{"id":24076,"date":"2014-05-28T09:48:35","date_gmt":"2014-05-28T16:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2014\/05\/dartmouth-tuck-mba-essay-analysis-your-2015-application\/"},"modified":"2014-05-28T09:48:35","modified_gmt":"2014-05-28T16:48:35","slug":"dartmouth-tuck-mba-essay-analysis-your-2015-application","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/dartmouth-tuck-mba-essay-analysis-your-2015-application\/","title":{"rendered":"Dartmouth Tuck MBA Essay Analysis, Your 2015 Application"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you ready to dig into your essays? Application essays are specifically and cleverly designed to get into your head. We like to turn the tables on the admissions committees and get inside their<\/i> heads. Why are they asking these questions? What are they looking for? Read on as our experts break down application essay questions to help YOU plan the attack.<\/h3>\n
Essay One<\/a>
\nEssay Two<\/a>
\nEssay Three<\/a><\/div>\n
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Dartmouth Tuck MBA Essay One<\/h5>\n

Why is an MBA a critical next step toward your short- and long-term career goals? Why is Tuck the best MBA fit for you and your goals and why are you the best fit for Tuck? (500 word limit encouraged)<\/strong><\/p>\n

At its most basic level, this first Dartmouth Tuck MBA essay question requires the same approach as any other career goals essay you\u2019ll write. <\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s zoom into the last half of this sucker. The argument about fit. These cats have cleverly split it up into two questions. Nice. Think of it as marriage vows. The officiant rarely says \u201cWell, these two kids seem perfect for each other, can we all agree? Let\u2019s please do the conga?\u201d Nah man, first one member says some words, and then the other member says some words. Vow exchange. Both expressing their love for the other. Their take on how they \u201cfit\u201d together. In some ways, it\u2019s as though every wedding is very much like the Tuck application. Minus the token drunk uncle.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s break it down piece by piece:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why is Tuck<\/a> the best fit for you?<\/p>\n

This happens through YOUR lens. And it\u2019s a selfish one. It must be. What is it that YOU want. Think wishlist. Think wistful, far-off look in eye, dreamy vision of a perfect future. That game we play every so often where we imagine \u201cmeeting the perfect companion, traveling to exotic locations, eating delicious street foods, making tons of money and flying first class everywhere, etc.\u201d Do that here. Map it out, not in a coldly realistic way, in the dreamy way. Map out your FANTASY first.<\/p>\n

Now create an auxiliary fantasy, teasing out the stuff you need to do in order to pull some of that off. Probably at some point you\u2019ll need to make a wage. Well, what does that pathway look like? Sure, you can easily fill in \u201cMBA\u201d as a node in this timeline, but let\u2019s get even more granular. Is there such thing as a particular school\/experience that makes THIS fantasy of yours\u2026 the MOST likely? Think about it this way, imagine that node had two choices: MBA or not-MBA. Seems like in your case you would pick MBA right? And probably you could make a pretty solid argument.<\/p>\n

Okay, let\u2019s take it one step further. What if the node said \u201cTop Ten MBA versus NON Top Ten MBA\u201d? Pretty easy right? Answer: Top Ten MBA.<\/p>\n

Now, what if it said \u201cTuck versus ANOTHER TOP TEN MBA PROGRAM?\u201d Aha. Now that\u2019s an interesting question. Some may honest-to-God choose \u201cAnother Program.\u201d Maybe Harvard<\/a> is the ticket to THEIR fantasy future. Maybe for someone else Stanford<\/a> is the ticket. Your answer here must be that Tuck, compared to ANY other Top Ten MBA program\u2026 fits your plans the BEST. Now comes the hard part\u2014why? Put this mental frame around your argument, and it should help you generate a good one.<\/p>\n

Why are you the best fit for Tuck?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember how you drew out your fantasy timeline, and figured out how Tuck fits into making YOUR dreams a reality? Well, Tuck has a fantasy timeline of its own. Here\u2019s how the simple version looks:<\/p>\n

