Tuck (Dartmouth): Class of 2017 - Calling All Applicants!

Fair point. Makes sense.

One hour? Really? Did he like you so well that he KNEW what he had to write or did he not care enough to even formulate an answer?

I am not sure about the right to waive. I haven't waived it. Maybe I will ask them this question when I visit for the interview.

FROM Tuck Admissions Blog: On MBA Rankings

As application season gets underway so does the annual round of rankings of business schools. These rankings have become a fixture in the MBA world and lots of consultants and analysts have written about the usefulness of rankings and their methodologies. I thought it might be interesting to hear from someone who deals with both the inner workings of the rankings and their results. As Assistant Dean, one of my responsibilities is working with the publications that do the rankings, providing information and data and delving into the methodologies they use. There are five major rankings that most applicants are aware of and may look at when considering MBA programs: Business Week, The Economist, US News & World Report, Forbes, and the Financial Times. Two of the rankings, The Economist and the Financial Times provide an international ranking where U.S. and international schools are ranked together. Business Week and US News do a separate ranking for international schools and Forbes only covers US schools. The rankings listed above rank full-time MBA programs rather than the business schools per se. However, the overall reputation of a business school as a whole clearly has an impact of these rankings. Each of the rankings seeks to measure different aspects of business schools and their MBA programs but the most important distinction among them I think is their source of information: statistical data or survey-based “opinions.” Forbes and the Financial Times use primarily hard data collected from MBA alumni and the schools themselves. Business Week bases its rankings almost exclusively on opinions of students and corporate recruiters. US News and the Economist use a balance of hard data and opinion. The usefulness to individual applicants of rankings based on hard data depends heavily on: (1) which data the ranking chooses to include (e.g., the FT includes lots of data designed to measure how “global” a program is while US News puts an emphasis on student quality and selectivity) and (2) how carefully the ranking publication defines (e.g., simply asking for the percentage of international students versus and checks the data (e.g., US News sends us back an analysis of this year’s data versus last year’s highlighting big differences and the FT visits schools periodically to do an audit). The value of opinion-based rankings vary based on: (1) the selection of the group asked to give opinions (HR directors of companies that recruit MBAs in general versus managers who actually recruit at the various school or current students versus alumni) and (2) the way survey questions are crafted. So, as you look at the various rankings think about the kind of information they are based on and what that indicates about the relevance of their conclusions to your choice of program.

Good question. I am wondering the same thing. I waived my right for both my recommendations thinking my recommenders would be willing to write more candidly and thoroughly if they knew that only the adcom would see it.

I went through this whole mental exercise about a month ago. Originally I did not waive, then everything I read said "Thou shall waive!" So in a panic I deleted my recommenders then resubmitted the same people as recommenders and waived my right (except Tuck and Fuqua because Tuck allows you to change your mind and Fuqua doesn't give you the choice because they do not retain the recommendation) but I think all the worrying I did was in vain. I don't think it matters. Anything you read or hear from an Adcom will have to say that it doesn't matter, because it is a legal requirement for them to give you the option to see the recommendation if they retain the rec in your file, or something along those lines... same reason adcom will never SAY age is an issue, because you cannot discriminate due to age. But flip-flopping on the issue like I already did, that might raise a brow. I'd like to hear from someone that previously did the flip-flop.

Just my two cents.

I doubt it matters at all. No idea if they even track things like that.

I originally didn't waive my right to see them for the Harvard and Stanford applications, which are due earlier. But after talking to some people, it came up that if you don't waive, adcomms may think that your recommenders aren't being completely honest since they know we can see it. I went back and switched it. Seeing what they wrote doesn't matter that much to me, as I picked them for a reason, and this lessens the stress of overthinking a bit.

Ultimately, I think if an adcomm actually did take waive/not waive into consideration it would be if you were on the fence (which I may very well be). I also agree that even if they do look at this and think about it, they will never admit it.

Great discussion on that. I think I'm gonna waive off for the second one as well.
anupamgupta2112 - the guy had written a reco for me during IMD application, may be that's why it took him less time. But 1 hour! That might well qualify for a record..

My 2 cents. Waive. No point in not doing so. From what I know, you can only see the recommendations after you get in. You can't see the recs, if you get dinged. And, if you do get in, would you really be that keen to see your recs? Unless you're contemplating going back to work for the same person (don't think many people aspire to that).

So, I've waived for all recs.

Good point...
(y)

Submitted!! Now time to wait and see how it goes

Good luck!!

A Tuck Adcom Member was kind to reply to my question. The link is here.
The extract is ...

Learnings - One might be raising red flags even without realizing.

Based on their reply, it appears that they do track this stuff.

I'm sorry but this makes no sense to me. I would think that by waiving your right you are more likely to be seen as someone who would tamper with the recommendation, why else would you be so confident to not see the rec? And if you don't waive I would think that is because you are curious to see what the recommender wrote, because you didnt write/influence the rec... which is why I originally didnt waive, but then seeing the way adcom views the issue, I changed it. Luckily, Tuck allows you to switch after you choose your recommender. I called Harvard adcom and asked if they can see that I switched from Not Waive to Waive and they said yes, but she said they understand people change their minds and it doesnt matter... I guess I'll see when Harvard sends out interview invitations Oct 08th and 15th.

I too got confused with their response but chose to take their advice. After all they know their practice better than me!

I heard it as if you waive, the recommender sees that. Then the schools trust the recommender to write completely honestly, as they don't have to worry about the student seeing their feedback, making it more meaningful.

Posted from my mobile device

I'm in the same boat as you for Harvard and Stanford. Hopefully, it doesn't hurt us!