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05 Mar 2018, 09:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: OnSite Global Consulting: Working with the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation |
 By Gillian Wong T’18 OnSite Global Consulting is one of three opportunities Tuck provides to students to learn more about working in a different country. I had already been on a Global Insight Expedition to Armenia, and wanted to continue broadening my international experience. As a result, I spent three weeks in Haiti working with the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation (SBHF), which runs the largest hospital in the south of the island. SBHF is accessible to anyone needing care, and served over 100,000 patients last year. They had asked our OnSite team to help find ways to optimize their consumable supply chain with the goal of minimizing (and ultimately eliminating!) shortages. Although I’d been to Haiti before as a volunteer, I was excited to return. Not only was I helping in a new way and drawing on my experiences at Tuck, but helping at SBHF was sure to inform my understanding of how big companies might approach expansion into developing countries. St. Boniface welcomed us from day one and every person we spoke with reiterated the importance of the supply chain issue. Learning about the health care system, especially so quickly, was fascinating. St. Boniface’s root issues were predictable—they weren’t matching supply with demand, were short-staffed, and didn’t have a comprehensive data tracking system—but I was surprised by the scale of their problems and how they overlapped one another. The limited connectivity, the fragility of the roads from suppliers to the hospital, and the necessity of making sure any supplies they received would be of sufficient quality were all factors that complicated each other.  It also surprised me how similar organizations can be. It struck me during interviews with surgical nurses how many of our questions were just like those asked in factory plants: What is your daily process like? How do you know what to order? Is everything easily visible and storable? These questions were ones I’d seen in both company interviews and in our Operations class, but primarily for industrial goods companies. On paper I could understand how operations principles were also necessary in the health care and nonprofit space as well, especially because of the personnel’s time constraints, but seeing it live made those principles all the more relevant. We knew that we needed to revamp the system without making the hospital adjust to something completely new. By using the existing requisition system and making key changes, we aligned the new system with the hospital staff’s habits, making it more likely that they would be able to easily implement it. Our recommendation then introduced other new changes in phases, so that we were slowly moving the system and making sure the hospital was still running at the same time. The trip was amazing. I learned more than I ever expected in three weeks, not only from the project itself, but from the different ways each member in our team approached the problem. It was an honor to help an organization with such a vital mission, and an unforgettable experience. We even managed to dig our toes in the sand on the weekends (as you can see below)! Gillian Wong is a second-year student at Tuck, who worked at Standard & Poor's in content management and publishing. |
06 Mar 2018, 07:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: Revers Center for Energy Reflection: Drilling 101 |
 By Scott Hessen T’19 [img]/uploads/blog_images/tuck-student-offers-drilling-101-lecture.jpg[/img] I quickly realized this would not be your average lecture when I saw my classmates dressed in oil-soaked and grease-stained work shirts from their past employers. Their clothing and the vivid images in the first few slides transported us to bustling drilling sites in West Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. This lecture, Drilling 101, brought together four Tuck students who worked across the world on drilling rigs to share their unique experiences in the oil industry with other students. The presentation was broken into two sections; first, a deep dive into the drilling process, then a broad overview of the industry highlighting exploration, production, refining, and transport. As we learned how drilling rigs functioned, I began to comprehend the complexity of drilling a hole into the ground. The first obstacle, the water table, is a layer of water that lies just below the surface of the earth and is the water that eventually comes through our faucets. To prevent oil from contaminating the water, concrete is poured around the drill to prevent oil from leaking into the water table. If you thought the complications ended there—you’re wrong. Once the drill is deep in the earth, the pressure from gases between rocks can rush up to the surface and create an explosion known as a blowout. To prevent blowouts drillers carefully monitor the amount of drilling lubricant fluids going into the well through the drill compared to the amount of fluid that comes back out. If the amounts are the same, everything is good. These and other simple and elegant solutions to seemingly very complicated problems continued to amaze me throughout the presentation.  The discussion followed with cautionary tales of what can happen when things do not go according to plan—images of Piper Alpha and Deepwater Horizon triggered feelings of unease as our peers explained the systematic failures that allowed these tragedies to happen. Despite the number of checks and tests that are performed daily it appeared these events stemmed from negligence. One of my takeaways was that the best safety tests and alarms only work if people adhere to them.  An examination of how drilling fits into the larger energy industry and what happens to crude oil once it has been extracted concluded the lecture. From the rig, the oil is processed so that it is transportable and then is sent by tanker, train,or pipeline to power plants, refineries, and eventually to you and me for daily necessities such as fueling our cars and heating our homes. I’ve heard countless figures about how much oil the world consumes in a day, but I left Drilling 101 with a greater appreciation for the complexities of extracting that oil from the earth and a better understanding of my classmates and their time living and working on offshore rigs and job sites. Scott is a Pennsylvania native who studied mechanical engineering at Lehigh University and worked for John Deere in various engineering and manufacturing functions prior to arriving at Tuck. He plans to spend this summer working in J.P. Morgan’s investment banking division. |
19 Mar 2018, 06:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: What to Expect at Admitted Students Weekend |
