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Tuck Dartmouth MBA Admissions & Related Blogs 15 Feb 2016, 09:26
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By Adam Hoff, Amerasia Consulting Group
As we move through the winter months and host calls with b-school candidates for the upcoming cycle, it's interesting to note that some admissions questions come up a lot more this time of year than they do later.  We are going to try to use that as a cue to address these types of issues and concerns here on the blog - and we are starting with a very common question this far out from the process, which is "what round should I apply in?"

THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION DEPENDS LARGELY ON THREE FACTORS: [/b]

Level of readiness (will you have everything done by Round 1, will have you time to put forward your best effort, are there any post-Round 1 events that would strengthen your case such that you should wait)[/*]
[*]Which schools you are applying to[/*]
[*]Your level of desire to keep your entire process "in lockstep" (having all your deadlines, interviews, decisions, etc. take place around the same time)[/*]
[/list]
We can throw out #1 for the purposes of this post, as each person is different and there is no reason trying to cover every permutation.  #3 can be handled quickly.  Basically, if you are someone that looks to group things up, or avoid protracted periods of ambiguity, or even just logistically have things organized, you should probably try to pick a round and apply to your schools that round, rather than spread them out or try to "game" things.  If you don't care about that, or you even prefer to spread out a process, than a blend of Round 1 and Round 2 may be for you.

WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY, HOW DO SCHOOLS PLAY A ROLE IN ALL THIS? 
Basically, you want to think about the schools as belonging to three groups: "Round 1 is better", "Round 2 (possibly) is better", and "It doesn't matter."
ROUND 1 IS BETTER
In my opinion, there are five schools where it is better to apply to the earliest round (technically, we've been using "Round 1" but what this means is basically the earliest deadline).  They are:

[*]Columbia Business School Early Decision[/*]
Duke Fuqua Early Decision[/*]
[*]Dartmouth Tuck Early Action (Decision)[/*]
[*]MIT Sloan Round 1[/*]
[*]Stanford GSB Round 1[/*]
[/list]
Columbia is a full-on Early Decision, and both logic and stats bear out that it's better to apply early if it's a top choice (and/or you are willing to eat a huge deposit).  Duke and Tuck also have early application periods and in the case of Tuck in particular, they like to see real interest given the school's remote location, and applying early can be a good way to show that level of passion.  With MIT Sloan it's more of a feel thing - because they only have two rounds, I would much rather see someone apply to the "first" rather than the "last" round.

Stanford GSB is the one where it's more nuanced.  Because Stanford uses a more curatorial approach to building a class (think of most schools as customs agents stamping a long line of passports, whereas Stanford GSB is someone putting a seating chart together for a wedding reception), it follows that you want to be seen earlier in the process rather than later.  This is because you run a larger risk of them already have people "like you" from Round 1 if you wait.  We're obviously talking about the margins here, given the school's obscenely low acceptance rate, but then again, winning on the margins is often the key.
ROUND 2 IS (POSSIBLY) BETTER
  • HBS
  • EU Schools
Let's start with the EU b-schools, because these MBA programs are less controversial.  Most people will tell you that being "fashionably late" with the European programs is not only acceptable, but probably better.  EU programs have a ton of rounds and to apply in the very first one is not only unnecessary but also carries some risk of looking overeager.

With HBS, this take is a little more unique, but I actually believe you have a slight advantage waiting for Rd 2.  I wrote about Rd 2 in general here (https://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/blog/2015/7/15/looking-for-an-mba-advantage-consider-round-2), but will quote the relevant part about HBS:
"Display of confidence.  I have seen more HBS clients of mine get in during Round 2 the last few years, honestly, and I think it's in part because it shows a really assured attitude.  It's almost "I don't need to scramble around like a maniac for your increasingly, insanely early deadline.  I'll lay back.  I'm good."  And I truly believe that confidence gets rewarded.  Again, I can't prove it, so I'm not going to tell all of my HBS clients to NOT apply Round 1 ... but I truly think they might have a slightly better chance if they wait."
The idea here is that as HBS continues to test how confident and self-possessed the applicants are, the more merit there is to possibly waiting.  You can let all your Type A peers rush to meet a deadline that gets earlier every year, while you hang back and show a little more confidence that your abilities and accomplishments are more than enough to carry the day.  It's once again a battle on the margins, but as with GSB, that can make a difference.

IT DOESN'T MATTER
All the other schools.  Seriously, you will hear them say Round 1 is better if you go to an information session before Round 1, but that is to drive applications.  If you go to the same session you will hear a new spin saying how Round 2 is just as good.  At every other top school in the world - I have seen no evidence (statistical or anecdotal) that there is a difference between Round 1 and Round 2.

So ... "If I am applying to Stanford AND HBS, what should I do?"

You should apply Round 1.  Unless you are someone okay with spreading out your process and using multiple rounds (which means doubling the length of this ordeal, having two waves of interviews, having competing enrollment deadlines, etc.), you are going to want to apply to your schools in lockstep.  And, to me, the upside of of applying Round 1 to GSB is much higher than applying to Rd 2 to HBS.
FINAL THOUGHT
It goes without saying, but we will say it anyway, that you need to apply with the best possible application.  If you submit something mechanical or shoddy or lacking depth or that fails to connect with program DNA, it won't matter which round you apply.

 

 

No matter the round, we have helped more than 1000 clients successfully apply to top business schools worldwide since 2008. Let us help you figure out your next step. Schedule a complimentary, one-hour consultation with a member of our expert admissions team. Email us at mba@amerasiaconsulting.com or visit us online at www.amerasiaconsulting.com/contact.
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Tuck Dartmouth MBA Admissions & Related Blogs 29 Feb 2016, 17:58
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Military MBA applicants tend to blow other candidates out of the water, figuratively speaking, because they have a wealth of experience to draw from at a very young age. In fact, my very first client, many years ago, was in the military.

While many candidates can only speak to sitting in cubicles, crunching numbers for the boss, b-school applicants from the military have had to deal with highly stressful situations, think on their feet, make ethical decisions, and lead important projects.

If you have a military background, a great business school program to consider is that of Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. The school is hosting a special event for future military applicants on April 18, 2016. The organizers of Tuck Military Visit Day have planned a full schedule of events to help set you up for success in your MBA application process.

There will be a chance to sit in on a class, as well as attend panels hosted by members of the admissions committee, current military students, the Career Development Office and the Financial Aid Office.

If you are planning to apply to the Tuck Class of 2019, you may schedule an admissions interview if you are ready. Military Visit Day kicks off at 7:30am Monday morning, but you can get things started early by joining members of Armed Forces Alumni Association on Sunday night, April 17th, for an informal social.

Registration for Tuck’s Military Visit Day is already open, and the admissions team and military MBA students of Tuck look forward to having you in Hanover.


***

If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.
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Tuck Dartmouth MBA Admissions & Related Blogs 29 Feb 2016, 17:59
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Everyone has an opinion about submitting your MBA application in Round 3—including us here at SBC—and a lot of the conversation circles around how competitive it is and how scarce spots are.

