Tepper 2012 - Calling All Applicants

Here is my second photo update. This was taken during the first week of our BaseCamp. It is from the edge of campus that is close to Shadyside (the area where most of the Tepper students live). It is the University of Pittsburgh "Cathedral of Learning" at Sunset.

My personal two cents on a campus visit is that it is never a bad thing. If you visit you will get a chance to meet the admissions team and make some in-person impressions. I don't think it will make your admission chances better or worse, but it can help you frame your essays/story.

As for the best/worst things? For me personally, the best thing has to be just the overall quality of the program. Before attending I didn't know what to expect - I had visited a lot of schools and knew there was a big quality difference out there, but I have been floored by the overall quality of resources available here. I have so much support with academics and career (dedicated mentors for both) among other areas that I am not able to utilize everything to its fullest, not by a wide margin.

The worst would be tough - we just went through a rainy week, and that is probably the biggest challenge so far (I am not a rainy-day person). It's beautiful here today though.

AFAIK, all the essays/recs should be sent to the adcom. A member of Tepper adcom is on GC. You can contact him. Good luck!

Here is a pic of the CMU library at night. I will add more - I've taken a lot of pictures.

Just got back from Diversity Weekend, which was just a perfectly executed showcase of the program. Major, major kudos to the admissions team.

The prospectives were brilliant, friendly, and energetic with a huge range of geographic, professional, and personal backgrounds. The faculty led lively classes and workshops, most of which centered on their personal research. We got a front row view of how a school like Tepper uses analytics and cutting-edge research to drive lessons on organizational behavior and leadership. The 1Y and 2Ys were motivating, insightful, curious, and they really embraced us from our first step onto campus. The administration was on point, there was no subject unexplored and no logistic unconsidered -- they literally prepared a perfect weekend for us. I have to believe that's a strong representation of the support we'd receive as students.

Tepper blew my mind, and I can't encourage people enough to take a visit.

What would you like to know? Broadly, BaseCamp was like a complete semester prepping us for business school. It was focused academically with programs like the QSRP (math refresher) and professionally, with lots of alumni panels and career preparation. If I had to share just one thing it would be that I was completely prepared on day one of classes, and I also felt very confident going into my first internship interview.

If you have any questions about a specific part of BaseCamp, let me know.

Hi Blue Robin, Unfortunately I wasn't checking the application site regularly when I got the interview invite email. It's all scheduled via phone or email, so there is no need to go back to the site. However, I don't think my status on the site had changed at that time (others, please chime in!). I just looked now, and it is changed to Stage 2: Application Complete pending Interview. Best of luck!!!

Hey everyone, some pretty big news regarding Tepper for those entering next year:

https://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 51148.html

Sorry for the delay in posting.

It's on the website:

Where are those dates from? I can't seem to find it online. They seem odd to me (totally apologize for the ignorance if I am wrong) but I didn't think Tepper had Early Action. Also, R1 deadline was October...not in November.

If you are admitted in Rd1, you will need pay your deposit in Feb.

I agree completely.. As with the red devils, always keep the faith! ( I am assuming your name means you support Manutd.. Cause otherwise that would be a wierd name to have and my comment here wont make any sense to you )

Agreed. Yeah I wonder how inflated the interview rate is because of self initiated interviews. Using round 2 or 3 might be a bit better to measure acceptance rate after an interview. Of course Rd2 applicants still have time to initiate an interview and Rd3 might be more competitive... so maybe we will never know!!

It's going to be a long 7 days!

wow such humility....

Having not rec'd any interview invite till yet it looks more or less over now...btw all the best to all who have been interviewed already!

Just checked the online letter, also got a 40k merit scholarship, that's quite satisfactory.

Josh

Let me preface this by saying I really have no idea but I'll take a guess anyway:

Assuming you background is solid and stats are good, Tepper wants you to really care about the school. A lot of schools say this but with 200 students per class you need to make the personal pitch all the more. Who have you contacted? What interaction did you have? That is why their first question is includes the prompt "discuss how you have learned about the school". They realize they are a safety school for a lot of people and although they probably are okay with that to a point, they certainly don't want to feel like it from an applicant. If you are applying to Tepper as a safety school, you have still picked it for a reason. Something excited you about Tepper, really focus on that and let the enthusiasm flow.

Sorry if this doesn't help.

I think explorer's comment about making a personal pitch is great advice for any program with a small class size, whether it's Tepper or Tuck or whatever other small boat.

To that, I would add my own generic piece of advice that I think works well for Tepper: really understand and convey how you simultaneously fit in and stand out at the school. At Tepper, this approach is deceptively simple whether you're a poet or a quant.

If you're a poet, you stand out by mastering the softer, people-based skills, and you fit in by craving the exceptional analytical toolkit that Tepper provides. You're someone that can give a different perspective than the engineering base, and you're probably excited about being a leader/mentor/model in this arena. Sell your personal evolution and curiosity.

If you're a quant, it's the exact opposite. You fit in with strong affinities for Tepper's analytical approaches, but you stand out by recognizing that people are every bit as important as numbers; Tepper's emerging approach to incorporate lessons on leadership and communication are aligned with your evolutionary desires. Own your nerdness, but bring an angle of differentiation.

Hope these mini-frameworks help!

Very flexible, they have a coordinator who you'll work with. And interviews are adcom only. They're also not 100% blind, most of the staff will give the app a quick once-over (at minimum), so that may impact your interview strategy.