 Maybe you're on the fence about Tuck or getting an MBA in general. Maybe you sent in your deposit within seconds of getting that glorious "You're in!" call and are ready for your first taste of the next two incredible years at Tuck. Regardless of where you're coming from, Admitted Students Weekend is designed to give you a feel for what attending Tuck is really like and an opportunity to meet a couple hundred of your future classmates. Our fellow Tuckie Kiley Winsnes T'16 makes the case for attending the weekend. If you opt in (and we think you should), here's what you can expect: Academics You may have done a class visit while you were on campus for your interview but preparing for and participating in a class is a completely different experience. Tuck is all about experiential learning, so we’re going to give you as authentic a student experience as possible. On Friday, you’ll meet with a study group, discuss a short case, and attend two classes with some of our esteemed professors. If you suddenly feel ill-prepared and like you need to do some serious prep work so that you perform admirably in these classes—don’t panic! We know a lot of you are career switchers (we are too) and you are not expected to know or prepare anything in advance. These classes are solely meant to give you a sense of what the learning environment is like at Tuck. Career Switching careers and worried about making that leap? Absolutely certain on where you want to land after Tuck? Concerned about recruiting from Hanover? Regardless of which scenario applies to you, ASW will put your mind at ease. Our Career Development Office (CDO) will host sessions where you’ll hear from T’18s, T’19s, and Tuck alumni on their recruiting experiences, the on-campus interview process, how to get a head start over the summer, and Tuck’s Visiting Executive program which gives you access to top business leaders throughout the year. We’ll also have company office hours with some of our sponsors, where you can speak with key contacts who will be recruiting on campus in the fall. Student Life While moving to a new area is incredibly exciting (especially when it’s an area as beautiful as Hanover, NH!), it also has its challenges. You probably have questions about where you’ll live, what you’ll do you in your free time and what life is like in the Upper Valley. We’ll answer all of that and more at our T’19-led Student Life panels. Partner Programming You may be sold on Tuck, but if you have a TP (Tuck Partner) or a Tiny Tuckie (kids —we’re big on branding things here), the decision to enroll isn’t just about you. With a full schedule catered to the partner experience, your TP will have a chance to get to know the other 80+ TPs visiting and learn about life at Tuck, housing options and career opportunities (if they’re moving here), and remote partner life (if they’re not). They’ll also have plenty of time to join you and your classmates in some of the social activities planned for the weekend. Tuck Fabric You’ve probably heard that the Tuck community is tight-knit, or that it’s personal, connected, and transformative, or that everyone is friendly and always willing to help a fellow Tuckie. All of this is true. We call it the “Tuck Fabric”, and it’ll be on display all weekend. Whether you’re at an affinity breakfast, the international students or Consortium meetups, a small group dinner, the school-wide hockey game, Club Fair, the International Food Festival, or an event featuring Tuck’s famous class bands (seriously, they’re amazing), you’ll meet current students who are genuinely excited to share their experiences and perspectives to help you make the right decision for you (we hope that means choosing Tuck!) |
20 Mar 2018, 12:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: In Australia, Tuckies Project the Future of Retail Banking |
  Last fall, as part of a global experiential learning course at Tuck, I and five classmates spent three weeks in Australia, exploring ways to harness new technologies in retail loan origination and assessment processes. After completing some secondary research on-campus and conducting interviews to familiarize ourselves with the space during Phase I of the project, we headed to Brisbane with our faculty advisor for Phase II, during which we collaborated with one of Australia’s top ten banks to develop a tangible framework. Having worked full-time for three weeks on a project outside of our team’s intellectual and geographic comfort zone, I realized how powerful diversity of minds and backgrounds can make a project rewarding for all stakeholders. It was extremely exciting to be constantly inspired by the input of my teammates, and intellectually stimulating to look at the same issue from different angles. Our goal as a team was not just identifying a process that integrates fintechs, or, making sense of menu of options available on the technology side. Throughout our study, we also learned how valuable it can be to take a new look at the present business landscape and analyze hard choices that might have tangible, long-term impact. Leveraging the opinions of retail bankers from multiple groups, we framed the overall issues differently. We synthesized pain points, and collated them into meaningful categories, and through this approach, were able to fine-tune our framework. Most importantly, we put together a final presentation about our key takeaways, and turned this opportunity into a dialogue with the bank’s management team. Going beyond buzzwords about emerging technologies, blockchain being the most important one, we realized that it was difficult to find material implications to finance and predict a timeline. However, the real learning opportunity here was actually in projecting the future of retail banking, which is converging into the technology space at an unstoppable pace. In an ever more automated world, retail banks need to find a delicate balance between technology and customer relationships. Although highlighting one over the other may not dramatically hurt profitability of a bank today, it may significantly threaten its existence within five years, given the fiercely competitive landscape disrupted by fintechs. The future for retail banking lies in building ecosystems, requiring platformization. In this journey, banks as platforms that can attract the right companies, allowing them to better serve their customers during important life events, will be ahead of the game. |
27 Mar 2018, 13:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: 5 Reasons to Attend Tuck Military Visit Day in the Spring |
