Hello everyone!
As a brief introduction, I am a 28 year old incoming 1st year student (class of 2018) from Spain with almost 5 years of WE in a Spanish mid-sized bank. My role focused on debt capital markets (origination side) and liquidity management. Outside of work, I spend some time volunteering and love being outdoors (trekking/hiking, scuba diving, running...). Although I'm a bit clumsy on snow, I enjoy skiing as well.
My initial plan is to recruit for non-IB finance roles at FinServ and Tech companies.
There are 2 main reasons why I decided to go to Tuck (although there are many more, these are my personal top 2):
1. The community
*The renowned strength of the alumni network (can't say much at this point but recent grads are always available for a call about any topic)
*Current students (they have been an extremely helpful source for incoming students and for me in particular during the application phase)
I saw this sense of community first hand when I visited in September to do the applicant-initiated interview, a class visit and a campus tour (during which we came across dean Slaughter and he made himself available for a few minutes to answer our questions) and during a second visit in February when I did another class visit (this time an elective) and grabbed drinks with 1st and 2nd year students. However, I couldn't attend ASW (Admitted Student Weekend).
What surprised me the most during the class visits was that every single student in a 60-70 people class participated during the lecture/case. This would be impossible to accomplish where I studied, even if class participation accounted for 50% of the grade
Another fact that surprised me very positively during my visits was that current students stopped by and introduced themselves to me (I had a name tag that gave me away as a visitor), asking me how did my interview go or if I had additional questions.
2. The location
Because I was born and have lived all my life in a city, and because I will probably live in a large metro area at least until I retire, I wanted a different experience. I also think that a rural setting allows you to focus more on the MBA experience and bond more together with your classmates. Pretty much no one is from Hanover, NH, so everyone wants to know each other and make new friends.
I also love New England and had previously been to NH during a winter vacation
My fiancée and I will arrive in Sachem Village (an off-campus neighborhood for grad students with partners -mostly- about 2 miles away from Tuck) around mid August. Then, I will be doing a Pre-Enrollment Program (TuckBuilds -a 1-week volunteering program-) and then I'll head into Orientation.
I will try to post some details of my experience during the first month of the MBA, be more specific on the stories, and confirm whether my reasoning to attend Tuck was right.
Do not hesitate to ask any questions or to ask for more details on the upcoming stories!
I really hope this actually helps applicants to get a better sense of the school and the community.
Best regards,
kheown