mbaMission’s Insider’s Guide

Tuck School of Business

Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH

2020–2021

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After more than a decade helping MBA applicants get into top business schools, we have learned what can compel an
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mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 4

Introduction from Poets&Quants

For more than ten years, Poets&Quants has been the foremost authority on the top business schools. Our mission has
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their lives: whether to pursue an MBA.

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mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 5

Free Resources from mbaMission
The following guides are also available from mbaMission (online at www.mbamission.com/guides), and
more are being added regularly:

Admissions Guides Insider’s Guides

ƒ Complete Start-to-Finish MBA Admissions Guide ƒ Insider’s Guide to Columbia Business School
ƒ Brainstorming Guide ƒ Insider’s Guide to Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson
ƒ Essay Writing Guide Graduate School of Management
ƒ Fundamentals of an MBA Candidacy Guide ƒ Insider’s Guide to Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business
ƒ Interview Guide ƒ Insider’s Guide to the Haas School of Business at the University
ƒ Letters of Recommendation Guide of California-Berkeley
ƒ Long-Term Planning Guide ƒ Insider’s Guide to Harvard Business School
ƒ Optional Essays Guide ƒ Insider’s Guide to INSEAD
ƒ Personal Statement Guide ƒ Insider’s Guide to the Kellogg School of Management at
ƒ Resume Guide Northwestern University
ƒ Selecting Your Target MBA Program E-Book ƒ Insider’s Guide to the MIT Sloan School of Management
ƒ Social Media Guide ƒ Insider’s Guide to New York University’s Leonard N. Stern
ƒ Waitlist Guide School of Business
ƒ MBA Student Loan Reduction Guide ƒ Insider’s Guide to the Stanford Graduate School of Business
ƒ Insider’s Guide to the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at
the University of Michigan
International Program Guides ƒ Insider’s Guide to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
ƒ Insider’s Guide to the UCLA Anderson School of Management
ƒ Cambridge Judge Business School Program Guide ƒ Insider’s Guide to the University of Chicago Booth School of
ƒ ESADE Program Guide Business
ƒ HEC Paris Program Guide ƒ Insider’s Guide to the University of Virginia’s Darden School of
ƒ HKUST Program Guide Business Administration
ƒ IE Business School Program Guide ƒ Insider’s Guide to the Wharton School of the University of
ƒ IESE Business School Program Guide Pennsylvania
ƒ IMD Program Guide ƒ Insider’s Guide to the Yale School of Management
ƒ Ivey Business School Program Guide
ƒ London Business School Program Guide
ƒ Rotman School of Management Program Guide
ƒ Saïd Business School Program Guide

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 6

Interview Guides Career Guides

ƒ Chicago Booth School of Business Interview Guide ƒ Asset Management Career Guide
ƒ Columbia Business School Interview Guide ƒ Consulting Career Guide
ƒ Dartmouth Tuck Interview Guide ƒ Hedge Fund Career Guide
ƒ Duke Fuqua Interview Guide ƒ Investment Banking Career Guide
ƒ Haas School of Business Interview Guide ƒ Marketing Career Guide
ƒ Harvard Business School Interview Guide ƒ Private Equity Career Guide
ƒ INSEAD Interview Guide ƒ Real Estate Investment & Development Career Guide
ƒ London Business School Interview Guide ƒ Tech Career Guide
ƒ Michigan Ross Interview Guide ƒ Venture Capital Career Guide
ƒ MIT Sloan School of Management Interview Guide
ƒ Northwestern Kellogg Interview Guide
ƒ NYU Stern School of Business Interview Guide
ƒ Stanford GSB Interview Guide
ƒ Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Interview
Guide
ƒ UCLA Anderson Interview Guide
ƒ UVA Darden Interview Guide
ƒ Yale School of Management Interview Guide

The mbaMission blog is updated daily and offers a plethora of MBA admissions tips, business school news,
company updates, event listings, and other valuable information. Be sure to also follow us on Twitter (@
mbaMission), Facebook, and Instagram (@mbaMission)!

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 7

Table of Contents

9 The MBA Program in Context: Choosing Tuck

10 Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town
14 Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger
17 Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core
21 Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method
23 Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers
25 Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage
27 Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience
29 Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?