 By David Bates T’18 and Keal Harter T’18 [*]Upper Valley in spring. Although every season up here has its own flavor, the Upper Valley is a great place to be in the spring. It’s time to turn in the skis for hiking boots and trek the Appalachian Trail; or go for a paddle in a canoe on the Connecticut River—both of which run right past Tuck. Tuck’s unique location provides immediate access to New England’s finest scenic landscapes surrounded by the White and Green mountains. You get to see firsthand how classmates bond together over cabin nights, mountain climbing, biking, and other outdoor activities that build such a tight-knit community. Spring Military Visit Day is the perfect time to visit.[/*] [/list] [*]Meet the staff. Military Visit Day is designed to introduce you to people who are key to the Tuck experience. You can get key insights into the MBA application process and what the Office of Admissions is taking into consideration as they read applications. You will get a sneak peek into how the Career Development Office can you help with your transition. The Financial Aid Office will answer questions about Tuck’s generous Yellow Ribbon Program. You will also have the opportunity to meet members of the MBA Program Office to learn how the Tuck curriculum is structured and discover the intensive courses and immersive experiential learning opportunities offered at Tuck.[/*] [/list] [*]Attend a class. Although the Upper Valley is beautiful outdoors in the spring, Military Visit Day gives you the unique chance to spend some time indoors to sample the classroom experience. You will sit in on core curriculum or electives to see the broad array of coursework provided throughout the MBA experience. This is a great chance to see vibrant faculty-student engagement without the fear of getting cold-called![/*] [/list] [*]Network with current student veterans and alumni. With over 20 current veterans at Tuck, Military Visit Day is a perfect opportunity to meet members of the Tuck community to learn how veteran-friendly the program is. You get a chance to hear Tuck student and alumni veterans’ stories and why they chose Tuck to help them transition to fields such as consulting, finance, health care, general management, and the tech sector.[/*] [/list] [*]See if Tuck could be right for you. Most importantly, Spring Military Visit Day provides a focused introduction to the Tuck MBA to see if it is a fit for you. As Dean Matthew Slaughter says, “Tuck educates wise leaders to better the world of business.” This is your opportunity to learn why so many veterans find the transition out of the military much smoother by coming to a school that aligns well with the values learned throughout your military experience.[/*] [/list] Registration is now open. Please contact Kristin Roth should you have any questions. |
05 Apr 2018, 09:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: April 2018: What’s up at Tuck? |
 By Luke Anthony Peña Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Happy April, friends! Spring is here in Hanover, along with lots of renewed excitement for what’s ahead at Tuck. As I start my ninth month at Tuck, I have a deep appreciation for our well-earned reputation as an accessible and transparent community. In that spirit, I want to keep you updated on what’s happening here—at Tuck, in Admissions, and with me personally. Starting this month, I’ll regularly write an open letter so that you can keep a pulse on all the great stuff happening here. So, what’s up at Tuck this month? All five of our advisory boards and councils are convening on campus this month. This is a big deal because we’ve never previously convened all five at once. Our boards are comprised entirely of alums, and they’re engaged in our admissions process. You may see board members at recruitment events or hear from them as an admitted student. Tuck is also hosting the 5th Annual Initiative for Women Symposium on campus on April 20; Major General Lori Reynolds and Joanne Lipman are our keynote speakers. Tuck’s commitment to women in business extends to our recruitment efforts—Tuck was a founding member of the Forté Foundation, and 44% of our T’19 class are women. There’s also a buzz at Tuck as students and faculty return back to our base camp to the world; more than 350 just completed their TuckGO courses, and another 62 participated in OnSite Global Consulting. First-Year Project kickoff meetings are now underway. What’s up in Admissions? On April 6-8, we’re welcoming 230 future T’20s and 66 future TP’20s to campus for Admitted Students Weekend. It’s my first Tuck ASW, and I’m in awe of our student leadership team. They’ve taken care of every detail. It’s the first time I’ve been part of an ASW that is truly, 100% student run, and it perfectly reflects the Tuck culture of both thriving and contributing. We’re also actively recruiting our next group of Tuck Admissions Associates, who conduct our on-campus interviews. If you take advantage of our applicant-initiated on-campus interviews—I encourage you to do so!—then these will be the carefully selected and trained student interviewers who will hear your stories. Finally, what’s up with me? I’m reflecting daily on our application and evaluation process, and how we can make it better for everyone—for both you and us. I recently spoke a bit about this to ClearAdmit and Accepted. My goal is to make the Tuck application process the most enjoyable, least stressful MBA application process you’ll experience. I’m also contemplating how we can scale our recruitment efforts to reach you all over the world while remaining personal, connected, and transformative in our outreach. As we build our recruitment calendar, much of which happens in June-September, you’ll still see us at large receptions, but you’ll also have opportunities to see me and my colleagues, alumni, and current students in informal small group settings like breakfasts, lunches, and coffees. Reach out to us if you’re an aspiring wise leader, and want to know more about how the Tuck School helps you better the world of business. See you in Hanover, or on the road in April, or back here on the blog in May! |
10 Apr 2018, 13:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: Tuck Represented at the World Government Summit in Dubai for the First Time |
  In February 2018, for the first time, Tuck took part in the World Government Summit (WGS). The WGS is a global platform dedicated to shaping the future of governments worldwide. It is a knowledge-exchange forum that brings together leaders of businesses and non-profit institutions to discuss problems, solutions, and global trends in areas ranging from education to space travel. This year was the 6th edition of the Summit. It brought luminaries such as Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India; Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank and former president of Dartmouth College; astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and many others. One article is not enough to describe the caliber and opulence of the event, but the pictures might. The opportunity to attend the WGS was sourced by Alen Amini T’18 and Cole Boske T’19 and generously co-sponsored by the MBAPO. Tuck sent a delegation of nine students representing a mix of first- and second-year students. 