While it may seem only candidates who are also Olympic athletes, chess champions, or have scaled Mount Everest stand a chance, the reality is there is always a spot for a great applicant in the final round. That’s why the schools have one!

The MBA admissions blog at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business recently published a useful post on the realities of applying in Round 3, complete with anecdotes and advice from three recent graduates who applied in the April round (as it’s known at Tuck).

Key takeaways from the post include using the optional essay to explain why you waited until the final round; making sure you share something unique about yourself with the admissions committee that will differentiate your candidacy; and obviously, only applying when your application is as strong as it can possibly be.

The good news is that applicants in Tuck’s final round still have a shot at a scholarship, can join a pre-term program with everyone else, and can definitely get a room in the dorms because the housing lottery happens in June.

If things don’t work out this season, the Tuck admissions teams says, “Have a plan B. While you may not get the outcome you hope for, the process will no doubt teach you something about yourself and help guide your next steps.”

In our experience, Round 3 is far and away the most difficult round for MBA applicants. A lackluster application will most certainly find its way to the reject pile, so be strategic when deciding the best time to apply for you.
You may also be interested in:
Evaluate in Which Round to Submit Your B-School Application
Applying to Business School in Round 3
Round 3 Attracts Maverick Applicants


***

If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.
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Tuck Dartmouth MBA Admissions & Related Blogs 21 Apr 2016, 10:29
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Coming from the armed forces rather than a civilian career path prior to business school can give rise to certain difficulties when drafting an application. Luckily, the Tuck 360 MBA Blog at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business has published a post with advice targeted toward veteran applicants just in time for its upcoming Military Visit Day on April 18th.

Earlier this week, first-year MBA student David Donahue described his own journey from the Marines to b-school, and now shares three tips for business school candidates with military backgrounds.

Here’s an overview of his tips, but definitely check out Donahue’s story through the link above for more details.

Tip 1: get comfortable talking about yourself. “What sets you apart from other applicants? It’s okay to replace the ‘we’ with an ‘I’ here or there in an effort to really explain your impact,” says Donahue.

Tip 2: Decide which learning environment suits you best. “Understanding the environment in which you would be most successful is crucial to narrowing down the schools that appeal the most to you,” he notes.

Tip 3: What’s your story? Donahue says applicants should be able to answer these questions: “Why did you join the military? Why do you want to go to business school? What do you want to do after business school?”

An MBA is a great next step for transitioning veterans no matter what branch of service they come from. Applicants from the military should know that business school admissions teams highly value their experience, so if that’s your background, make sure your  applications highlight those powerful and unique qualities.
You may also be interested in:
Attention, Military Applicants

Overcome 3 MBA Application Challenges Facing Military Veterans

***

If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.
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Tuck Dartmouth MBA Admissions & Related Blogs 31 May 2016, 09:58
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Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business has posted the MBA application deadlines for the 2016-2017 admissions cycle. They are as follows:
Early Action Round
Application due: October 5, 2016
Decision released: December 16, 2016
November Round
Application due: November 2, 2016
Decision released: February 10, 2017
January Round
Application due: January 4, 2017
Decision released: March 10, 2017
April Round
Application due: April 5, 2017
Decision released: May 12, 2017

Applications are due at 5 p.m. EST on the day of the deadline. Consortium applicants should also note the following tentative deadlines: First Round is October 15, 2016, and Second Round is January 5, 2017.

For more information, please visit the Dartmouth Tuck MBA program website.

***

If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.
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Tuck Dartmouth MBA Admissions & Related Blogs 22 Jul 2016, 17:41
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The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth has a small student body and a rural location, combined with world-class faculty and academic focus. As you approach your Dartmouth Tuck MBA application it will be important to consistently show how you will fit into the school values of leadership, teamwork and collaboration and bring your own unique qualities and experiences to the community. This revised set of essays focuses on global approach as a significant value as well.

The Tuck admissions blog offers the following advice: “There are no right or wrong answers. We encourage applicants to limit the length of their responses to 500 to 700 words for Essay #1 and 500 words for Essay #2. Please double-space your responses.”

Stacy Blackman Consulting has worked with many successful Tuck applicants, contact us to learn more about the customized assistance we can provide for your application.

Essay One (Required): Tuck educates wise leaders who better the world of business. What are your short- and long-term goals? How will a Tuck MBA enable you to become a wise leader with global impact?

Tuck has updated the career goals essay to include a question about your global vision and impact on the world of business. Consistent with a standard MBA career goals essay you must also outline your short- and long-term career goals. Your short-term goals are the aspirations you have for your job immediately after graduation, while your long-term goals may be 10 or 20 years after you complete your MBA.

As you consider how you will make a global impact in your career, you should incorporate “Why Tuck” as a crucial element. Make sure you have researched the school’s programs and determined how your education will help you achieve your goals.

For example, Tuck has multiple global business programs, including a class where you can consult to an international company and short Global Insight Expeditions. By reaching out to current students and alumni you can learn more about the experiences and classes that would inform your development as a global leader.

Essay Two (Required): As a diverse and global community, our students arrive at the same place from many different paths. Tell us about an experience in which you have had to live, learn and/or work with other people very different from yourself. What challenges and/or opportunities did you experience, how did you respond, and what did you learn about yourself as a result?

The new required Essay Two also seeks to understand your global awareness and ability to learn and grow from those with different backgrounds. This essay prompt is open ended and allows you to choose an example from work or from an extracurricular experience. Think broadly about your background and when you have expanded your world by interacting with someone very different.

A compelling narrative will demonstrate learning and growing through interacting with others. Think about a time when you were truly challenged by a person or group of people different from yourself, and how you resolved the experience.

What did you learn about yourself and others? Interacting with your Tuck classmates may challenge you in a similar way, and showing a growth mentality would be attractive to the admissions committee.

This essay is not only an opportunity to discuss your ability to learn from others, you can also show that you are a leader in the Tuck tradition. The Tuck School of Business definition of leadership is inherently collaborative. Team based experiences are preferable, and as you describe working with someone different from yourself you can likely work in a strong leadership example.

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

This is your opportunity to discuss any perceived weaknesses in your application such as low GPA or gaps in your work experience. When approaching a question of this nature, focus on explanations rather than excuses and explain what you have done since the event you are explaining to demonstrate your academic ability or management potential.

You could potentially use this space to add something new that was not covered in the previous essays or in the application, resume or recommendations, however use your judgment about the topics as Tuck asks that you only complete this question if you “feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.”

Essay Four (Required from Reapplicants): How have you strengthened your candidacy since you last applied? Please reflect on how you have grown personally and professionally.

If you are re-applying to Tuck this essay is the place for you to showcase any developments since your last application. Ideally you have concrete improvements like a stronger GMAT score, grades from business classes, or a promotion. Even if nothing quantitative has changed in your profile you likely have developed more leadership activities or progressed in your job responsibilities.

If you are struggling to think of any clear improvements you can describe refined goals or deeper thinking about your future that has led you to apply again to Tuck. Demonstrating growth in maturity or introspection can be a huge improvement to your application and absolutely should be highlighted.