Invite promising MBA candidates to program \u2192 Those candidates go out into real world and start succeeding as defined by (1) doing great things and (2) making money \u2192 These alums gladly donate money back to our school when asked \u2192 Also, when Tuckies show up in high positions and in high-profile opportunities (books, TV interviews, TED talks, etc.), the value of the school improves, allowing Tuck to be more selective, ensure an even HIGHER probability of those things, more success, more fame, etc. and so the cycle continues.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s their cycle (and that\u2019s the general cycle of any Top b-school). But now let\u2019s ZOOM IN just like we did for \u201cyour vows.\u201d Let\u2019s go back to that very first node of \u201cInvite promising MBA candidates to program.\u201d Let\u2019s start out impossibly simple. If their choice was \u201cLackluster student with mediocre GMAT, mediocre work experience, and uninspired essays versus Student with mid-700 GMAT, four years of strong work experience with evidence of fast-track promotions, proof of leadership, and essays that crackle\u2026\u201d guess which they\u2019re gonna pick? Duh.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get more granular. Let\u2019s say their choice was \u201cGuy who scores a 770 GMAT versus Guy who scores 710.\u201d Now what, 770? No-brainer? Not so fast. The calculus for Tuck in this scenario is more complicated. Why? Because the difference between 770 and 710 may not be as strongly predictive for future success (for all those reasons listed in the above timeline) as you might suspect. If it WERE statistically predictive, they\u2019d simplify the whole process and have an internal cut-off. Right? Do you think they could fill seats with applicants who break 750 on their GMAT? More than easily. But there\u2019s more to the picture. To understand \u201cthe picture\u201d is the key to this whole thing. \u201cI need to be convinced that this candidate is going to succeed, make money, and ultimately make Tuck look better\u2026 or some combination of those things. Two out of three is good enough!\u201d<\/p>\n

So, it\u2019s possible that the 710 guy, when OTHER factors are taken into consideration (LORs, strength of essays, etc.) will OUTSHINE the 770 guy.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s get to the real crux of it. Tuck\u2019s question is gonna be this\u2026 \u201cShould we take THIS applicant (you) versus THAT applicant (one of your competitors).\u201d We\u2019ll give you a hint. The answer is you. Here\u2019s how (stay with us):<\/p>\n

It\u2019s because you are more likely to succeed, make money, and ultimately make Tuck look better\u2026 BECAUSE you fit their particular program so well. See it? It\u2019s different from SIMPLY focusing on the \u201cwhy do you fit their program\u201d piece. We need that CONTEXT. Without the context, it\u2019s all just fluff. \u201cI like small classes.\u201d \u201cI like remote environments.\u201d \u201cI like a campus that feels intimate.\u201d Blech. This is the song of the un-researched, dispassionate, inauthentic.<\/p>\n

Your argument must consider that your \u201cfit\u201d with tuck is going to matter somehow. And you need to articulate that. \u201cBecause of X thing that is unique to Tuck, I am going to thrive\u2026 more, better, etc.\u201d \u201cBecause Tuck fosters Y thing as seen here and here and here, it will allow me to do Z, which I couldn\u2019t at all (or as good) elsewhere. This is going to spell BETTER success for me (and therefore Tuck).\u201d See it now?<\/p>\n

Identify a few things about Tuck that are going to BRING FORWARD things about you that will ultimately translate to Success. Make sure these are Tuck-specific. Back it up. Show that you\u2019ve done your homework. Don\u2019t just scan their website, dig in. Talk to alums. Read books and research papers and follow the careers of their faculty\u2014don\u2019t just learn their names from their course catalog. Worthless. Anyone can do it. Few take the time to take that extra step, though. Find a connection. Feel the connection. Then convince us that the connection is gonna make you STRONGER (and more successful, somehow).<\/p>\n

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Dartmouth Tuck MBA Essay Two<\/h5>\n
Tell us about your most meaningful leadership experience and what role you played. What did you learn about your own individual strengths and weaknesses through this experience? (500 word limit encouraged)<\/strong><\/p>\n
The most important questions to ask yourself about your leadership experience… were there other people in it? Too often, applicants choose leadership experiences where they’re completely in control and everything plays out perfectly.<\/p>\n
You can’t really be a leader unless you’re leading<\/em> other people. Other people (and how you deal with them) are what makes this story interesting. Other people create conflict and challenges - they test you, force you to problem solve, give you opportunities to inspire. These are the elements that will make your leadership story a compelling narrative.<\/p>\n
Once you have your experience, here\u2019s a simple rough outline for how you can structure it:<\/p>\n