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30 Apr 2018, 10:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: Nordic Skiing Project |
 By Martha Mesna T'19 The opportunity to participate in an international first-year project was something that I was very excited about when I chose to attend Tuck. I am passionate about international business and I viewed the FYPGO as the perfect way to gain working experience in a foreign country and learn about a new culture. I chose to apply for the Nordic Skiing FYPGO because I am an avid Nordic skier and am eager to promote and grow the sport in the Upper Valley. In addition, my ancestors are from Norway and I was curious to learn more about my heritage. Prior to our departure, the structure and deliverable of the project was very ambiguous. We understood the broad objective was to understand what made cross-country skiing popular in Norway and to apply learnings to the Upper Valley to increase awareness of and participation in the sport. In the weeks leading up to spring break, our team of five met on a weekly basis to discuss our vision for the project and to brainstorm questions for the interviews we would conduct during our week in-country. We also read several articles on Norwegian and U.S. skiers competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Our client, Tore Rynning-Nielsen T'85, visited the U.S. in February and we had the opportunity to meet with him to outline expectations for the project and to hear his perspective on Norwegian social and business culture. Tore also arranged for our team to take a skiing lesson from a former Olympian in Hanover before we left for Norway.  We arrived in Norway the Friday before our project started to attend the Holmenkollen ski festival in Oslo. This was one of the highlights of the trip as we experienced first-hand the passion and deep-rooted culture for the sport that exists in Norway; over 100,000 spectators of all ages showed up to cheer on the athletes. We watched the Ski Jumping, Men’s 50k, and Women’s 30k events and witnessed U.S. Olympic gold medalist, Jesse Diggins, place 2nd in the Women’s 30k. We saw many elements of Norwegian tradition including singing and dancing and tasted Norwegian cuisine.  On Sunday afternoon, we officially kicked off our week of in-country work with an interview with U.S. Olympian and Dartmouth student, Paddy Caldwell. Throughout the week we interviewed several Olympic athletes and coaches, two famous Norwegian historians, and several members of the Norwegian Ski Association, Ski Federation, and ski clubs. We also had dinner with the CEO of the Holmenkollen ski festival. Throughout our week, we learned the history of Norway and why cross-country skiing is an integral part of the culture in the country. We also learned how children get involved in the sport at a young age and how the various ski clubs and associations develop Norwegian kids to become elite athletes. Most interesting to me was the term “Skileik”, which translates to “fun on skis”. This is a core value in the country and explains why children in Norway do not compete until they are 13 years old. Towards the end of our work-week, we spent several hours reviewing and discussing our learnings and developing an action plan for the spring term. We developed a hypothesis for the factors that make Nordic skiing successful in Norway that we believe will be applicable to the U.S., specifically the Upper Valley region of the country. We are excited to return to campus to begin our research of the US market and to test our hypothesis of how we can develop and grow the sport in the Upper Valley. |
02 May 2018, 13:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: OnSite Global Consulting Project with The Design Museum London |
 By Eunice Bii T'18 We each broke off a piece of the giant Cadbury milk chocolate bar in the middle of the table as we settled in to reflect on our OnSite Global Consulting project. Our team room at the London Design Museum in South Kensington overlooked Holland Park’s east entrance. It was in this room that we had spent the last three weeks, brainstorming, debating ideas, pouring over client data, modeling spreadsheets, editing our PowerPoints and preparing for the meetings with the museum staff. It had been a busy but transformative learning experience. In the 30 years since its founding, the Design Museum has been a leading global voice in the conversation about and celebration of design. In November 2016, the museum reopened in the former Commonwealth Institute, giving it three times the physical size of its previous footprint and the space to grow existing initiatives and develop new programming. Our project goal was to help them understand how to best leverage the Museum’s new space for commercial purposes without compromising brand integrity. The time we spent in London was only the second phase of the OnSite project. Our team of six had first been assembled in October and spent our first few weeks together digesting information about the Design Museum’s mission and history, and asking important questions. How were they currently using their resources and physical spaces? What were the key goals of our consulting project? Were our goals in-sync with the client’s and how would we adjust those goals to generate a few key achievable recommendations. As we reflected on our time at the Design Museum, we realized two key things—first, delivering an output that was actionable and realistic required all of us to utilize our unique backgrounds and leverage external relationships. Our team of six brought very different experiences and abilities to the table, and these served to help drive us towards a better set of recommendations. We willed each other to engage, and push further than we would have on our own. We also reached out to former professors, past employees, friends and acquaintances who gladly took the time to engage with us, something we continue to be very grateful for. Second, the support of the team at Design Museum and willingness to engage in-depth with us was invaluable to the project outcomes. In striving to create a sustainable, mission-driven organization, there was a tough line to strike between commercial orientation and artistic integrity. For example, we conducted a two-hour six-sigma KJ exercise to gather their perceptions on where to draw these lines. The willingness of Museum staff’s to participate and engage in discussions that occasionally veered towards moral philosophy and other tough questions, well, this was something we really came to value. After we disposed of any candy wrappers and took down our post it notes, we all took another quick tour of the Design Museum before heading to our favorite watering hole. On the top floor of the museum is an introduction to the museum’s collection “Designer Maker User,” which looks at the development of modern design through these three interconnected roles. The exhibit is free to the public and as we milled around with the other guests, I paused to read again a display of Makezine’s “Maker’s Bill of Rights” which at the core emphasizes the need for collaboration between the maker and user of any products. I reflected on the opportunity this project had given me to not only shape discussions that helped the Museum clarify its objectives and also the tools we crafted as final project deliverables will help the Museum to continue to reinvent itself. I left London excited to stay in touch and hear all the great things the Design Museum will continue to do.  Eunice Bii T'18 grew up in Nakuru, Kenya and graduated from Amherst College with a major in economics and history. Prior to Tuck, Eunice spent four years working in New York city as a knowledge associate at Russell Reynolds Associates, an executive search and leadership consulting firm. She will be joining Boston Consulting Group’s New Jersey office after graduating. In her free time at Tuck, Eunice is a member of the student board, admissions ambassador, Tripod Hockey goalie, and GlenTuckie. |
08 May 2018, 14:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: Why We Joined the Revers Board Fellowship |