***

If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.
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Tuck Dartmouth MBA Admissions & Related Blogs 22 Jul 2016, 17:51
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Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business has previewed the updated MBA essay questions for the 2016-2017 admissions season this week on the Tuck 360 MBA Blog.  According to the school, these revised essays come in response to the increasingly dynamic and diverse global economy, which necessitates values-driven leadership.

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

*Please note, the following has been edited per the Tuck admissions team:

As regular readers of our blog, you know we value transparency and thorough communication. With that in mind, we wanted to alert you to a change in the wording of our first essay. While the core information we are seeking is the same, we are providing you with more context on why that information is important to us.

Below is our original post on our essays, with the revised wording for the first essay. Good luck!

Tuck has long provided its graduates with the knowledge and inspiration to do well and do good – to become the difference in the world of business and beyond. As the global economy continues to become more dynamic and diverse, the call for broad, values-driven leadership will continue to grow louder. With this in mind, we’ve made some changes to this year's essay questions, so please read carefully.

Remember, the essays are your opportunity to share with us who you are beyond the numbers and the resume, so reflect, take your time, and be genuine. Think carefully about your content as well as delivery. Communicate clearly and in your voice, not who you think we want you to be; and most importantly, answer the question you are asked.

Though the application isn’t live quite yet (soon!!), here’s a look at the 2016-2017 essay questions.
Essays
Please respond fully but concisely to the following essay questions. There are no right or wrong answers. We encourage applicants to limit the length of their responses to 500 to 700 words for Essay #1 and 500 words for Essay #2. Please double-space your responses.
  • (Required) Tuck educates wise leaders who better the world of business. What are your short- and long-term goals? How will a Tuck MBA enable you to become a wise leader with global impact?
  • (Required) As a diverse and global community, our students arrive at the same place from many different paths. Tell us about an experience in which you have had to live, learn and/or work with other people very different from yourself. What challenges and/or opportunities did you experience, how did you respond, and what did you learn about yourself as a result?
  • (Optional) Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere that may be helpful in reviewing your application (e.g., unusual choice of evaluators, weaknesses in academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes, etc.). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.
  • (Required from Reapplicants) How have you strengthened your candidacy since you last applied? Please reflect on how you have grown personally and professionally.

Make note of our 2016-2017 application deadlines, and allow yourself plenty of time to submit your strongest possible application. Good luck!

The Fall 2017 application will go live soon, so please check with the Tuck School MBA admissions website for more information and details about the program.
You may also be interested in:
Tuck School of Business Fall 2017 Application Deadlines
Image credit:  Wiki Commons CC BY-SA 3.0


***

If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.
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Tuck Dartmouth MBA Admissions & Related Blogs 26 Sep 2016, 16:08
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Looking for the best possible admissions advice?

How about admissions advice from the admission committee members themselves?

Linda Abraham, founder of Accepted and host of the Admissions Straight Talk podcast has a collection of highly enlightening interviews with directors of admissions and adcom members of top business schools!

Listen in as Linda asks her adcom guests pointed and to-the-point questions about the school, the admissions process, how to get in, and…how to get rejected.

Listen, enjoy, and apply successfully!

Columbia Business School
Emily French Thomas, Director of Admissions

Yale School of Management
Bruce DelMonico, Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions

USC Marshall
Keith Vaughn, Former Assistant Dean of Admissions

Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business
Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of Admissions and Doreen Amorosa, Associate Dean and Managing Director of Career Management


UCLA Anderson
Jessica Chung, Associate Director of Admissions 

MIT Sloan
Dawna Levenson, Director of Admissions

Rotman School of Management
Niki da Silva, Recruitment & Admissions Director

Tuck School of Business
Dawna Clarke, Director of Admissions

Univ. of Michigan’s Ross School of Business
Diana Economy, Senior Associate Director of Admissions, and Terry Nelidov, Managing Director of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise

The Fuqua School of Business
Liz Riley Hargrove, Associate Dean for Admissions

HEC Paris
Philippe Oster, Director of Communication, Development and Admissions

Johnson at Cornell University
Ann Richards, Associate Director of Admissions and Director of Financial Aid

For a varied menu of thought-provoking and informative conversations with business leaders, entrepreneurs, MBA students, and more, check out the Admissions Straight Talk Podcast:

Subscribe:







This article originally appeared on blog.accepted.com.

Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where to apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.

Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help you get accepted!
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Tuck Dartmouth MBA Admissions & Related Blogs 31 Mar 2017, 10:48
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Current and former members of the armed forces possess numerous skills that admissions boards value in an MBA candidate. Real-world leadership experience, the ability to strategize and think on their feet, and being able to work well under high-pressure situations are just a few of the advantages a veteran brings to the table when applying for business school.

Coming from the armed forces rather than a civilian career path prior to business school can give rise to certain challenges when drafting an application, but it’s important to keep those concerns in perspective.  The Tuck 360 MBA Blog at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business has recently published a post dispelling some common myths for military applicants just in time for its upcoming Military Visit Day on May 1, 2017.

“The thought of applying to an MBA program and separating from the military can be intimidating, says Jarett Berke, a second-year Tuck student and a former USMC pilot.

“For years, we have had a steady paycheck backed by the U.S. Government, where layoffs were improbable and pay raises and promotions happened on a schedule,” he explains. “We’ve established ourselves within our respective communities, and our families have developed close relationships with others in our commands, squadrons, or platoons.”

With that in mind, Berke addresses eight common myths on the minds of prospective veteran students. Here’s an overview of his advice, but definitely check out Berke’s article through the link above for more details.

Myth: Being older puts you at a disadvantage. The maturity, experience, and poise that often comes with age are a major benefit to your classmates and the school. If anything, I would say that being older is actually an advantage.  

Myth: My partner won’t be able to find a job. Unemployment in the area last year got down to 1.9%, and there is no shortage of really interesting companies. Many partners end up working for Tuck, Dartmouth, or the hospital, and there are scores of very successful small businesses always in need to high quality people.

Myth: My GMAT score is the most important part of my application. Wrong. The GMAT is just one piece of the puzzle, and you should think of it as a hurdle. Ultimately, the Admissions department looks at the whole person, including: experience, essays, interview, GPA, GMAT (or GRE), and career goals. Make sure you focus on all aspects of your candidacy, not just the GMAT.

Myth: A part-time MBA is equally valuable. Part-time or “executive” MBAs are great for people who want to take the next step in a career they ARE ALREADY IN. If you are pivoting (like all veterans), a top-tier full-time MBA puts you in a different population. You become an MBA with a military background, not a military person with an MBA. This may sound trivial, but it makes a big difference to employers. Plus, taking two years to focus on yourself is an opportunity you may never have again.

Myth: Vets don’t add much value to study groups. Military officers spend their careers making important decisions with limited information. We figure stuff out. We are quick learners, and we can get things done. The courses in business school go deep on a range of topics, and while there may be a few topics that someone in your group has experience in, the majority of the curriculum is new to everyone. Your ability to learn quickly, figure things out, and communicate effectively make you VERY valuable to the teams you are a part of.

An MBA is a great next step for transitioning veterans no matter what branch of service they come from. Applicants from the military should know that business school admissions teams highly value their experience, so if that’s your background, make sure your  applications highlight those powerful and unique qualities.

