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

I got these questions as a PM. I am responding here for everyone's benefit.

1- You got 710 in your GMAT, while the range is 670-750. So it is strange for me to say that it is weak. Have you mentioned or discuss why they consider weak point? do you have weak in any section? IR or AWA?
For Indian applicants, they get a lot of applications with GMAT much above the average. Since I am from that pool they very strongly recommended me to retake the GMAT. Darden asked me to try to get an average of 750!

2- How will you overcome the weakness in the international exposure? What do you mean write about global exposure essay? I have not see any essay by that name. There was 2 essays only.
There are some compulsory essays and some optional essays. There are also some short questions. There was an optional questions asking the applicant to respond on the international experience gained during work/travel/study abroad. Wrt mitigating the weakness I am considering to go on some leisure trips abroad.

3- Tuck considered your essay # 2 weak. Did you write an old leadership experience? Was not it work related? Have you got any assitance from prossional copany to review your essays?
I wrote an essay from 2011. It was wrt my work in my school's old students' association. I loved that experience and also thought Tuck might like it a lot because they have a very active alumni network and stuff. Yes, I did use the services of a consultant.

4- How many years of experience do you have? Do they have min. experience?
I have 5 years of experience. I don't think they have a min. experience. I think they suggest candidates at least have 2 years of experience. Please check the school site.

5- Has Tuck advised you to make on campus interview? or is it your recommendation?
Tuck exactly mentioned that coming to campus, I would be guaranteed an interview. But yeah interacting with them and filling up the application you will come across their messages asking you to strongly consider visiting campus. I remember reading some stats that of the admitted candidates 60% went for an open interview (I don't remember where I read this and whether it is correct).

Tuck has just announced the new dates for application

https://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admission ... tant-dates

No sign for new essays. Tuck still publishes the old essays 2014-2015. The application instruction PDF is still the old.

New update: the essays has been launched.

https://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admission ... -questions

Good luck

Thanks for sharing the feedback AdmitJA!

Were you WL or D at Tuck? Were you admitted to any other schools and you decided to reapply this year?

Thanks again,
kheown

I was Dinged without an interview. I applied in R3 and was not hoping much though. I applied to Darden as well in R3 and to IESE in the Jan round. Got dinged everywhere and so will reapply this year. I got a 710 GMAT just on March 31st and so was a bit helpless!

Tuck's essay questions are out and they are pretty much/almost the same as last year! Get started prospective Tuckies!!!

TUCK’S 2015 - 2016 ESSAY QUESTIONS

While the application won't go live until later this summer, here's a sneak peak of the essay questions.

Please respond fully but concisely to the following essay questions. There are no right or wrong answers. We encourage applicants to limit the length of their responses to 500 words for each essay. Please double-space your responses.

1. What are your short- and long-term goals? Why do you need an MBA to achieve those goals? Why are you interested in Tuck specifically?

2. Tell us about your most meaningful leadership experience and what role you played. How will that experience contribute to the learning environment at Tuck?

3. (Optional) Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere that may be helpful in reviewing your application (e.g., unusual choice of evaluators, weaknesses in academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes, etc.). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.

4. (To be completed by all reapplicants) How have you strengthened your candidacy since you last applied? Please reflect on how you have grown personally and professionally.

Excited about meeting some of you on campus for interviews and visits this coming year! Drop into the AMA thread if you have any questions. Always happy to help but if I don't reply it's because I am in the middle of my summer internship and don't come here nearly as often as I used to!

Looking forward to the summer visit in July. Good luck to all.

Looking forward to reading your experience Nai222

The Dartmouth Tuck adcom is interested in learning about what you as an individual, a businessperson, and a leader can contribute to Tuck’s small, close-knit program. Use your essays as a platform for expressing your earnest desire to enter the world of management and to make a difference. 

I strongly recommend Tuck applicants read “The MBA Gatekeeper To Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business,” Poets and Quants interview with Dawna Clarke, Director of Admissions at Tuck. The article is a couple of years old, but still worth reading if you are applying to Tuck. I also recommend you review Dartmouth's six evaluation criteria for admission.

Tuck tweaked its Essay #1 and #2, but the optional is unchanged.

Tuck provides length guidelines, not limits.  That "encouragement" and gentle suggestion gives you a little leeway. Please don't make the mistake of abusing that typical Tuck friendliness. It is an opportunity for you to show judgment and consideration of your reader by still being succinct.

Accepted has been helping applicants to Tuck gain acceptance for roughly 20 years. Explore our services to learn more about how we can help you prepare your Tuck MBA application.

Essays:

Please respond fully but concisely to the following essay questions. There are no right or wrong answers. We encourage applicants to limit the length of their responses to 500 words for each essay. Please double-space your responses.

1. What are your short- and long-term goals? Why do you need an MBA to achieve those goals? Why are you interested in Tuck specifically?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The MBA is a means to an end, not an end in itself. That's why Tuck (and many other schools) ask question like this one. Tuck wants to know that it can help you achieve your goal.  So clearly you have to have both short- and long-term goals to respond to the question.  And then you need to explain how an MBA will help you realize those goals and finally, why Tuck is the best place to do so.

You have to know  Tuck as well as your goals to respond effectively to this question. Why do you want a small, tight-knit program in rural New Hampshire? Why do you want a program that stresses the integration of business functions?  Which of Tuck’s strengths appeal to you? How will they help you achieve your goals?