  By Max Dresser T’18 and Courtney Bragg T’18 The T’18s gathered today on the steps of Tuck Hall for our class photo. During the celebration, we took a moment to reflect on our time at Tuck. We have had the privilege of a two-year sabbatical, joining this tight-knit community, and moving to this incredible place. Business school is a time to reflect and recalibrate before re-entering the ‘real world.’ By its very nature, attending business school puts you and your future at the forefront—it’s a conscious decision to invest in personal growth. Coming from backgrounds of service, it was important for us to find ways to give back. Max has a military background and is returning to the U.S. Navy, while Courtney worked in urban education. We both wanted to give back to the community that has given us so much and be better prepared to contribute after Tuck.  We each applied to be Revers Board Fellows in spring of our first year and were fortunate Upper Valley Habitat for Humanity chose us to join the board. We had no idea what to expect (or how to be helpful with our partially-complete MBA) when we became Revers Fellows, but we decided early to jump in and ask probing questions at board meetings. We were concerned about overstepping—our questions might be too probing, or as fellows (not full voting board members), we might exceed our role. The board embraced us. We met regularly with the executive director and became a sounding board as they grappled with tough strategic decisions. When we were asked to facilitate the board’s retreat on strategic vision, we were encouraged by the welcome we had received, but again wondered if we were equipped to facilitate. We researched and brainstormed, interviewing every board member and eventually structured the questions that surfaced into the retreat sessions.  Then, on the first Saturday morning of spring, the board convened to wrestle with questions of how to best serve the community’s multitude of needs with constrained resources. It was fundamentally a strategy and managerial accounting problem—taking stock of capacity and assessing our unique position to add value. While the real world cannot be reduced to case facts, the Tuck core and our Revers Board Fellowship helped us apply our classroom education while learning how to best contribute to our community. Max Dresser is a 2010 industrial engineering major from North Carolina State University. He’s also an active duty naval officer. Before Tuck, he served on ships stationed in Japan and Bahrain, and will return to sea duty after graduation. Max loves the Upper Valley and can be found off campus: fishing and hiking in all seasons, attending a local church, voting in town meetings, tending chickens, and (most importantly) roaming the countryside with his wife and one-year-old son. Courtney Bragg is from South Florida. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, having studied urban studies, education, and English literature. She worked in education in the U.S. and internationally before Tuck. On campus, she is a deanery fellow, Revers board fellow, and undergraduate mentor. You can find her boxing in the alumni gym, searching for flight deals, or joining Max ice fishing (when in the Upper Valley). |
09 May 2018, 07:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: May 2018: What’s up at Tuck? |
 By Luke Anthony Peña Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Happy May, friends! May is a fascinating time for me and my Admissions colleagues, as we balance looking at both the present and the future. We’re still working to evaluate, select, and enroll great T’20s, as we fill the final seats in the class. At the same time, we’re gearing up to travel the world and meet you and aspiring T’21s in the coming months. We’re also working on revising and refreshing significant parts of our evaluation process and timeline. So let’s take a look at what’s happening! What’s up at Tuck? There’s incredible enthusiasm at Tuck about our capital campaign for tomorrow’s wise leaders. This ambitious $250 million campaign is part of Dartmouth’s $3 billion campaign, and will strengthen our people, programs, and places. Each of these priorities advances our mission, and enhances your opportunities to contribute and thrive as a student. You may be most immediately interested in the commitment to growing our scholarship resources. I recognize that financing your MBA is an important consideration. If you want to be at Tuck, I want you to have the financial resources you need to be here. I’m thrilled that the campaign will bring us closer to that goal. I hope you’re excited about how the campaign will better equip you to be successful at Tuck and beyond. Don’t just take my word for it, hear how Dean Matt Slaughter and our students describe it. What’s up in Admissions? My colleagues and I want your Tuck application experience to be as enjoyable and stress-free as possible. One of the least enjoyable, most stressful parts: the wait. I don’t want you waiting for your admissions decision any longer than necessary. So the team and I looked at our admissions rounds, and one number jumped out…100. That’s the number of days between our November round application deadline, and when we give you a decision—the longest wait of any round at any of our peer schools! We can do better. You’re hearing it here first. We’re “sun setting” the “applicant-unfriendly” November round. We’ll now offer three admission rounds with more applicant-friendly turnaround times: one in late September, one in early January, and one in early April. We’re saying goodbye to the “Early Action” designation in our first round, which is no longer early and required a higher enrollment deposit from you. And our rounds named for months? We’re simplifying that too. You’ll now apply in Round 1, Round 2, or Round 3. Exact dates are coming soon—I’ll have them for you here in June! What’s up with me? Admissions directors assess your professional trajectory and impact, but we need our own career growth and development too. Later this month, I’m participating in Tuck’s Leadership and Strategic Impact program, supported by Tuck Executive Education and our great faculty. Why share this with you? I want you to know how important lifelong learning is to contributing and thriving at the Tuck School, both for administrators like me and for aspiring students like you. When my colleagues and I read applications, we’re looking for evidence of your hunger and desire to grow and improve. This goes beyond others’ recognizing and rewarding your performance; it reflects your active pursuit of growth opportunities. If your organization offers professional development and leadership programs, build the case for your inclusion! If organizational opportunities are limited, find coaching and mentorship through your broader network. Professional development helps us all provide better service to our clients, good leadership to our teams, and increases our confidence in what we know while remaining humble about what we do not. I assure you that you’ll be a stronger applicant and a more prepared leader when you commit to your growth and development. Speaking of commitment, I’m making a renewed commitment to be more active on Twitter. Follow me there if you want to see what I’m thinking in between blog posts, or to connect with me directly. See you there, or back here in June! |
15 May 2018, 10:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: Tuck Competes at Wharton’s MBA Impact Investing Network & Training Competition |