***

Hosted by the Armed Forces Alumni Association (AFAA), Tuck Military Visit Day, themed “Setting You Up for Success,” will be Monday, May 1, 2017. During the event, you’ll get a chance to see what distinguishes Tuck among top-tier business schools and what you need to know to transition from the military into the right MBA program. Register here.
You may also be interested in:
Overcome 3 MBA Application Challenges Facing Military Veterans



***

If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.
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Tuck Dartmouth MBA Admissions & Related Blogs 31 May 2017, 11:06
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The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth has posted the following MBA application deadlines for the 2017-18 admissions season.
Early Action Round
Application due: October 4, 2017
Decision released: December 15, 2017
November Round
Application due: November 1, 2017
Decision released: February 9, 2018
January Round
Application due: January 3, 2018
Decision released: March 9, 2018
April Round
Application due: April 4, 2018
Decision released: May 11, 2018
First Round Consortium
Application due: October 15, 2017
Decision released: December 15, 2017
Second Round Consortium
Application due: January 5, 2018
Decision released: March 9, 2018

All application materials, including letters of recommendation, are due by 5:00 p.m. EST on the day of the deadline.  Stay tuned for the announcement regarding Tuck’s essay questions for the upcoming season.



***

If you are looking for guidance on your  Tuck MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.
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Tuck Dartmouth MBA Admissions & Related Blogs 31 May 2017, 11:22
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After a three month search, Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business has named Luke Anthony Peña as its new Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, the school announced today.  He succeeds Dawna Clarke, who stepped down in late 2016 after 11 years as director of admissions.

In this role, Peña will lead the school’s admissions and financial aid teams and develop and implement strategies for recruiting, selecting, and enrolling MBA candidates who will thrive in Tuck’s distinctly immersive learning community.

Peña holds a joint MBA/MA Education degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BS in Business Administration and BA in Public Relations from the University of Southern California.

Peña previously served as director of MBA admissions at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he led its marketing and recruitment teams, and managed all external outreach including events, online programming, and social media.

Luke’s expertise in MBA admissions will ensure Tuck is successful in welcoming even more of best and brightest students into our community, says Tuck School Dean Matthew Slaughter.

At Stanford GSB, he introduced and implemented data analytics to enhance recruitment and yield efforts, and created digital resources to improve relationship management with both alumni ambassadors and prospective students.

A 2012 GSB graduate, Peña was previously associate director of MBA admissions, and also worked as assistant director of admissions at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism prior to joining the Stanford admissions team.

“Tuck is unparalleled in its commitment to creating and cultivating a distinctly immersive, intimate, and collaborative environment for leadership development,” says Peña. “As a community builder, you dream of partnering with alumni, students, staff, and faculty who invest in supporting and challenging one another, and in advancing Tuck’s mission to better the world of business. I am enthusiastically looking forward to deepening relationships with current and future members of this community.”

He begins his new appointment July 18.



***

If you are looking for guidance on your Tuck MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.
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FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: Why I Pursued a Dual-Degree at Dartmouth and Tuck


By David Washer T’17

I knew coming into Tuck that I wanted to dedicate my career to serving the social sector and striving for social justice. In my work prior to Tuck, I found that many of the social problems my teams attempted to address often intersected with health, at the individual and community levels, and the U.S. health care system. As such, I decided to pursue an MBA/MPH in order to better understand how economic, political, and social forces impact our health and welfare. Dartmouth has the most integrated MBA/MPH program in the country and offers generous aid, through the Wilson Scholarship program, so that MBA/MPH students can receive both degrees without incurring additional debt or time out of the workforce. Given all of this, and that my wife was already pursuing her MD at Dartmouth, my decision to come to Tuck was easy!

Studying in both degree programs has been intense at times, but also immensely rewarding academically. At Tuck, I have had the opportunity to round out my consulting toolkit and general management skills, and as a result, feel better equipped to rigorously identify, analyze, and solve organizational problems. Additionally, I now better understand some of the financial forces that drive income inequality in the United States. After leaving Tuck, I’ll be able to draw upon this knowledge to more effectively challenge the status quo to help create more equitable win-wins. At The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI), I have been able to sharpen my data analysis and impact measurement skills all while starting to make sense of our infinitely complex health care system. The data analysis skills I have developed will help me to better assess social interventions across a variety of domains (e.g., traditional health care, child welfare, education, etc.) while the more specialized health care knowledge I have gained will enable me to help design better health care systems that do not marginalize vulnerable populations.

For those social justice advocates out there considering whether or not to add an MBA to their grad school plans, I say go for it! Tuck and other business schools are becoming more socially conscious and you can help them on this mission while also gaining some valuable skills. Yes, you'll (rightly) have your thinking challenged by classmates who think differently from you, but you’ll also be surprised to find like-minded students who very clearly want to use business as a force for social good. I am very grateful that I have had the opportunity to pursue both degrees; the pragmatism of the MBA coupled with the heightened social awareness of the MPH has helped me to become a better social sector leader. I look forward to drawing upon both degrees (and the famous Tuck alumni community!) to serve the social sector as it continues to bring about positive change.

David is a recent dual-degree (MBA/MPH) graduate at Tuck and The Dartmouth Institute at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. He originally hails from Texas but has been a New England transplant since graduating from Yale in 2011. Prior to Tuck, David worked at McKinsey & Company’s investment office (MIO Partners) and The Bridgespan Group, the leading social sector consulting firm affiliated with Bain & Co, where he'll return upon graduating.
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FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: Why I Pursued a Joint Degree at Dartmouth and Tuck


By David Washer T’17

I knew coming into Tuck that I wanted to dedicate my career to serving the social sector and striving for social justice. In my work prior to Tuck, I found that many of the social problems my teams attempted to address often intersected with health, at the individual and community levels, and the U.S. health care system. As such, I decided to pursue an MBA/MPH in order to better understand how economic, political, and social forces impact our health and welfare. Dartmouth has the most integrated MBA/MPH program in the country and offers generous aid, through the Wilson Scholarship program, so that MBA/MPH students can receive both degrees without incurring additional debt or time out of the workforce. Given all of this, and that my wife was already pursuing her MD at Dartmouth, my decision to come to Tuck was easy!

Studying in both degree programs has been intense at times, but also immensely rewarding academically. At Tuck, I have had the opportunity to round out my consulting toolkit and general management skills, and as a result, feel better equipped to rigorously identify, analyze, and solve organizational problems. Additionally, I now better understand some of the financial forces that drive income inequality in the United States. After leaving Tuck, I’ll be able to draw upon this knowledge to more effectively challenge the status quo to help create more equitable win-wins. At The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI), I have been able to sharpen my data analysis and impact measurement skills all while starting to make sense of our infinitely complex health care system. The data analysis skills I have developed will help me to better assess social interventions across a variety of domains (e.g., traditional health care, child welfare, education, etc.) while the more specialized health care knowledge I have gained will enable me to help design better health care systems that do not marginalize vulnerable populations.