32 Tuck School of Business

32 Summary
33 Leadership Development
34 The Dean
35 Professional Specializations
35 Consulting
37 Entrepreneurship, Private Equity, and Venture Capital
41 Finance
43 General Management
43 International Business
46 Marketing
48 Nonprofit/Social Entrepreneurship
51 Notable Professors and Unsung Heroes
52 Social/Community Life
57 Academic Summary
58 Admissions Basics
62 Dartmouth College (Tuck) Essay Analysis, 2020–2021
65 B-School Insider Interview: Courtney Duffy, Dual-Degree Student, Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of
Business and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Class of 2019
70 mbaMission’s Exclusive Interview with Dawna Clarke, Dartmouth Tuck’s Director (from 2005 to 2017) of
MBA Admissions

79 Appendix: Tuck Facts and Figures

79 Basics
79 Class Profile (Class of 2021)
79 Employment Statistics (Class of 2019)

84 Bibliography
The MBA Program in Context:
Choosing Tuck

Over the years, we have met many aspiring MBA students who have tried to identify their target
schools and quickly become overwhelmed, wondering, “How are the top MBA programs really differ-
ent?” and “How do I choose the one that is right for me?”
You may not find a
Frustrated, some applicants ultimately choose schools based simply on rankings or the opinions of
single program that
friends or alumni. Although these inputs have a place in your evaluative process, you should also do meets all your needs
the necessary research to find the program that is truly best for your personality and professional and preferences, but
needs. In doing so, you will find significant differences between, for example, programs that have you should be able to
a class size in the low 200s and those that have classes of more than 900 students. As you are un- identify ones that fulfill
doubtedly already aware, an MBA is a significant investment in the short term and a lifetime connec- the factors that are
tion to an institution in the long term. We therefore strongly encourage you to take time now to think
most important to you.
long and hard about this decision and thoroughly consider your options. We hope this guide will prove
helpful to you in doing just that.

At mbaMission, we advise candidates evaluating their potential target schools to consider the following eight specific
characteristics (in no particular order) that shape MBA programs:

1. Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town

2. Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger
3. Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core
4. Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method
5. Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers
6. Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage
7. Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience
8. Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?

You will not likely find a single MBA program that meets all your needs and preferences across these eight criteria, but
you should be able to identify schools that fulfill the factors that are most important to you. Although this guide is in-
tended to familiarize you on a deeper level with this particular school, nothing will prove more valuable in your decision
making than visiting the programs that appeal to you and experiencing them firsthand. Inevitably, no matter what your
research may reveal, some schools will simply “click” with you, and others will not.

Note: The authors and editors at mbaMission have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the informa-
tion included in this guide. However, some discrepancies may exist or develop over time between what is presented here and
what appears in the school’s official materials, as well as what may be offered by other content providers in print or online.
For the most up-to-date information, always check with your target school directly. The opinions expressed by the people

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 9

interviewed are those of the attributed individuals only and may not necessarily represent the opinion of mbaMission or any
of its affiliates.

We also wish to thank the students, alumni, faculty members, and administrators who gave generously of their time to pro-
vide valuable input for this guide.

1. Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town

Pursuing an MBA can be quite intense, and the environment and community surrounding the campus
can profoundly affect and even shape your MBA experience. For example, imagine stepping out of a
class at New York University’s (NYU’s) Stern School of Business and into the energetic bustle of New The environment
York City’s West Village. Now imagine walking outside after a course at the Tuck School of Business and community
at Dartmouth and being surrounded by the tranquility and natural beauty of New Hampshire’s Upper
surrounding your
Valley. Neither scenario is necessarily “better” than the other, but one might appeal to you more.
chosen school can
An urban campus can undoubtedly offer social and cultural opportunities that a college town simply
profoundly affect
cannot match. This is not to suggest, however, that college towns are devoid of culture—indeed, in- and shape your MBA
tense intellectual and cultural programs exist in college towns precisely because the academic insti- experience.
tution is at the core of the community.