 By Teja Kadire T’19 After running through our final practice pitch in the hotel lobby in Philadelphia, my team and I reflected fondly on the culmination of our work over the past six months. We were representing Tuck at the MBA Impact Investing Network & Training (MIINT) final competition hosted by The Wharton School. The program, conducted by the Wharton Social Impact Initiative and Bridges Ventures, sees students from 25 top schools across the world compete for an investment in a startup of their choice. My team felt that MIINT was an accurate simulation of what to expect as an early stage impact investor, even more than what we would have been exposed to in a traditional classroom environment. One of my teammates, Katherine Solomon T’19, summed it up nicely when she said, “We’ve been operating as a social impact VC firm since arriving on campus in September—from writing an investment thesis, to sourcing and conducting due diligence on companies.” The iterative nature of deal sourcing and conducting diligences, combined with the possibility of winning real funding capital in a competition, proved to be one of the richest learning experiences during our first year. This year, Tuck had the largest number of students participating than ever before. Topics ranged from educating adults through gaming platforms to improving health outcomes using natural language processing. Five different teams of first-year students pitched startups for a chance to represent Tuck in the final competition. Teams were supported by advisors from the Center for Business, Government & Society and MIINT’s extensive online educational modules. I initially wanted to participate in the MIINT competition to learn more about how social enterprises are evaluated and how impact-related outcomes are measured in various sectors, but left with a much deeper understanding of the impact investing process. Leading to the formation of a successful final pitch, each team navigated through real challenges that impact investors face, like regulatory impediments and small market sizes. Teams sourced ideas from an incredible array of entrepreneurs via online impact platforms, alumni, and accelerators, learning about new technologies and markets along the way. I found that it was an excellent way to connect with Dartmouth faculty and researchers to learn which solutions the greater Dartmouth community is working on. Laura Marrin T’19, a fellow MIINT participant, explained: “MIINT was a fantastic experiential learning opportunity as I was able to work with a great team of Tuckies from diverse perspectives who were all passionate about impact investing.” For me, the most valuable part of the MIINT program was feeling more confident and well-equipped to talk about impact investing and having meaningful conservations with professionals in the space. It allowed me to connect with a greater network of students interested in impact investing and social entrepreneurship beyond the classroom. Though our pitch did not place at the MIINT final competition, I left thinking about impact investing not just as a learning experience, but as a future career option. |
15 May 2018, 11:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: OnSite Global Consulting Project with Impact Hub |
 When I decided to come to Tuck, there were so many opportunities available that it was hard to predict exactly how I’d spend my two years. I knew I’d tackle certain concrete skills in the core curriculum, but other skills, like honing my problem-solving ability and developing a more global mindset, were intangibles to be sought from a variety of offerings. When I heard about the projects offered by OnSite Global Consulting this past fall, I was excited to have the chance to challenge myself and achieve some additional learning goals. I joined a phenomenal team of four other students developing the global media strategy for Impact Hub, a network of social innovation co-working communities headquartered in Vienna, Austria. In the immersive part of our experience, we spent three weeks in Europe visiting the local centers of these communities, called Hubs, in Amsterdam, Berlin, Madrid, Zurich, and Vienna. We worked directly with the Global Brand and Communications Manager, who sought recommendations for how to leverage and understand the media value chain in the social sector. What were elements of a successful story? How could they cultivate relationships to place stories in the most impactful publications? What could Impact Hub do to amplify those stories once they are published?  Each Impact Hub has a distinctive look and culture. This one, in Zurich, is built in an aqueduct. Without a background in media, these questions were entirely new to me. With the support from an outstanding team and a structured process, however, I was pleasantly surprised by the progress we made together. It was an incredible confidence boost to understand how much we could learn quickly about a new, complex problem when we dedicated our time, resources, and a structured research plan to it. To build a knowledge base early on, we interviewed experts in media relations, nonprofits, and even an editor at a major publication. Our faculty advisor, Emily Nichols, whose prior experience included media relations in the social sector, was invaluable in helping us understand the space and suggesting contacts who could deepen our analysis. Relying on the tools and methods from Julie Lang’s Consulting Project Management course, we refined our key questions, broke down research into specific tasks, and developed timelines for the work. Internally, we leveraged skills from every member of our team—Lindsey’s detail-oriented planning, Charlie’s curious and questioning mind, Ramon’s exceptional ability to put an idea to paper, and Mark’s relentless dedication to get the right interview and actionable insight. Our client, Flora, who spoke six languages and navigated cultures so fluidly, pushed me to fully embrace the new environment by eliminating any perceived barriers of working cross-culturally. By the end of the project, we’d developed solid recommendations that we were proud of, and our final meeting was a conversation with the executive director in which we could share insights and discuss strategy as though we were colleagues. Looking back now, I can see that my time Europe was one of the greatest learning periods I’ve had at Tuck. I came away with increased confidence in my ability to apply a problem-solving process to a complex issue within a new industry and culture. I’m incredibly grateful that this has been a part of my Tuck experience. |
21 May 2018, 06:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: Q&A with Tuck Student Ambassador: Anchit Duggal |
 Tuck Student Ambassadors collaborate with the Admissions Office to share their Tuck experience with prospective students. Part of this group is structured to represent eight geographical regions, with a Regional Captain leading each. Today, meet Anchit, T'18 and India Co-Captain. Tell us a little bit about yourself. You can take a Punjabi out of Punjab but can't take Punjab out of a Punjabi. Especially when it comes to courage, love for good times, cherishing relationships, and taste for delectable food. Be it sky diving, learning to fly a helicopter or jumping off a cliff, I am up to any adventure that kills my fear of heights instilled due to an early near-death experience. Karate is my childhood love and I am currently working on diversifying my martial arts skillset. I did electronics engineering at BITS Pilani, India and pursued my passion for technology by designing & implementing IoT smart building solutions in huge infrastructure projects in UAE. Why Tuck? If you completed your undergrad or worked in a small town, chances are Tuck is your sweet haven. It self-selects people who are looking for a well-rounded educational experience in a remote, intimate setting. Add to that accomplished peers and distinguished yet accessible faculty, there’s a huge learning opportunity outside the classroom. I wanted a small class size, an elite general management program and a supportive alumni network; making Tuck an easy choice. Everyone at Tuck chooses a different path. What’s your life at Tuck like? There’s always so much to do at Tuck, that it can get a bit overwhelming at first. My life here revolves around academics, recruiting, and friends. I had fun playing Tripod hockey in the first year, but an ACL tear crashed my dreams to learn to ski. I grab any opportunity to learn from pros here and perform on stage, with Diwali and Follies being my most cherished memories. Small group dinners continue to pleasantly surprise me as I realize there’s so much to learn from the larger Dartmouth community. In terms of global educational travel, I visited the Netherlands for a Global Insight Expedition (GIX) focusing on Healthcare best practices and