For those social justice advocates out there considering whether or not to add an MBA to their grad school plans, I say go for it! Tuck and other business schools are becoming more socially conscious and you can help them on this mission while also gaining some valuable skills. Yes, you'll (rightly) have your thinking challenged by classmates who think differently from you, but you’ll also be surprised to find like-minded students who very clearly want to use business as a force for social good. I am very grateful that I have had the opportunity to pursue both degrees; the pragmatism of the MBA coupled with the heightened social awareness of the MPH has helped me to become a better social sector leader. I look forward to drawing upon both degrees (and the famous Tuck alumni community!) to serve the social sector as it continues to bring about positive change.

David is a recent joint degree (MBA/MPH) graduate at Tuck and The Dartmouth Institute at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. He originally hails from Texas but has been a New England transplant since graduating from Yale in 2011. Prior to Tuck, David worked at McKinsey & Company’s investment office (MIO Partners) and The Bridgespan Group, the leading social sector consulting firm affiliated with Bain & Co, where he'll return upon graduating.

Learn more about joint and dual degrees offered at Tuck.
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FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: The Halpern Lecture: Tom Linebarger, CEO of Top Diesel Company, Revs Up the Audience

The annual Ariel Halpern Lecture on Ethics and Social Responsibility presents prominent individuals who have exemplified principled business leadership in their work and life.

By Rachel E. Brooks

Building high-performing teams in a global industry is no easy task, but Tom Linebarger of Cummins, the largest maker of diesel engines in the world with over fifty thousand employees and operations in one hundred and ninety countries, certainly knows a thing or two about leadership. The Chairman and CEO gave this year’s Halpern Lecture, a talk hosted by the Center for Business, Government & Society to feature individuals who have exemplified principled leadership. Linebarger was visiting campus for Professor Curt Welling’s Business & Society mini course that explores the roles of governments, corporations, and markets in creating social impact.

During the Halpern Lecture, Linebarger shared how he brings his personal values and a global mindset to leadership and decision-making. In sharing his own personal leadership journey, he walked the audience through his childhood to the present day as well as what draws him to the work at Cummins. The emphasis on diversity and inclusion is what first attracted Linebarger to the company over twenty years ago. With manufacturing happening on six continents, Cummins has to think critically about how to create a unifying company culture while existing in so many locations and cultures. Linebarger stressed the importance of balancing global expansion with adherence to the core values that hold the business together. “The how,” he said, “matters as much as the what.”

When considering personal values, Linebarger points to three areas that drive him: justice and fairness, hard work, and fun, family and friends. His personal statement, “Solving problems that matter with people I care about,” guides his work by unifying the different aspects of his life and sparked me to brainstorm thoughts for my own personal statement. Those who aspire to become strong leaders, Linebarger says, should work to achieve alignment of who they want to be, who they are, and how people perceive them. When those areas are the same, leaders need not concern themselves with others’ perceptions and can focus their energies on creating positive outcomes and collaborating with other smart minds.

I was moved by Linebarger’s willingness to share the challenges along his personal leadership journey with others. While company barbecues and teambuilding exercises have their place, real trust comes from exposing one’s own vulnerabilities, says Linebarger. He points to the previous Chairman and CEO of Cummins, Tim Solso, as a guiding force in his success. Solso, he says, “worked really hard on trying to make me better.” Linebarger’s leadership development journey yielded benefits that affected more than just the diesel company. He believes he became a better father and husband, too.

Inspired by working for a company that has a positive impact, Linebarger leads with purpose in issues as diverse and complex as international trade and investment, technological change, equal opportunity, and environmental sustainability. In that spirit, the Center for Business, Government & Society partnered with Tuck Sustains to make the event’s catering more sustainable, too. All items were compostable, and students were encouraged to bring their own water bottles.

If the chatter in the hallway immediately following the Halpern Lecture is any indication, students are drawn to opportunities at companies with a strong sense of purpose and reflecting on Linebarger’s insights for their own leadership journeys. I know I am.


Rachel Brooks is the Program Coordinator for the Center for Business, Government & Society at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Prior to Tuck, she spent two years in South Korea as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. A native of Virginia, Rachel graduated from the College of William & Mary with a bachelor’s degree in public policy and honors in interdisciplinary studies.

The Center for Business, Government & Society is focused on meeting the evolving complexities facing business leaders in today’s global economy. In the context of globalization and technological advancement, business success increasingly depends on reconciling the interests of its immediate stakeholders with the broader, deeply intertwined interests of both governments and society. Business leaders adept at navigating these many interests will be better equipped and empowered to help build a more sustainable global economy.
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FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: Center for Digital Strategies Alumni Fellow Spotlight

This blog originally appeared on the Center for Digital Strategies.

An Interview with John Greco T’02

Director of Strategy & Corporate Development at Analog Devices


Where are you currently working and what type of work are you doing?

I currently work at Analog Devices, a diversified semiconductor company that enables customers to interpret the world around them by intelligently bridging the physical and the digital. You can find our products in virtually any electronic device across every industry, from automotive safety to consumer handsets to factory robots. I am responsible for the evolution, organization, and execution of our strategic planning processes as we seek to continue to grow by identifying and acting on new market and technology opportunities.

Do you think about digital strategies in your current role? How often?

Constantly!  Our business has always focused on sensing and measuring the “real” world, then connecting it with the digital world where it can be processed and turned into useful insights that customers can use to create a valuable business outcome. When business processes migrate to the cloud, it usually creates an opportunity for us because now there’s a mechanism that can make use of more data, often in real time, and when it comes to generating more real-world real-time data we can generate more data from more sensors than you can imagine. So we have to be on our toes and recognize when these dislocations are happening, assess the impact we could have, and then decide how we should proceed.

How have digital technologies impacted your company/industry since leaving Tuck and the CDS?

I think that overall it has created tremendous opportunity, as the demand for expertise in the sense-measure-connect loop continues to rise. But it has also encouraged an increase in competition; everybody wants to jump in to this space and many of the new entrants are players with enormous potential to support scale. In addition, it has forced us to begin to rethink our business models (for example, should we be trying to build services and platforms around our data capabilities, rather than simply selling big volumes of chips?) and has changed the way many of our customers want to interact with us. We see more and deeper partnerships with customers built around digital strategies and our participation in very complex ecosystems (shout out to Professor Adner and his work here!).

This massive rethinking extends to our own business processes as well. Our sales and marketing teams are now armed with an extensive set of online selling tools and sophisticated opportunity pipeline management technology to help them help their customers better. I don’t even know if we have printed collateral any more. Finally, digital is completely changing the way we interact with customers on a daily basis, particularly in the way we use the web to deliver a highly customized experience that maximizes the relevance of the content that we deliver to each customer. People build fairly extensive relationships with us before they have any human contact!

What lesson(s) did you take away from your time as a CDS MBA Fellow that has been useful in your career?

