{"id":52971,"date":"2021-08-25T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=52971"},"modified":"2021-08-25T04:02:26","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T11:02:26","slug":"how-to-get-an-mba-from-dartmouth-tuck-episode-430","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/how-to-get-an-mba-from-dartmouth-tuck-episode-430\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get an MBA From Dartmouth Tuck [Episode 430]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Podcast<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Are you smart, accomplished, aware and encouraging? Dartmouth Tuck may be the MBA program for you. [Show summary]<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pat Harris and Amy Mitson, co-executive directors of the MBA Admissions and Financial Aid at Dartmouth Tuck<\/a>, share all about the Tuck experience including its close-knit community, amazing alumni network, and unique location while offering guidance to those seeking to attend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the Tuck adcom looks for in applicants, and how to show you\u2019ve got it [Show notes]<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Welcome to the 430th episode of Admissions Straight Talk<\/em>, Accepted\u2019s podcast. Thanks for tuning in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the questions applicants sometimes ask is, \u201cAre Accepted\u2019s services worth the money?\u201d The answer is a resounding, \u201cYes!\u201d at least in my opinion. If you\u2019re curious as to why that\u2019s so, or why I\u2019m convinced it\u2019s true, check out the MBA consultant ROI calculator<\/a> and find out for yourself how much not teaming with an Accepted consultant could cost you. Use the calculator and you\u2019ll see three different scenarios that you can try out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It gives me great pleasure to have, on Admissions Straight Talk,<\/em> Pat Harris and Amy Mitson co-executive directors of the MBA Admissions and Financial Aid at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth<\/a>. Amy joined the Tuck admissions office in 2000. An attorney by education, Pat joined the Tuck MBA admissions office in 2004. Both have assumed increasing responsibilities over the years and became co-executive directors in September, 2020 \u2014 in the midst of the pandemic. I believe I met both of them way back when Tuck hosted a conference for admissions consultants in 2005 and probably had them on our typing-only chats way back when. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it\u2019s my pleasure to have you both on for the first time. Amy and Pat, Welcome to Admissions Straight Talk<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you give an overview of the full-time program focusing on its more distinctive elements? [2:36]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Amy: <\/strong>The Tuck program starts with an expanded orientation for students to establish a firm foundation so they can jump into a very rigorous academic experience during their time at Tuck. It was several years ago when we redesigned the orientation program to now be called Tuck Launch and there are several components of that: integrated programming in Tuck Launch, experiential learning, as well as very specific opportunities for reflection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We believe this sets a stronger foundation as people jump into the core curriculum. The core curriculum at Tuck begins and weaves its way through the first year at Tuck with expanded fall term opportunities and new data analytics courses. We made some changes to the winter term to try to optimize student academics as well as recruiting, and we\u2019ve gotten some very positive feedback on that. When students head into the spring term of the first-year, a distinct element of the Tuck experience is the first-year project. Many MBA programs will have a capstone project in their first year. The uniqueness of Tuck is that students have total choice of the team that they want to work with and the project that they want to work on. It could be something consulting, non-profit focused, entrepreneurial where you\u2019d present to investors at the end of the project. Sometimes students are working with alumni, local projects, global projects \u2013 the sky\u2019s the limit. At that particular point in the curriculum, students definitely have the relationships built and have met all of their classmates and start to bring teams together. It\u2019s a great opportunity to apply the skills that students learned throughout the first-year core. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then heading into the second-year curriculum, it is all elective-based with incredible opportunities for experiential learning, working with faculty in very small scale electives. Or, of course, some of our larger, more popular electives like investments and negotiations, some leadership and communications courses. And the list goes on. The Tuck MBA is also a STEM-designated MBA program<\/a>. Students have the opportunity to follow a selection of courses that gives them that stem designation at the end of their two years so that\u2019s something that we\u2019ve done for the last few years as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the distinctive element is definitely the choice that students have to create the learning experience as they maneuver through the core curriculum and into the elective curriculum during their