Tuck (Dartmouth): Class of 2018 - Calling All Applicants! : MBA Archive

My keys to why Tuck?

Location: This can be a make or break criteria for applicants. Some people love the idea of 2 years in Hanover (me) and others can’t think of anything worse. The benefit of Tuck’s location is that you will have a really residential MBA experience that leads to an extremely cohesive and tight-knit community. The remoteness is also slightly overblown. If you really want to escape, it’s only 2-3 hours from Boston.
Class size: Tuck has one of the smallest class sizes around. You will not and cannot be just a face in the crowd. You will get to know all your classmates and this was a huge plus for me. I would much rather build a smaller set of deep friendships rather than larger set of acquaintances. The smaller class size also means you get more exposure to the faculty. Finally, it pushes everyone to contribute to the community whether it is organising social events to a career trek.
Recruiting: Not much to add other than Tuck’s recruiting numbers are consistently phenomenal. After my research, I was sure that Tuck would get me to where I wanted to go providing I put in the work.
Community: Throughout my application process, I got an exposure first hand to the incredible people associated with Tuck whether it be current students, alumni, or admissions staff. They were all gracious with their time and willing to answer any queries that I had. This is not limited to the current Tuckies. Tuck is renowned for a responsive alumni network that will go above and beyond to help current Tuckies. This was the type of community I wanted to be part of.

Should I self-initiative an on campus interview?

Yes, yes and yes. A lot of applicants over think this point. Listen to the advice from the adcoms. They HIGHLY encourage people to visit and those that do have a higher rate of success. I would recommend you interview before you apply though because experiencing Tuck firsthand will really help your essays especially when demonstrating fit. What better way than talking about your experience sitting Prof X’s class or speaking with current student Y. Furthermore, why turn down an opportunity of providing the admissions team with one more data point. Maybe you are not the best writer in the world but you blow people away during interviews. Well this is your chance to demonstrate that.

One last thing to add, just because the interview is self-initiated doesn’t mean you can just turn up. You should prepare for it just like any other interview.

My tips to a successful application

Below are just a few thoughts. They are all common sense suggestions really:

Really get to know the school – make use of Tuck Connections, speak to as many students or alumni as possible, and visit campus. This will give you ammunition for your essays and demonstrate that you have done your due diligence. “Fit” is an important criterion for Tuck and this goes a long way to showing it.
Definitely interview on campus – this applies to all applicants. For North American applicants, it shows up if you didn’t make it onto campus. For internationals, this is not essential but put it this way when I interviewed, there was a guy who flew in from China just to visit and interview.
Dig deep into your story – really spend time to think about your story and life experiences. You have limited real estate (losing one essay from last year) to put your story across to the admissions team. You want to make the most out of every aspect of the application whether it is essay, resume, online form, or interview.
Don’t try to please the adcom – they really don’t want to hear a story you concocted for them. I guarantee the real you is far more interesting and much more likely to succeed than a sanitised version to fit their criteria.

KMD10's Profile
Area of Interest in MBA: Undecided, maybe Marketing
GMAT: 730
GPA: 3.5, Economics/Psychology Double Major (top 5 Liberal Arts College)
Work Experience: 3 yrs in Investment Management
From: Massachusetts
Age: 26 at Matriculation
Gender: Female
Extra-curriculars/community: Nothing particularly notable since college, Major Undergrad Involvement: Swimming (4-year Varsity member, Varsity Captain, DIII All-American)

BackToTheEastCoast's Profile
Area of Interest in MBA: Healthcare Consulting
GMAT: 640 (I'm an awful standardized test taker so made sure other parts of my application made up for it; also 6/6 on writing and 7/8 on IR)
GPA: 3.78 (Masters degree from a top 5 program)
Work Experience: 7.5 yrs in healthcare (private sector and currently government)
From: Chicago, IL
Age: 32 years at Matriculation
Gender: Female
Extra-curriculars/community: active in my undergrad, grad school, and sorority alumni associations; volunteer at soup kitchen, other ad hoc volunteer projects
Other Notable: already have a masters degree, returning for a second...