For me, the lessons came from working with other Fellows who had different interests than my own. It was around the time of the dot-com boom-and-bust, and I had a fairly cynical view of the online madness, seeing it as a lot of hype that really wasn’t generating anything that would last. My peers in the CDS really helped me change my mindset, cut through the hype, and see what the real potential was for digitization over the long-term. That has been useful to me throughout my post-Tuck career where I’ve worked as a consultant, an operations analyst, a product manager, and now a strategic planner. The market has a way of creating a massive excite-and-disappoint cycle where it hypes new technologies and doesn’t have a lot of patience for experimentation. I learned from CDS that you need to be patient, embrace the uncertainty and experimentation that a new space needs, and stay open-minded.

What advice do you have for our current MBA Fellows when it comes to digital strategies and careers?

Now you’ve invited me to ramble, so I will take you up on it. Hopefully some of it is good advice!

  • First, put yourself in markets and technologies that are going to grow, and don’t be afraid to fail (as a matter of fact, it’s in your interest to “fail fast” because that’s how you learn the most).
  • At the same time, don’t get too caught up in fascinating technology for its own sake.  It’s a lot of fun to engage with cool tech, but remember that in the end somebody needs to think it’s cool enough to pay money for it and it has to help them do a job better.
  • Never be scared to learn something new, and be humble enough to say “I don’t understand—please explain it to me!”
  • Don’t underestimate the importance of business model innovation—challenge the way your company makes money today and ask if that’s going to be the best way to make money tomorrow. Digitization opens up unthinkable possibilities for innovation along this front.  And always know that, even though it might seem impossible at the moment, something better is on somebody’s drawing board somewhere, and if you’re not looking around you it’ll pounce when you least expect it.

The Center for Digital Strategies offers several MBA Enrichment programs to Tuck School students. The MBA Fellows Program gives second year students the opportunity to deep dive into digital stategies through in depth research projects, on campus events, networking opportunities, and more.
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FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: A Veteran’s Transition to Tuck

This interview was originally featured in an Accepted blog series featuring interviews with business students, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at top programs.

Introducing Keal Harter


We’d like to get to know you! Where are you from? Where and what did you study as an undergrad?

I’m originally from West Michigan, but I’ve moved around a lot since I finished undergrad at the University of Michigan. There I studied political science. I got a master’s degree from the London School of Economics, and then I became an officer in the U.S. Navy. So other than a few economics classes, I hadn’t taken a single business course before applying to business school. That was a little nerve-wracking, but so far it has been a great experience.

Where are you currently in b-school? What year?

I’m currently a first-year student at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in lovely Hanover, New Hampshire. I expect to graduate next spring.

Why Tuck? How did you know their program would be the right “fit” for you?

I chose Tuck because of its incredibly tight-knit community. With the smaller class size comes the opportunity to know more of your fellow students, and the Upper Valley is a beautiful area to do that. There is so much to do—skiing, hiking, biking, checking out great farm-to-table restaurants and craft breweries.

The strong core curriculum was also a driver for coming to Tuck. Again, I didn’t come from a business background; I rarely had even used Excel. Tuck’s core curriculum builds students’ depth of knowledge in several business disciplines from marketing to capital markets in the first year. First-year courses are essentially chosen for you the first few terms (if you don’t test out of them) which I found helpful in establishing a foundation of business knowledge.

You were in the Navy before transitioning to the civilian world and attending Tuck. How has this transition been? How has Tuck supported you along the way?

My transition has gone really well. Veterans in particular arrive to a strong network at Tuck. Second-year veteran students and veteran Tuck alums are always accessible and eager to provide guidance on everything from where to live in Hanover if you have a family to class selection, case interview preparation, and crafting your narrative so that you can translate your military experience to those in the private sector. Fellow classmates who aren’t coming from the military are also invaluable resources, as they have insights from their own private sector experiences.

Tuck is also extremely generous when it comes to the Yellow Ribbon Program. There is no limit on the number of veterans who can receive Yellow Ribbon funding at Tuck, and the school recently announced an increase in its level of funding under Yellow Ribbon.

You’re a student chair on Tuck’s Armed Forces Alumni Association. What does the AFAA do for current students and alumni?

The Armed Forces Alumni Association provides resources and support to veterans at Tuck and their families through integration, recruitment, and veterans’ networking initiatives. Within the community, we raise awareness and create discourse about military and veterans’ issues by taking part in events such as Veteran’s Day talks at local schools, a Tuck vets vs. Ice vets sled hockey game, and our annual Tuck Runs for Vets 5k which benefits a local veteran’s organization.

For prospective veteran business school students, we answer questions that they may have about transitioning, the b-school application process, and are happy to help them make connections. And the Tuck AFAA hosts Military Visit Day so that veterans can come see what the Tuck community is all about. There really is no better way of assessing fit than visiting a school and meeting current students.

What has been your favorite part about attending Tuck thus far? What has been your biggest challenge?

My favorite part about Tuck thus far has been challenging myself with more complex business classes such as decision science or accounting. I’ve also met a lot of great people along the way.

Lastly, what advice would you like to give you current applicants? Anything you wish you would have known before, that you know now?

My advice to applicants is find the program with the best fit. I found that visiting the school is a great way to experience the culture and environment. MBA programs are a huge investment in forgone wages and time, so you want to be in a place that you like and where you can make the most of it. For me, I found that place to be Tuck.

Keal is originally from Holland, Michigan, and he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Michigan in 2008. He was commissioned as a naval officer from Officer Candidate School in 2011 after working on Capitol Hill and obtaining a Master of Science in International Relations from the London School of Economics. Keal spent just under six years in the Navy prior to coming to Tuck. Keal enjoys skiing, sailing, and spending time with his wife. 
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FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: GMAT, GRE, & GPA…oh my!

Before we get to the details, it’s important to note that our evaluation process is truly holistic. Each applicant stands out for different reasons, and it’s possible to make up for an area in which you’re less strong in another where you really excel. In the simplest sense, the application consists of your academic record/predictors (GMAT/GRE and GPA), your work experience (as highlighted in your resume and throughout the application), your essays, letters of recommendation, and the interview. (Of course, there are a number of characteristics we look for within each of those categories—stay tuned to Tuck 360, where we’ll talk about them!) Tuck does not assign these components various weights or importance, there isn’t a special formula that spits out “admit” or “deny,” and we thoroughly review every single application, regardless of someone's stats (every application is seen by at least two members of Ad Com).

GMAT/GRE

Aptly called the Graduate Management Admissions Test, the GMAT was designed specifically with business schools in mind. That said, Tuck admits students who submit the GMAT as well as those who submit the more broadly used GRE (and both groups are successful in the program). You are not at any sort of disadvantage simply for submitting one instead of the other. We still see more GMAT scores, but here are a few reasons you might apply with a GRE score instead; you’re pursuing a dual degree and need a GRE score for the second program, you took the GRE a few years ago in preparation for a future, type-not-yet-determined grad school (both tests are valid for 5 years), OR you feel that your aptitude is better represented through the GRE (taking practice tests for both can give you a sense of what you might score). Other things of note regarding the GMAT/GRE:

  • Along with past academic performance in undergraduate and graduate study, the GMAT/GRE helps admissions gain a sense of an applicant’s ability to handle the rigor of the MBA program.