was in London during Spring Break, learning about emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning with my OnSite Global Consulting team. Transformational Moment Imagine being drafted to the best Tripod team at Tuck, Twine Ticklers, and not know how to skate. When everyone whizzed past me to score while I was figuring out how to stop and not be a reason for an offside, it was understandable that my time on the ice was limited. But not at Tuck and certainly not with the Ticklers. Not only did I get every chance to have fun learning the sport, but the whole team cheered for me every time I held the hockey stick. The captains readily offered me a ride, even 15 minutes prior to start of the game, whenever I was stuck with intense study group sessions. Experiencing such sportsmanship and team spirit was a transformational moment for me. Why did you join the Student Ambassador Team? I think it's a great opportunity to give back to Tuck. Tuck is not for everyone and a full-time MBA is certainly a huge investment in time and money. I enjoyed helping undergrad prospects make their engineering college decisions, so I knew this was something I wanted to get involved with. There’s also a huge learning opportunity in interacting with prospective students who have been successful in diverse career paths. Understanding their interests and aspirations, before helping them take the next step is indeed a very fulfilling experience. What surprised you most at Tuck? The number of clubs (social/academic/recruiting/others) that Tuck has. From cryptocurrency to board games, whatever your interests maybe, we have a club for you. And if it’s not there, you can always start one and create a legacy at Tuck. Any advice for prospective students? Be authentic and do your research well in advance. It’s a stressful and tedious process for everyone, and there’s a huge opportunity cost in pursuing a MBA. Some initial self-reflection and gaining broader perspective on career aspirations will help in making the best possible decision. In the end, think of it as a learning experience, give it your best shot and have no regrets. Connect with the Tuck Student Ambassadors here. |
23 May 2018, 12:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: Tuck Team Helps New Energy Capital Develop Greenhouse Gas Impact Report |
 By Pooja Yadav T’18 One of the main reasons I chose Tuck was that I firmly believed the school would provide me with unique, meaningful experiential learning opportunities. I have not been disappointed. One of the most notable experiential learning projects I worked on was with two of my classmates, Josh Hotvet and Kate Barnett, through a partnership between the Revers Center for Energy and the Center for Business, Government & Society. Our group worked alongside a Hanover-based private equity company, New Energy Capital Partners, which invests in renewable energy infrastructure and assets. New Energy Capital came to Tuck looking for support in the development of their annual Greenhouse Gas Impact Report. The three of us came to Tuck with backgrounds in consulting, analytics, and operations and were eager to dive into the task of assessing the carbon abatements of the New Energy Capital portfolio companies. While many companies in today’s climate-oriented business landscape assess their own respective carbon footprints, few private equity companies are reporting on the carbon footprint of their investments. Not only does this make New Energy Capital a pioneer in their field, it also led to an interesting project for our group of Tuckies to tackle. Over the course of our first year at Tuck, our team conducted research on best practices for measuring, reporting, and attributing carbon abatement, aggregated and analyzed data from New Energy Capital’s portfolio companies, calculated the respective carbon abatement of each portfolio company, and developed a report summarizing the total carbon abatement for the year. Throughout the project, we met with New Energy Capital to share best practices from our research, review the calculations and drafts of the report, and ultimately present our final product. A public version of our final report is available here. |
24 May 2018, 10:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: T’18s Present Proposal for Media & Tech Company Skeww at The Pitch |
 The Pitch is an annual event sponsored by the Digital Arts, Leadership, & Innovation Lab (DALI) and the Dartmouth Entrepreneurship Network (DEN) in which twenty groups pitch their business ideas in two minutes or less. Groups are judged on the originality of the idea, potential impact, feasibility of the idea, strength of the team, and quality of the pitch. Winners are chosen by a panel of judges and the audience and receive cash prizes up to $1,000 and in-kind donations, such as software development services from DALI. One of this year’s contestants was The Skeww, a startup founded by second-year Tuck students Sean Graber and Keal Harter. The Skeww is a technology and media company that uses a combination of machine learning and human judgement to curate news articles based on their political bias. Graber explained that Tuck was invaluable in the development of The Skeww, the idea for which was born during several late-night conversations between the two co-founders while they were in Germany for a Tuck-sponsored OnSite Global Consulting project. In addition to Tuck’s entrepreneurship classes, which provided Graber and Harter with a better understanding of the lean startup methodology, Graber has incorporated programming skills that he learned in his spring Natural Language Processing elective. When asked about The Pitch, Graber commented that, “[The Pitch] is a valuable event because it forces entrepreneurs to distill the essence of their business. You have to quickly explain the problem you want to solve and why you are uniquely suited to do so. It also helps build relationships and engenders a spirit of entrepreneurship across the Dartmouth community. It’s inspiring to see what others in the community are working on.” |
29 May 2018, 14:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: Exploring Venture Capital in China |
 In March 2018, 24 Tuck students traveled to China for a Global Insight Expedition (GIX) led by Professor Gordon Phillips, faculty director of the Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship, and Shu Chen T’18, who served as operations leader. The team spent nearly two weeks in China exploring the venture capital industry in the world’s second largest economy. The goal of the course was to understand the opportunities and challenges in China, including starting companies there and working with Chinese companies. The Tuck team met with both venture capitalists operating in China and companies funded by venture capitalists. Amongst the business visited were some of the largest and most influential companies in China including Alibaba, Didi, and JD.com, and up-and-coming startups like the bike sharing companies Ofo and luxury electric car maker Nio, as well as some of the most iconic venture capital firms in China like DCM Ventures, and an incubator on the campus of China’s most prestigious university: Tsinghua. The Tuck team split time between Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. The students were given opportunities to meet high-level management of these businesses in an “ask me anything” format. The course included visits to some of China’s most important cultural treasures including Tiananmen Square, The Great Wall, and Lingyin Temple. The overwhelming sentiment amongst the students was positive given how intellectually and technologically impressive the hosts were and the sheer amount of learning that happened on the trip. Some of the most salient points are captured in the students’ quotes of the T’18s who were on the trip:
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31 May 2018, 12:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: An Experiential Trek to the MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory |
 By Aygul Sanzyapova T’19 As part of the Revers Center for Energy at Tuck, we were invited to tour the MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (NRL) to get a better understanding of how electricity is generated using nuclear fuel. To prepare the group for the tour, we were given the Nuke 101 session organized by our fellow classmates. A combination of the two helped many of us to get a clear picture of such a complex technology. What a surprise it was to find out that there is an active nuclear reactor at MIT that is open for visits and that is used for educational, research, and experimentation purposes to make safer and more advanced nuclear reactors. When our team arrived at MIT NRL, we were greeted by Taylor, an Outreach Coordinator, who checked us in and gave each of us dosimeters that measure the amount of radiation you get exposed to during the tour. Luckily, during the Nuke 101 session we learned that, due to the robust preventive measures and shielding concrete walls, you are exposed to far less radiation working in nuclear reactor lab on a daily basis, than say flying from the East to West Coast. Once we were checked in, we proceeded to a class room where we were given a lecture by one of the lab operators and got a chance to ask questions like: What type of experiments do they do? What is fission? What is the difference between contamination and radiation? As a business student currently taking courses in operations, I was curious to learn where the fuel for the reactor comes from. During the tour I learned that the Department of Energy provides it to the laboratory. What is even more interesting is that the website of the laboratory lists that the fuel comes from the “megatons to megawatts” agreement between the U.S. and Russia to deplete Russia’s nuclear weapons stockpile, which I believe is a fascinating and important historical fact. Our tour guide of the facility was Sarah, a student at MIT, who started working part time as a student operator and, after passing her test with NRC, was promoted to the senior operator. I was very impressed by the fact that students are given such a tremendous opportunity to get hands-on experience of operating an active nuclear reactor. Another interesting fact that we learned was that the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory at MIT was one of the first research labs in the country and it has been in operation since 1958. Most of its features haven’t been changed since then. For example, the air-lock is the same one the lab had when it was opened. Going through it truly took us back in time. While we were touring the lab, we also got to experience the sound of the emergency alarm that was tested and demonstrated to the new incoming students. Needless to say, it gave me goosebumps. This experiential trek to the reactor lab provided me with a unique opportunity to observe the operation of a nuclear reactor. I learned that, though it is a small facility, it can generate up to 6 MW of electricity, enough to power 4,500 homes in the U.S. It was interesting to learn, that besides various experiments and studies, the nuclear reactor is also used to radiate silicon that is used as a semiconductor in airplanes and the power grid, as well as gold beads, used for cancer treatment. I am incredibly grateful to be part of the Revers Center for Energy at Tuck, which provides all students with such great opportunities to learn outside the classroom. Photo of MIT nuclear reactor by @spanginator on flickr |
12 Jun 2018, 13:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: 5 Questions with Jon Fouts T’92 of Morgan Stanley |
 Jon Fouts T’92 is a managing director in the Power & Utilities Investment Banking division at Morgan Stanley. He was kind enough to answer a few questions about his experience after Tuck.
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18 Jul 2018, 06:00
| FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: July 2018: What’s Up At Tuck? |
  Happy July, friends! I’m back on the blog after a brief hiatus in June. Summer is in full swing in Hanover, and while I’m soaking up all the New Hampshire summer sun I can, my colleagues and I are also traveling the world to come see you and our wonderful alums at receptions, information sessions, fairs, forums, and coffee chats. You can see our full events calendar online, and I’ll personally be in Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Chicago, New York, Houston, Dallas, and Mexico City between now and my August blog post. Come see us! If you’re planning to attend business school events in the coming months, you’ve likely encountered an abundance of guidance about how to “stand out” at these events. And if you’re like me, all this “do this, don’t do this” guidance only adds to your stress and anxiety. So let me offer some encouragement: relax. Our events aren’t exercises in assessment, and we’re not sizing you up or evaluating you. Yes, we like meeting you and getting to know you, but the purpose is really for you to get to know us. If you show up to an event fretting about standing out or making an impression, you’re missing the opportunity to fully engage with our community and check in with yourself to see if Tuck resonates with you. Remember that you’re in charge; you have full agency over when and where you apply, and our events are meant to help you make those important decisions. So leave the agenda -- and the stress and anxiety that come with it -- at home, and come hang out with us to explore Tuck and envision yourself as a member of our community. While our events aren’t exercises in assessment, I’d be remiss not to say a few words about our evaluation efforts. Since I last wrote, we’ve been busy; we’ve shared application dates, admissions criteria, and essay and reference letter questions, all of which have been updated to simplify and streamline your application experience. My colleagues and I are big believers in transparency; we’re telling you exactly what we’re looking for, and exactly where we find it. Before our first application deadline on September 24, we’ll be sharing more details about how we review applications. You can already learn much about this from my interview with Clear Admit last year. Since our simplified and streamlined criteria and questions posted, I’ve been listening carefully to thoughts and reactions far and wide, including from you. Amidst the enthusiastic and positive responses, two questions have consistently come up that I’d like to address here. First, why so much change? Yes, the criteria and questions look different from years past. In fact, they’re more cleanly and crispy aligned with the strong values of the Tuck School, which are not changing. (The eagle-eyed reader will spot our mission and values embedded directly in the criteria.) So we’re not changing what a strong Tuck student and a great Tuck class looks like… we’re simplifying and streamlining how we articulate these elements so that you can better articulate your candidacy. Second, can you actually assess if someone is nice? This is the criterion that has generated the majority of attention thus far, and rightfully so -- it’s quintessential Tuck, and a proud declaration of a particularly distinct element of the Tuck experience. Of course, it’s not the only criteria for admission, nor is it singularly important; the nicest applicant in the world must still be smart, accomplished, and aware to succeed here. Yes, there’s considerable curiosity about how we assess “niceness” in the application, and yes, anyone can claim to be nice. But look again at the deliberate way we’ve articulated what being nice at Tuck means -- it’s rooted not in arbitrary personality traits but in demonstrable behaviors and outcomes, which we’ll be exploring in detail in essays, interviews, and reference letters. You can say you’re nice, but the proof will be in your actions and their impact on others, and those of you who have made a habit of kindness will undoubtedly shine brighter than those who merely pay lip service. By the time I return to this space in August, our application will be live, so I’ll look forward to sharing thoughts and reflections on the application then. In the meantime, see you on the road and on Twitter! |
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