2. Tell us about your most meaningful leadership experience and what role you played. How will that experience contribute to the learning environment at Tuck?

This question reflects the importance Tuck, like many MBA programs, places on leadership, and Tuck really wants to see you as a leader.

Have you chaired  a fundraiser that raised a record amount of money? Have you been a board member for a not-for-profit organization? Have you captained a sports team that led your company league? Have you been a team lead on a project that came in early and under budget? Are you the head of a sales team who empowered other members of your team in a way that greatly contributed to the success of that initiative? These could all be examples of leadership. How did you motivate your teammates? Tell the story of that event.

Then, how will your leadership style and the lessons learned through this experience enable you to contribute? Tuck treasures its close-knit, collaborative culture and values teamwork.  How does this experience reveal about you and how you will interact with the MBA community at Dartmouth. In answering the last question, don't fall into the trap of answering "What do they want to hear?" What do you most want them to know?

3. (Optional) Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere that may be helpful in reviewing your application (e.g., unusual choice of evaluators, weaknesses in academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes, etc.). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.

It is almost impossible for two (or even three) 500-word essays plus a bunch of boxes, a transcript, and a GMAT score to represent fully the uniqueness and talents of a truly impressive candidate. That comment has nothing to do with writing style and everything to do with the complexity of accomplished human beings. In my opinion this “optional essay”  is optional in name only.

At the same time, don’t waste the reader’s time by writing a meaningless, superficial “grand finale” or summary. Don’t repeat what can be found elsewhere.

4. (To be completed by all reapplicants) How have you strengthened your candidacy since you last applied? Please reflect on how you have grown personally and professionally.

Straightforward MBA reapplication question. It is critical that every reapplicant be able to answer it for every school they are reapplying to: What has changed that would compel Tuck to admit you this year?

If you would like professional guidance with your Dartmouth Tuck MBA application, please consider Accepted’s MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our  MBA Application Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the Dartmouth Tuck application.

 

                 Dartmouth Tuck 2016 Application Deadlines:

Round
Due Date
Decisions Released

Early Action
October 7, 2015
December 17, 2015

November Round
November 4, 2015
February 12, 2016

January Round
January 6, 2016
March 11, 2016

April Round
April 4, 2016
May 13, 2016

 



By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your MBA Application Essays
• Darmouth Tuck Zone Page
• School-Specific MBA Application Essay Tips

This article originally appeared on blog.accepted.com.

Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us to get started now!

Accepted.com    ~ The Premier Admissions Consultancy

Does anyone know when the on campus interview start?

I set up a trip to the US for mid September mostly to visit and interview at Tuck, but now I'm afraid interviews won't have started by then.

They should have started by mid September. I would email the admissions team to confirm though.

Although I am a bit late in posting my feedback, but I think we still have plenty of time at our disposal before the EA or the November Round

Indian applicant here. I was selected for the interview and was dinged post that
Below are the details from the feedback call:

Strengths:
1. GMAT Score
2. Work experience type and progression in career is good
3. Extra-curricular – Good
4. Resume - format and content good

Weaknesses:
1. I have a wide array of extra curricular activities, but they feel that the depth is lacking. More like jack of all master of none
2. Global exposure - If possible, try to travel outside for work (I have traveled for vacations in the past). I said that Visa is not picked, to which she replied that it is not at all a hindrance, just a good to have thing.
3. Essay 1- Connection of Goal with the current work is not clear. Elaborate on that.
4. Essay 2- Since work experience has increased, put in experience which involves a team and not individual contribution

Interview:
1. Demonstrate why Tuck in a better way. Talk about specific things, courses, faculty etc.
2. Interview was decent, but not great. Need a wow factor. (Told her that my analysis was also the same)
3. Talk about Tuck academic offering
4. Why MBA and connection with long term goal in a better way.

Tips:
1. Recommendation letters - 1 new letter; waive right to see the recommendation
2. If possible, come to campus. She understood the constraint of flying from India
3. I asked that I might not have much to write in the application by the EA. To which she said I would like to see your application in in EA or maximum by Nov round.

Let me know if you have any queries.
All the best!

No news yet on the interview dates or when scheduling them will be online? I keep checking the website every couple of hours...

I wrote to admissions last week, they told me that they would release interview dates in August, just didn't say an exact date.

I have already booked my flight for late September, can't wait to go to Hanover.

Hi!

I check several times everyday too... Got my flight booked and I can't wait to see the dates published! I think it should be any day now...

Dear Applicants,

The first session of Tuck Live Q&A series is happening on August 18th in which Amy Mitson - Senior Associate Director of Admissions at Tuck- will chat with prospective applicants and answer their questions about Tuck's MBA program.


Brief intro of Amy Mitson: Amy has been at Tuck since 2000 and is currently Senior Associate Director of Admissions. Prior to working with Tuck Admissions, Amy was the Senior Associate Director of the MBA Program Office. As an admissions officer at Tuck, Amy serves on the admissions committee, reads applications, interviews candidates, oversees the campus visitation program, and manages recruiting efforts in Asia. Her combined student services and admissions experiences have helped her get acquainted with the day-to-day operations at Tuck as well as its history. Her favourite thing about Tuck is the people; working with the faculty, staff and students is a consistent source of motivation and inspiration.





Date: August 18, 2015
Time: 9 AM Pacific Time
Place: GMAT Club Chat Room

So save the event in your Google calendar and be in the chat room on 18th August with your questions.

The interview registration is online. I got September 18(class visit + interview).