two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the internship is in the middle of it. We can talk more about that later, but that\u2019s something where a distinct element of the Tuck experience is definitely one-on-one career coaching. Whether students have an eye on exactly what they want to do or an exploration for their job search, we have 100% placement for our students when it comes to the summer internship and a whole ecosystem of resources to help them get there. The connectedness there and the opportunities when it comes to recruiting and summer internships and full-time offers \u2013 all of that weaves its way together and those are some of the things that I feel in response to that question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pat: <\/strong>I think the only thing I would add is I think what makes the Tuck program distinctive from many of our peers is the scale, the focus, and the access. On a personal scale \u2013 it is one of the smaller programs of our peer institutions with approximately 285 students per class<\/a>, where you really have the opportunity to get to know your classmates very, very well. And also develop personal relationships with the faculty and the administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then it\u2019s combined with being in a location like Hanover, New Hampshire, where you\u2019re away from the distractions of a big city. So it becomes this very immersive program. It is a 24\/7 all-in program. What this creates is a personal, connected, and transformative experience for the students and they will go on and transform the world as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How have pandemic restrictions affected the MBA experience at Tuck? [7:08]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Amy<\/strong>: I\u2019d love to begin and just say pandemic restrictions have absolutely been in effect, and there have been some limitations, but I\u2019ll start with the silver linings first. The career services team in the last year when there were many restrictions, had the opportunity to develop even more corporate relationships than they had in the past. Students had even more opportunities than they did in a prior, what we\u2019d maybe call \u201ca normal,\u201d year. So the career services team definitely did a lot of development there. And it was easy to set up a conversation with a recruiter over Zoom and students reap the benefits of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increased access and connection with alumni \u2013 we have alumni who are always visiting campus, but in the year when people weren\u2019t able to travel, our Dean, Matt Slaughter, really led the way in launching conversations from the top. For prospective applicants listening out there, you can see some of those recordings on our website, but that was conversations with senior alumni across the world, in different industries, just having a conversation with the Dean about leading during the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These were opportunities for the entire community, not just students, but also alumni and faculty and staff to engage in these conversations, so bringing alumni to everyone. There was also increased conversation on the admission side. We reached candidates all over the world at all times of day. So increasing that access for candidates and for us was definitely a silver lining. Even when we go back to travel, we won\u2019t let go of that opportunity to connect with people virtually, because it kind of decreases any kind of barrier for investment of time or resources to connect with the admissions committee or with any students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We really enjoyed meeting a lot of people. There were some pauses when it came to the global opportunities at Tuck, and we will be slowly rolling back into those global opportunities for students this year, carefully and thoughtfully, but we did have to put a pause on those this past year. But the results on the career side were incredible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opportunities that faculty developed, once they got really comfortable in the classroom with all the technology, and, man, they ramped it up quickly. They were having that case discussion and then bringing the CEO in, or bringing the alumni into that classroom discussion for 10 or 15 minutes over Zoom, which they might not have done in the past. That was definitely a benefit to the students. I think that also helped keep the faculty inspired to bring really meaningful, relevant content and communication, even when things were limited because people couldn\u2019t travel to campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pat: <\/strong>One aspect of COVID that I hear from a lot of applicants is this concern that so many people were deferred because of COVID that there won\u2019t be space going into the next year\u2019s class. That was not the case at Tuck. We accommodated all of our international students who were delayed with visas. We\u2019re doing it again this year if there are any with visa delays. We came up with hybrid solutions. They were able to attend. So we did not have this mass deferral of a large number of students. We have the same number of seats going into the class of 2023 and 2024. Neither was impacted by large scale deferrals so I want to assure people that is not going to be the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What don\u2019t people know about Tuck that you would like them