tripsd's Profile
Area of Interest in MBA: Consulting
GMAT: 760
GPA: 3.67
Work Experience: 3 yrs in educational start up
From: New Mexico originally, currently in Florida
Age: 29 at Matriculation
Gender: M
Extra-curriculars/community: Heavy involvement in cancer nonprofits. Several different organizations and several different roles. Also some community athletics
Other Notable - I think the difference for me was making an effort to get to know the school and students. Connecting with students with a similar profile made me able to write essays that really spoke about why I would benefit from Tuck and how I could contribute (At least this is my take away). Also tons of constant self reflection on my goals, tons of edits on the essays, and hours of practice on the interviews allowed my strengths come through

MUJIzz’s Profile
Area of Interest in MBA: General Management, Entrepreneurship
GMAT: 760
GPA: 3.6
Work Experience: 2.5 yrs in management consulting
From: China
Age: 26 at Matriculation
Gender: Male
Extra-curriculars/community: limited

DG89's Profile
Area of Interest in MBA: General Management
GMAT: 760 (Q50 V42)
Work Experience: 4+ yrs in 2014 - evenly split between strategy research and corporate strategy
From: India
Age: 25 at Matriculation
Gender: Male
Extra-curriculars/community: Decent - active involvement in competitive sports, volunteer work, adventure sports enthusiast
Others - Off-degree academic pursuits, including CFA, other Indian finance certifications, and online competitive strategy courses

iluebe’s Profile
Area of Interest in MBA: Operations & Strategy
GMAT: 690
GPA: 3.2
Work Experience: 6 yrs in 2014
From: Nigeria
Age: 30 at Matriculation
Gender: Male
Extra-curriculars/community: Volunteer for a NGO; back to school program for disadvantaged kids.
Other Notable: Coach/Player for my college soccer team, Leadership award at work (2012)

godlovesemily's Profile
Area of Interest in MBA: Operation
GMAT: 760
GPA: 3.6
Work Experience: 3 yrs in supply chain
From: China
Age: 25 at Matriculation
Gender: Female
Extra-curriculars/community: Several, not too many

Have some global exposure through undergraduate exchange and business trip. Liberal arts major (Spanish). I'm also a CouchSurfer practitioner and I mentioned it in the interview, and AO seemed quite interested in this and let me explain my experience.

mangaka's Profile
Area of Interest in MBA: Private Equity/Venture Capital
GMAT: 760
GPA: 3.31
Work Experience: 4 yrs in Banking
From: Canada
Age: 26 at Matriculation
Gender: Female
Extra-curriculars/community: board member of a non profit corporation
Other Notable

grotten's Profile
Area of Interest in MBA: General Mgm - energy orientated
GMAT: 680 Q45 V38
GPA: International GPA scale 7.5/10
Work Experience: 5 years experience as a project mgr (last 3 yrs in a mayor US oil and gas corp.) Work last 2 years in an oil field in South America - Remote location.
From: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Age: 28 at Matriculation
Gender: Male
Extra-curriculars/community: nothing really interesting/relevant

greenam's Profile
Area of Interest in MBA: Telecom
GMAT: 700
GPA: 3.6 from UPenn with extra distinction in my major (dean's list last two years)
Work Experience: 6 yrs in the USMC
From: Colorado (currently, Quantico, VA)
Age: 28 at Matriculation
Gender: F
Extra-curriculars/community:

milapp's Profile
Area of Interest in MBA: General Management / Marketing Strategy
GMAT: 730 Q47 V44 IR8
GPA: 3.3
Work Experience: 6+ yrs as a US Military Officer
From: USA
Age: 30 at Matriculation
Gender: M
Extra-curriculars/community: Extensive undergrad extracurriculars at top 35 private (non-ivy) university with numerous campus level leadership posts, as well as athletic and ROTC commitments. Post-undergraduate extracurriculars were mediocre due to frequent moves.
Other Notable: 1 additional language. Extensive travel and lived and worked in two other countries in addition to home country. Worked on many projects of a multi-national nature.