     
  • If you are not satisfied with your test scores, and feel that you can do better based on how you’ve been scoring during practice exams, consider taking it again—typically, schools will look at your highest score.
    • We will note a higher quant/verbal score, even if your composite score isn’t improved. However, we do NOT combine individual quant/verbal scores from different tests to create a new composite score. 
    • If you’ve only taken the test once, and scored below our average, we might wonder why you didn’t give it another shot.

       
  • Speaking of our average, make sure you’re aware of it (and 80% ranges) for all of your target schools. While our holistic evaluation won’t count you out for scoring below average, it’s a good benchmark for understanding how competitive you might be within the pool.
    • We still don’t see enough GRE scores to report a statistically significant GRE average.

       
  • There are a lot of GMAT and GRE prep materials you can take advantage before shelling out the cash for a third party test-prep tutor.

     
  • If possible, get this out of the way early so you can focus on other aspects of the application like essays, interview prep, and school visits.

     

Academic Performance (GPA)

As mentioned earlier, your past academic performance and behavior helps us determine whether you’ll be able to handle Tuck’s rigorous MBA program. For some of you, this is great news because you killed it in college. For others, it can be nerve-wracking because your grades aren’t all that stellar and there’s no way to call for a do-over. Remember—it’s a holistic process! Moreover, your GPA is not evaluated in isolation. We consider the rigor of your course load and major, whether grades trend up or down, and other demands on your time, such as working while in school or serious involvement in extracurricular activities. It’s possible we’ll still have concerns, but looking at the big picture helps.

  • Again, look at school averages. Is it over if you’re below average? Absolutely not—but depending on how far below you are, it could be difficult. Know what you’re up against.

     
  • If there’s a particular class or semester that really stands out as poor, let us know what was going on by using the optional essay (just don’t make excuses). A few sentences should be plenty.

     
  • When we talk about rigorous academics, we’re often referring to quantitative concepts. If you come from a less quantitative background, or if your undergraduate performance was not as strong, you may want to consider taking some additional classes to demonstrate your ability.
    • Financial accounting, statistics, microeconomics, and finance are good options.
    • If you’re going to take supplemental courses, do so within the resources available to you (time, cost, etc.). That said, a class with an actual grade is most helpful.

       
  • It’s not just coming in with a skillset though, your GPA (in conjunction with other things) can speak to your academic work ethic as well. We’re not looking for a class of geniuses, but we are looking for a class of contributors (in the classroom, in your study group, during the FYP, etc.), who will be able to successfully complete two academically challenging years.

     
  • If you’ve already completed another graduate degree, we will look at your academic record in that program as well. Sometimes it will show a stronger record than undergrad (which can be reassuring). Because it’s not required of all applicants (nor seen from the majority), we do not track or report grad school GPAs. It is simply another data point.

We hope this blog was helpful! For some of the more nitty-gritty, logistical info, check out this page. Stay tuned—we’ll break down other aspects of the application as the season goes on. Until then, good luck! 
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FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: Tuck’s 2017-2018 Essay Questions

Tuck’s essay questions for the 2017-2018 application cycle are now available! The application itself will go live in the coming days, but here’s a head start.

Essays:

1) (Required) What are your short and long-term goals? Why is an MBA a critical next step toward achieving those goals? Why are you interested in Tuck specifically? (500 words)

2) (Required) Tuck’s mission is to educate wise leaders to better the world of business. Wisdom encompasses the essential aptitudes of confident humility, about what one does and does not know; empathy, towards the diverse ideas and experiences of others; and judgment, about when and how to take risks for the better.

With Tuck’s mission in mind, and with a focus on confident humility, tell us about a time you: 

  • received tough feedback,
  • experienced failure, or
  • disappointed yourself or others.

How did you respond, and what did you learn about yourself as a result? (500 words)

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

4) (To be completed by all reapplicants) How have you strengthened your candidacy since you last applied? Please reflect on how you have grown personally and professionally. (500 words)

Word Counts: All noted word counts are meant as a guideline—we won’t be counting, but do have great sense of what 500 words looks like.

Remember, the essays are an opportunity to share with us who you are beyond the numbers and resume, so reflect, take your time, and be genuine. Communicate clearly and in your voice, not who you think we want you to be; and most importantly, answer the question you are asked.

Tomorrow on Tuck 360: A true “Insider’s Guide to the Tuck Essays,” written by ad com. The Insider’s Guide provides a transparent and thorough review of what we’re looking for in this year’s essays. Don't miss it!
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FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: A Conversation with Everest Summiter James Brooman T’10

James Brooman is a T’10 ex-investment banker who is currently an entrepreneur in the outdoor technology space. He recently climbed Mt. Everest without bottled oxygen. He has also spent two years cycling from Northern Alaska to the southern tip of South America (check out his book about it) and eighty days running across Australia from Perth to Sydney.

Harsha Gavarna is a T’18 and co-chair of the Tuck Outdoor Club. He loves climbing hills—be it the Himalayas or the ones around Hanover. He is also an avid student of mountaineering history.

Below is Harsha's recent conversation with James.



Left: James Brooman T'10 on the summit of Mt. Everest; Right: Harsha Gavarna T'18, Tuck Outdoor Club co-chair

How did you feel at the top of Mt. Everest?

It was a unique experience to finally stand at the summit. It was a feeling of great satisfaction more than anything else. No euphoria or great emotional ‘release’ though, as I was acutely aware that I was really only half way at that point, and I was too tired and hypoxic to get too carried away. It was in many ways like the mix of feelings you get when finishing a marathon.

What was it like up there?

It was a perfect weather day in Everest terms, which meant around -40 degrees Fahrenheit windchill; not actually so bad but also uncomfortable enough to make you not want to linger there for too long even though the view was spectacular. By the time I summited at 10:50 a.m. some clouds had moved into the most distant valleys, but you could see all the mountains for a hundred miles in each direction. Sunrise was even clearer, with not a cloud to the horizon. I remember climbing up from the Balcony (a small platform a few hundred meters below the Everest summit) and looking over the ridge to my left towards the beautiful stratified colors of the sunrise. Clear as day there was a dark triangle which started in front of me and ended at a point on the horizon. It was the shadow of Everest, and it was utterly breathtaking. It was a view I’d wanted to see my whole life and there it was. I didn’t take a photo as I was climbing hard, but those few moments will stay in my memory forever.

How did you develop an interest in the mountains?

I’ve always enjoyed being in the mountains, ever since my parents took me to the alps when I was 4 years old. My mother is from a small village in the Italian Tirol so I guess the mountains are in my genes. It never gets old to see clouds below me; it brings a smile to my face every time.

Why did you decide to climb Mt. Everest, especially without bottled oxygen?

There are a couple of reasons. The first is historical. I was first there in 2014, climbing with oxygen with everyone else. I was fortunate to meet some truly wonderful and incredibly athletic people on that trip, and was surprised I could hold my own. We seemed miles stronger than many of the other teams and I started to think that if those other folks had a chance of summiting, what was I capable of? I was talking to one of the climbers there who had been on Everest several times we talked about climbing with no oxygen. He thought I could do it, and that got the wheels turning.