to know, or perhaps a common misconception that you\u2019d like to dispel? [10:55]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pat: <\/strong>We are located in a small town in New Hampshire, and I think people are worried that we\u2019re in this remote location, either there\u2019s nothing to do or recruiters aren\u2019t going to come, whatever impact it is. That\u2019s absolutely not the case. I think our location is what makes Tuck so special. It\u2019s a beautiful place to be. I hear about research into your ability to learn when you\u2019re more in a peaceful, natural setting, and you definitely have that at Tuck. But I think that the focus that it brings is, I touched on before, it\u2019s a very immersive environment and it creates access. So hitting on the recruiting question, recruiters absolutely come to Tuck. They want our students, our placement stats are a great demonstration of the marketability of our students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When those recruiters come, they\u2019re a captive audience. They, too, are away from the distractions of big cities. So the entire focus of their visit is on recruiting Tuck students and connecting with them. To put the size of the student body in perspective, the number of people you are competing with for face time with recruiters or connections with them is reduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they come up, they\u2019ve put in more effort to get to Hanover so they tend to stay longer. Recruiters as well as visiting executives, CEOs that are coming to campus, they\u2019ve made this investment to come so they really spend time with our students. They are meeting them for drinks at Murphy\u2019s. They\u2019re taking small groups of students out to lunch or dinner. They\u2019re holding open office hours. Our students have the opportunity to connect one-on-one with recruiters or connect one-on-one with CEOs from leading companies and really get personal access and are able to learn from them in a one-on-one or a very small group setting. I think that\u2019s a unique aspect and such a value of being in an environment like Hanover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And our students are never lacking for anything to do. They make their own fun. They\u2019re not going out clubbing until 2:00 AM in the morning. But who wants to do that? They are creating memories. They\u2019re hiking together, they\u2019re canoeing, they\u2019re skiing, they\u2019re hosting parties, they\u2019re cooking dinner for each other. Yes, we\u2019re a small town in New Hampshire, we\u2019re also an Ivy League college in New Hampshire. So there are arts opportunities and a world-class museum. There\u2019s a lot going on. Because it\u2019s a small town, you really have that opportunity to take advantage of everything that Tuck and the Upper Valley have to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amy: <\/strong>Just to echo something that Pat said, I led a virtual information session last night where five alumni joined me on a panel. And before all the prospective students came into the session, the very first question that the two different alums asked when joining the session, \u201cWill recruiting be in-person? Because I want to come back to campus and recruit for my company.\u201d So they were very enthusiastic about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I echo everything Pat said and will also say a common misconception is that students graduating from Tuck are just getting jobs in the Northeast. West Coast, East Coast, Midwest, and globally, student placement is incredibly strong and very diverse. I think, again, because of the strong connection with alumni who are all over the world and are very interested in the next group of Tuckies \u2013 they want to hire them or talk to them about their company or share their experiences. That helps with student recruiting and it helps with placement and wherever students want to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the full-time career services team that we have in Hanover, we also have a dedicated career services person on the West Coast. That\u2019s been pivotal for students, especially with tech recruiting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuck lays out pretty clearly it\u2019s four criteria for acceptance: Smart, Accomplished, Aware, and Encouraging. Can you unpack those criteria a little bit? [15:27]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pat: <\/strong>Absolutely. I would love to. We came up with those criteria by looking at what made successful Tuck students, who are now successful Tuck alum and they demonstrated those four qualities. That\u2019s what we came at as we were creating or revising our criteria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart<\/strong> \u2013 pretty straightforward. We are looking for people who were successful in their undergraduate or graduate programs. We\u2019re looking at test scores. We\u2019re looking at undergraduate GPA performance. That one\u2019s kind of obvious, but that\u2019s kind of the academic smart aptitude. We\u2019re also looking for smart in their attitude. We want people who are curious and engaged. Tuck students have confident humility about what they know and what they don\u2019t know. We\u2019re looking for those qualities on top of the academic performance and the test scores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of Accomplished<\/strong> \u2013 we\u2019re looking for impact and advancement in your