StevenH514's Profile
Program: Tuck MBA
Area of Interest in MBA: Management Consulting or Tech
GMAT: 740
GPA: 3.18 in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Lafayette College
Work Experience: 4 years in US Army
From: CT
Age: 26 at Matriculation
Gender: M
Extra-curriculars/community: Nothing crazy- fun runs for charities, volunteering a few hours per month for my unit's Family Readiness Group
Other Notable- Lean Six Sigma Greent Belt, 9 month deployment to Afghanistan

Jamico7's Profile
Area of Interest in MBA: Product Management, Technology
GMAT: 730
GPA: 3.22
Work Experience: 2.5 years in DoD Agency; 2.5 years in Peace Corps
From: USA
Age: 26 at Matriculation
Gender: Male
Extra-curriculars/community: Nothing too notable

mediatech6's Profile
Area of Interest in MBA: Technology/entrepreneurship
GMAT: 750
GPA: 3.2
Work Experience: 4 years in media
From: New York
Age: 26 at Matriculation
Gender: Male
Extra-curriculars/community: fair amount of leadership in undergrad, consistent volunteer work during and after college, and involvement with a well-known non-profit
Other Notable:

dairymilk's Profile
Program: MBA FT
Area of Interest in MBA: Marketing
GMAT: 720
GPA: 3.4
Work Experience: 5 years in a Top 10 Tech Company
From: India
Age: 28
Gender: F
Extra-curriculars/community: Sports, Music, Drama, Writing

Hey I don't think there is a specific timeline. However, I suggest you to do the applicant initiated interview. Below is the overview of how Tuck selects its students. I am posting verbatim of associate director of admissions at Tuck, Pat Harrison. I just loved the beauty of the process. We all will get our fair chance, I think

====
Those of you applying today might be curious as to what happens to your application next...

Once we get it, we print out the application and put it in a file with your letters of recommendation (which hopefully have already arrived), and the write-up from your interview (assuming you have already completed one). The complete file then goes to one of our eight admissions committee members for the first read. S/he reads everything that has been submitted and writes a brief evaluation of the pros and cons of the file and makes a recommendation whether to admit or deny the applicant. If the applicant has not already had an interview, the reader also makes a recommendation whether we should invite him/her to interview. Please note that this happens for EVERYONE. We don’t have minimum cut-offs for GMAT, GPA, work experience, etc. All files go through this process. Next, the complete file then goes on to a second adcom reader for another full read. S/he goes through the same exercise and makes a recommendation whether to admit or deny.

Next stop is our Director of Admissions, Dawna Clarke. She reviews each reader’s comments and may read some or all of the file if she needs further clarification. Some of the applicants she reviews are clear admits, and some are unfortunately clear denies. She makes a final decision on those groups accordingly. However, a larger number of applicants fall somewhere in the middle, and that group goes to “committee.”

Committee occurs at the end of the application round, and basically we lock ourselves in a conference room for a few days, with a generous supply of junk food, and the group discusses each applicant. Some of those discussions are lengthy and some become quite passionate. Eventually we arrive at a final decision as a group. Final decisions are then communicated to all applicants via their on-line admissions account on the published notification date. Hopefully, the news is good!

The important thing to take away is that A LOT of time and attention is given to every single application. One of the things I am most proud of is how thoughtful our process is. We really try to get to know each of the applicants as a person, not just their stats. All of the hard work you put into your application is appreciated, and we really do read every essay you write."

====

Two points, second one is more generic

- Show the love: Tuck thrives on this. If you are in the US, visit. If you aren't, try to visit. It won't go unnoticed. Don't be afraid to email people in their admissions office directly regarding queries - they are extremely helpful. Stress on your 'love' for Tuck in the interview versus talking about generic points like rankings, employment data etc. Don't be afraid to let your essays take a much more personal flavour than essays you may be writing for other schools.

