Calling all TUCK 2008 applicants

I went to the Tuck event in Boston last night and I must say it was FAR more impressive than every other school’s presentation. They did not have some assistant admissions officer giving a power point presentation that basically repeats their brochure and then follows that with some “help” in the admissions process which is the same apply as early as possible but wait till your ready and holistic approach line we have heard a million times. They actually had the assistant dean/COO and a tuck grad (who also was the director of career services at one point). As a testament to their highly regarded alumni network they actually had far more alums there than any other presentation I have been to (They even topped Sloan, so that eliminates the home field advantage).

Overall it was the most interesting event, they didn’t waste time with a lot of the garbage most schools did, the presenter was by far the most engaging and dynamic I had seen at an event. The huge point they made overall was you choose Tuck not just for the academics but the culture. Though they did make a mention about being highly ranked he went on to say it would be a horrible decision to choose Tuck if it was based solely on rank. I think that the presentation actually gave me the best feel for a any school so far. Honestly, this really improved my thoughts on Tuck. I was already planning on applying now its just a matter if I get in to multiple schools who to pick and this really did a lot for Tuck.

The Alums were really helpful, unlike every other event where the alums were helpful but not overly so. They actually provided a list of recent alums in the area who you can contact to talk to and everyone of the people I talked to said make sure you email me if you have questions, I had several business cards thrust upon me without even asking. Everyone seemed amazingly willing to help you.

As an interesting note to who ends up choosing Tuck, one alum turned down Harvard for Tuck and another mentioned turning down Wharton and Columbia. Also for people who wonder about their placing people well compared to the larger schools, of the alums there these are the ones I can remember and most of them were at top companies like Blackstone and the like. One actually said if you are a career switcher that the alumni network is a huge advantage when you go job hunting.
1-investment management,
1-venture capital
1-hedge fund
2-private equity
1-mergers and acquisition
1-bio marketing person
1-finance officer for a smaller company owned by tuck alum
1-vp for a startup

Surprisingly no regular IB there, though several the finance people said they turned down lots of bulge bracket bank offers. There were also no consultants there last night the one female who works in marketing said she had offers from the big 3 firms but decided against all the travel (went into marketing instead). Some did mention that a lot of their classmates went into consulting.