careers. We\u2019re also looking for accomplishment in extracurricular activities, community involvement, and personal accomplishments<\/a>. All of that comes into the accomplishment factor, kind of what\u2019s on your resume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awareness <\/strong>is kind of in two directions. We\u2019re looking for awareness \u2013 applicants who have taken time to reflect and really think out who they are, where have they come from, how their experiences have shaped who they are, shaped their character, and how that will contribute to the Tuck community. And then also in terms of awareness, it\u2019s more forward-thinking of what are the applicants\u2019 goals? What did they set forth that they want to do in this world? How will an MBA help them achieve those goals<\/a> and how will an MBA from Tuck, specifically, help them achieve those goals? So that\u2019s what we\u2019re looking for in terms of awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And lastly is encouraging <\/strong>which I think is truly quintessential Tuck. This is the Tuck community at its finest. Our students are encouraging, collaborative, and empathetic. They are great team players<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t mean that they\u2019re pushovers. They are willing to stand up, to push back. But when they do so, they do it respectfully; they do it in a constructive way and in a positive method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think that the key thing here is that Tuck students recognize that my success and your success are not mutually exclusive and they work to build each other out. It is not a place where you\u2019re only looking out for number one. Though that describes our Tuck students, that also describes our alums, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re looking for in our applicants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you be accomplished without being smart and aware? [18:24]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pat: <\/strong>That\u2019s interesting. I think, yes. Of course, there\u2019s going to be overlap with all four of these criteria. If you\u2019re going to be a successful person, you\u2019re good with people, you\u2019re smart, you\u2019re thoughtful. When we come back to it as admissions criteria, I think it\u2019s important to remember it as a holistic evaluation process. Strengths in one criterion or criteria can balance out weaknesses in other areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Someone could be very accomplished in their career and bring amazing impact to the table, but maybe the GPA and the GMAT are not quite as competitive<\/a> as others in the applicant pool. Those things balance each other out. Of course, there\u2019s going to be overlap, but we don\u2019t have to see all four. There\u2019s going to be varying. People are going to shine for different reasons on different criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amy: <\/strong>I agree, and different applications are running through my mind and people shine for different reasons. We know the things that may not be as strong, they can fine-tune at Tuck, but they have everything that they need to jump into the program and to be successful and to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also seems like your four criteria, they\u2019re not what you\u2019re going to teach, right? You\u2019re not going to teach somebody to be smart. You could perhaps teach them to be accomplished a little bit, but you\u2019re not going to teach them, necessarily, to be aware, to start with. [19:48]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Amy: <\/strong>I think the application process and people coming into the MBA program have a lot of aspirations and desires for growth. They present to us in the application where they are. And then, because these things are woven into the community in ways, I think people can grow along that journey, even though it\u2019s not  \u201chere\u2019s the 101 on how to be aware.\u201d No, it\u2019s by being in that community that you then can strengthen that capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any plans to accept Executive Assessment or other exams? Any thought to consider waiver requests or go test optional? [21:19]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Amy: <\/strong>At this moment in time, we\u2019re not considering going test optional. We do still require a GMAT or a GRE. For applicants out there, please know that while this is an important data point that we consider, it\u2019s just one in that holistic review that Pat mentioned. So we do still require the test. It\u2019s one piece of the bigger puzzle<\/a> that you present to us with your candidacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I know that Tuck takes an applicant\u2019s highest score when evaluating the application. I vaguely recall that there was a time that you actually took the highest verbal and the highest quant. Do you still do that or did I make a mistake? [21:58]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Amy:<\/strong> We love to see all of the test scores, but we\u2019re not creating a new kind of super score for the individual applicant. We definitely consider the progress people have made on the tests and the highest scores in the overall evaluation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuck has three required 300-word essays and one optional, and then an additional required essay for re-applicants. What do you hope to learn from the essays, especially this year\u2019s new essay, that you don\u2019t get from the transcript resume and application boxes? [22:30]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pat: <\/strong>Each part of the application maps to a different criteria. We\u2019re getting Smart from your test scores and your transcripts. We\u2019re getting Accomplished from your resume and your answers to the work history<\/a> and extracurriculars. The Aware and Encouraging criteria are harder to quantify from those kinds of documents. So the essays<\/a> specifically track to aware and encouraging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay one, where we\u2019re asking, \u201cWhy an MBA and why Tuck?