The second reason is that I thrive on personal challenge. Both the difficulty and the additional complexity of making a no-oxygen attempt was something I found appealing. The fear factor and the low success rate were real motivators which helped me train and prepare as hard as possible, which, if I’m really honest, I wouldn’t have done quite as vigorously than if I had gone back using oxygen once again. Reinhold Messner, one of the greatest ever mountaineers, said it best when he referred to climbing being a form of internal exploration, about knowing more about himself. He saw climbing with oxygen as a barrier to some of that intimate knowledge of his own limits and capabilities. For me, I felt much the same way. I often told my Sherpa that I would rather try and fail without oxygen than use it and summit, because it wasn’t about summiting, it was about finding those limits.

How did Tuck help you in your outdoors journey?

It helped in a number of ways, as a lot of the things you are exposed to at Tuck transfer into life in many ways. Tuck helped me develop my willingness to get input from others - and seek it out in the first place - which helped in my preparation and execution of this climb. I’m also still inspired by many of my classmates and the amazing things they have achieved, which has helped me to ‘think big’ with my dreams and goals. And they don’t come bigger than Mt Everest!

You are the CEO at a fitness startup called Firefit. Can you tell us a little about the challenge you are working on?

Sure. In the physical side of my life I’m very much an amateur athlete, and I used to have just enough knowledge to be dangerous. Getting a coach would have been very beneficial, but I didn't value that part of my life enough to warrant the high cost. My current start-up is exploring ways of using technology to bring the expertise and personalized feed back of a coach to amateur athletes, but at a much more affordable price point. I’m excited to help people inspire others and grow their confidence by reaching their fitness goals, whether that's doing an Ironman triathlon or getting a marathon personal best.

Any parting advice for all those trying to climb their own Mt. Everest?

A couple of things. First is to figure out what the goal is and why you want it. If you don’t know what you are aiming for, you can’t get there, and if you don’t know why you want it you’ll run out of drive before you do. Second is to dream big. Anything is possible with enough dedication, focus and resourcefulness. And third is to have fun and take some calculated risks. I think Tuck folks understand that better than most, but when working in the corporate world its easy to lose sight during the daily grind. Some people say I’m so lucky to have these adventures, but really its just been a set of choices I’ve made. For better or worse!
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FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: A Conversation with Everest Summiteer James Brooman T’10

James Brooman is a T’10 ex-investment banker who is currently an entrepreneur in the outdoor technology space. He recently climbed Mt. Everest without bottled oxygen. He has also spent two years cycling from Northern Alaska to the southern tip of South America (check out his book about it) and eighty days running across Australia from Perth to Sydney.

Harsha Gavarna is a T’18 and co-chair of the Tuck Outdoor Club. He loves climbing hills—be it the Himalayas or the ones around Hanover. He is also an avid student of mountaineering history.

Below is Harsha's recent conversation with James.



Left: James Brooman T'10 on the summit of Mt. Everest; Right: Harsha Gavarna T'18, Tuck Outdoor Club co-chair

How did you feel at the top of Mt. Everest?

It was a unique experience to finally stand at the summit. It was a feeling of great satisfaction more than anything else. No euphoria or great emotional ‘release’ though, as I was acutely aware that I was really only half way at that point, and I was too tired and hypoxic to get too carried away. It was in many ways like the mix of feelings you get when finishing a marathon.

What was it like up there?

It was a perfect weather day in Everest terms, which meant around -40 degrees Fahrenheit windchill; not actually so bad but also uncomfortable enough to make you not want to linger there for too long even though the view was spectacular. By the time I summited at 10:50 a.m. some clouds had moved into the most distant valleys, but you could see all the mountains for a hundred miles in each direction. Sunrise was even clearer, with not a cloud to the horizon. I remember climbing up from the Balcony (a small platform a few hundred meters below the Everest summit) and looking over the ridge to my left towards the beautiful stratified colors of the sunrise. Clear as day there was a dark triangle which started in front of me and ended at a point on the horizon. It was the shadow of Everest, and it was utterly breathtaking. It was a view I’d wanted to see my whole life and there it was. I didn’t take a photo as I was climbing hard, but those few moments will stay in my memory forever.

How did you develop an interest in the mountains?

I’ve always enjoyed being in the mountains, ever since my parents took me to the alps when I was 4 years old. My mother is from a small village in the Italian Tirol so I guess the mountains are in my genes. It never gets old to see clouds below me; it brings a smile to my face every time.

Why did you decide to climb Mt. Everest, especially without bottled oxygen?

There are a couple of reasons. The first is historical. I was first there in 2014, climbing with oxygen with everyone else. I was fortunate to meet some truly wonderful and incredibly athletic people on that trip, and was surprised I could hold my own. We seemed miles stronger than many of the other teams and I started to think that if those other folks had a chance of summiting, what was I capable of? I was talking to one of the climbers there who had been on Everest several times we talked about climbing with no oxygen. He thought I could do it, and that got the wheels turning.

The second reason is that I thrive on personal challenge. Both the difficulty and the additional complexity of making a no-oxygen attempt was something I found appealing. The fear factor and the low success rate were real motivators which helped me train and prepare as hard as possible, which, if I’m really honest, I wouldn’t have done quite as vigorously than if I had gone back using oxygen once again. Reinhold Messner, one of the greatest ever mountaineers, said it best when he referred to climbing being a form of internal exploration, about knowing more about himself. He saw climbing with oxygen as a barrier to some of that intimate knowledge of his own limits and capabilities. For me, I felt much the same way. I often told my Sherpa that I would rather try and fail without oxygen than use it and summit, because it wasn’t about summiting, it was about finding those limits.

How did Tuck help you in your outdoors journey?

It helped in a number of ways, as a lot of the things you are exposed to at Tuck transfer into life in many ways. Tuck helped me develop my willingness to get input from others - and seek it out in the first place - which helped in my preparation and execution of this climb. I’m also still inspired by many of my classmates and the amazing things they have achieved, which has helped me to ‘think big’ with my dreams and goals. And they don’t come bigger than Mt Everest!

You are the CEO at a fitness startup called Firefit. Can you tell us a little about the challenge you are working on?

Sure. In the physical side of my life I’m very much an amateur athlete, and I used to have just enough knowledge to be dangerous. Getting a coach would have been very beneficial, but I didn't value that part of my life enough to warrant the high cost. My current start-up is exploring ways of using technology to bring the expertise and personalized feed back of a coach to amateur athletes, but at a much more affordable price point. I’m excited to help people inspire others and grow their confidence by reaching their fitness goals, whether that's doing an Ironman triathlon or getting a marathon personal best.

Any parting advice for all those trying to climb their own Mt. Everest?

A couple of things. First is to figure out what the goal is and why you want it. If you don’t know what you are aiming for, you can’t get there, and if you don’t know why you want it you’ll run out of drive before you do. Second is to dream big. Anything is possible with enough dedication, focus and resourcefulness. And third is to have fun and take some calculated risks. I think Tuck folks understand that better than most, but when working in the corporate world its easy to lose sight during the daily grind. Some people say I’m so lucky to have these adventures, but really its just been a set of choices I’ve made. For better or worse!
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it. -BB
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