- Competition among Indian applicants is just tremendous. Be prepared to turn in your absolute best. Tuck is a very prestigious school in the US (it doesn't have as big a name in India/ Europe as US) which makes it very competitive to get into. There are folks joining me in Hanover who have turned down HBS, Sloan, Kellogg, Booth etc. to come to Tuck. Hence, even if you are not an Indian, make sure your Tuck application is top notch. And when I say application, I don't mean just the essays. The interview is where they really look at how well you mirror the paper versus the real you. If you wrote stuff for the sake of pleasing them, you are dinged immediately

Some quick (and very obvious) updates/suggestions from my side:

1. Try to send "thank you" notes to people who helped you through out your MBA application process. This includes your peer groups, people who wrote your recommendations, AdComs you interacted with, your interviewer at Tuck (and other schools), and most importantly say thanks to your friends and family for tolerating you throughout the process.

2. Relax. Remember you have done your part. Its very common to have that feeling of reaching out to the AdCom regarding the status of your application, chances of success, recent (scheduled) promotion or updated employment report. Hold on to that feeling unless you think its critical and it will drastically improve your chances at Tuck.

3. Hedge your bets and start working on Round 2 applications. You may choose not to submit them later.

4. Don't loose focus on your current job (and your career progress). Even if you get in to Tuck, you wont matriculate before Aug 2014. Sweet promotion to Project Manager or Senior Associate or an Economist (in my case) will help during first year recruitment at Tuck (exactly 11 months from now).

As Dawna Clarke mentions in her P&Q interview, visiting/interviewing on campus is definitely a plus because it shows a sincere interest in the school and allows the applicant's essays to come to life because the applicant is not just speaking in generalities about why he or she likes Tuck, but instead has a concrete experience from which to draw.

That said, plenty of people get into Tuck without ever setting foot on campus. In fact, if Tuck likes your application they can invite you to interview on campus or via Skype, as you alluded other schools do.

Glad you asked. I was an International applicant last year and due to prior commitments I couldn't visit Tuck for interviews. If your application is competitive enough, the AdCom will find one or the other ways to get in touch with you. F2F interviews (in your home country) and Skype calls are common for international candidates.

But that being said, if you live and work in the US or nearby countries, its expected that you make use of open interview policy at Tuck.

As a T15, I second the opinion that you should interview on campus if you live in the US / North America. I didn't and I'm positive it affected the strength of my application. I was lucky that the adcom asked me to interview after I applied and I flew out for the interview then. Tuck is a very unique place in a very unique part of the US. People have an incredibly visceral reaction to meeting the community. You love it or you don't. For me, I know I fell in love in a way that would have made for a completely different application. As it happens, I wasn't admitted right away. I was waitlisted. I'm almost positive that if I had flown out to interview before I submitted my application that I would have been a much stronger applicant and been admitted right away.

Moral of the story: Interview on campus, have a better application, and maybe even avoid the waitlist.

Mine was on-campus applicant-initiated interview. The interview was very enjoyable. The second year student who took my interview was very humble. She was genuinely interested in getting to know me.

The interview is mostly about

what you have I done till now (walk me through your resume),
why I need an MBA (career goals),
how Tuck will help me out (my personalized plan to achieve those goals),
most importantly, WHY Tuck (am I genuinely interested in Tuck or not)

The last part was pretty important I felt. I think she was not hooked by my justification of why Tuck. So my advice is to really work on that. I was also asked to share about a leadership experience. I would strongly suggest visiting Tuck for an interview. It will be one hell of an experience. If you live in a big city, you will immediately get hooked.

Hope that helps. Send me a PM if you want to ask anything specific.

Had my interview today. Preparing definitely helped me, but I only prepared the night before. Of course, I went through this process already last year, so I knew what to expect.

In the end, I was making myself worry over nothing. The interview was very pleasant. I think what also helped is that my interviewer was of the opposite sex. I've always felt that people, in general, interview better with someone of the opposite sex.

My questions were very standard and have all been reported before on the ClearAdmit blog (except for maybe the penultimate question below):

-Walk me through your resume
-Why do you need an MBA?
-What are your long term goals?
-Tell me about your leadership style and a team experience. What three things would the members of that team say about you?
-Tell me about a time you failed.
-Why Tuck?
-What will you contribute to Tuck?
-Explain to me the current situation at your company (I work for a unique financial services company that is in the news a lot, and people are always curious. PM me if you want to know)
-If you could meet any person in the world or in history, who would it be?
-Is there anything you wish I had asked you?

Thanks.