\u201d gets to that forward-thinking part of awareness that I talked about before. Essay two of, \u201cTell us who you are,\u201d that\u2019s getting to the reflective part of awareness that I was discussing. And then essay three is getting at that encouraging part. We changed that slightly this year and made it broader because we wanted to give people more opportunity to share how they might satisfy the encouraging criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This opens up the opportunities applicants may choose to provide a similar example, how they help someone achieve success, like last year\u2019s question was, but this also gives them the option instead to talk about a time where maybe they had to push back or a time that they dealt empathetically with people who were different than they were. So we wanted to broaden the opportunities to share encouraging with us. That\u2019s what we\u2019re hoping to get out of those essays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I\u2019ll put in a pitch for our blog \u2013 the Tuck 360 Blog<\/a> on our website goes into detail about what we are looking for in each of our essay questions \u2013 What do we mean by Smart, Accomplished, Aware, and Encouraging? What can you expect through the interview? What are we looking for in the letters of reference? So I encourage applicants to Tuck to take a look at that because it is a good one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the most common mistake or mistakes that you see applicants make in the application process? [24:56]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Amy<\/strong>: I guess I\u2019ll start and say, as we are reading applications, we\u2019re really reading with an eye on the positive and not looking for mistakes. We\u2019re looking for reasons to admit candidates. We\u2019re looking for strengths. I come into reading an application believing and ready to be enthusiastic about someone\u2019s candidacy. And so I\u2019m not looking for those mistakes. I\u2019m just really enthusiastic and reading in a positive manner. And our committee moves forward in that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes we see candidates who maybe miss an opportunity, right? So missing an opportunity to share with us, less so, what they\u2019ve done, but the reasons behind why they have taken a certain course of action. Why was there this particular transition in their background? When people are answering the essay questions, the detail of what you have done, I often will see in your resume<\/a>, but sometimes they miss the opportunity to connect with the excitement of the committee, by sharing a little bit about their motivation behind the things that they\u2019be done and the impact that they\u2019ve had. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pat: <\/strong>I will add, making sure that you never leave us guessing abo<\/a>ut anything. This goes a little bit with Amy\u2019s point of, if you have a job gap, be sure to explain it. Or if you have an unusual choice of recommender or your grades took a dip, don\u2019t ignore it. We see it. So ignoring it doesn\u2019t make it go away. Be straightforward, tell us what happened, but don\u2019t make us guess, because we get too creative in what we guess. And we often get it wrong. So fill in those blanks for us. Help us understand how you\u2019ve gotten from point A to point B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What will interviews be like this year at Tuck for the upcoming cycle? [27:19]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pat: <\/strong>This past year all of our interviews were virtual. We will continue to have virtual interviews going forward. We will also continue to offer interviews by invitation. So after you\u2019ve applied, we\u2019ll review your application and invite you to an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, one of the things that we loved about Tuck was the opportunity to have an open interview policy for candidates who came to campus. In light of COVID, that hasn\u2019t been possible. So we\u2019ve had to move to the invitational interview, but to somewhat replicate that open interview policy. What we have is an opportunity for a guaranteed interview. So if applicants for round one submit their application by the early deadline of September 1st, they can guarantee themselves an interview. If they get it in \u2013 the complete application with the app fee paid, letters of reference done, GMAT and GRE scores in, then you\u2019re guaranteed an interview. For round two, as long as it\u2019s in by December 1st, same thing, you can guarantee yourself an interview that way. That\u2019s been our compromise since we\u2019re not able to bring people to campus for open interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n