupied with processing, reading, and reviewing submitted applications. If one of them is yours, you can expect to receive an admissions decision by mid-late December.