While schools in college towns tout their close-knit atmosphere and the tight bonds classmates form in such a setting,
this environment can be welcoming for some students and overwhelming for others. In contrast, urban campuses are
more decentralized, with students often living in various parts of a city and even in the surrounding suburbs. Someone
who has a greater need for privacy or personal space might therefore prefer an urban environment. In addition, in major
urban centers, some students—particularly those who lived in the city before enrolling in business school—may already
have well-developed social groups, and this scenario may again be better for those who find an academically and socially
all-encompassing environment less attractive.

One aspect of the MBA experience that candidates often fail to consider when evaluating their school options is weather.
Although factoring climate into your school choice may initially seem superficial, if you know you cannot comfortably
manage frigid conditions or soaring temperatures, certain programs should be stricken from your list. We encounter
many applicants each year who wisely stave off a potentially miserable experience by choosing to not apply to certain
schools in locations they just do not feel are “livable” for them.

In addition, housing costs are one expense that Urban Campus Schools Urban/College Hybrid Schools College Town Schools

many applicants do not stop to consider before Chicago Booth Northwestern Kellogg Cornell Johnson
choosing a school to target. By researching real Columbia Business School Stanford GSB Dartmouth Tuck
estate prices at the top programs, we found that Harvard Business School UC Berkeley Haas Duke Fuqua
the cost differential between renting a one-bed- MIT Sloan UCLA Anderson Michigan Ross
NYU Stern Yale SOM UVA Darden
room apartment in a Midwestern college town
UPenn Wharton
and renting one in New York City, for example,

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 10

can be quite significant—adding up to tens Median Monthly Rent for a One-Bedroom Apartment
of thousands of dollars on a cumulative ba-
MIT Sloan Cambridge, MA $3,336 within .50 mile radius of campus
sis across two years. This is an important
factor to include as you weigh your options NYU Stern New York, NY $3,125 within .33 mile radius of campus

and calculate your projected budget. Stanford GSB Stanford, CA $2,600 within 1.50 mile radius of campus

Harvard Business School Cambridge, MA $2,560 within .75 mile radius of campus
In summary, a college town can be appeal-
ing for some candidates because its small- UCLA Anderson Los Angeles, CA $2,500 within .50 mile radius of campus

er size tends to create strong bonds within Columbia Business School New York, NY $2,250 within .50 mile radius of campus
the business school’s community, though
UC Berkeley Haas Berkeley, CA $2,145 within .50 mile radius of campus
for others, the lack of privacy could be un-
Yale SOM New Haven, CT $1,410 within .50 mile radius of campus
desired or overwhelming. Furthermore,
some find a slower pace of life calming and Duke Fuqua Durham, NC $1,300 within 1.5 mile radius of campus
comfortable, whereas others crave the
UPenn Wharton Philadelphia, PA $1,295 within .75 mile radius of campus
energy and bustle of a city. If you strongly
Chicago Booth Chicago, IL $1,250 within 1.0 mile radius of campus
prefer one or the other, you should be able
to quickly eliminate certain schools from Northwestern Kellogg Evanston, IL $1,250 within 1.5 mile radius of campus
your list.
Michigan Ross Ann Arbor, MI $1,195 within .75 mile radius of campus

Dartmouth Tuck Hanover, NH $1,150 within 5.0 mile radius of campus

In 2011, Money Magazine named Ha-
nover, New Hampshire, the sixth Cornell Johnson Ithaca, NY $1,000 within .75 mile radius of campus

best place to live in the United UVA Darden Charlottesville, VA $980 within 1.5 mile radius of campus
States. The magazine’s top 100
list focused on smaller towns that According to Rentometer.com, accessed June 2020.

“stand out in the qualities Ameri-

can families care about most—great job opportunities, top-notch schools, safe streets, economic strength,
nice weather, plenty to do, and more,” which seems to accurately sum up the atmosphere of the Tuck School of
Business at Dartmouth College—known to most as simply Tuck. With a population of just under 11,500, Hanover
is a college town that is generally known for its charm. In fact, the town is heavily influenced by Dartmouth, a
medium-sized private college with approximately 6,500 undergraduate and graduate/professional students.
“When you come to Tuck, you really feel like you’re away at school,” a second-year student told mbaMission,
adding, “The town is owned by Dartmouth.”

Aspiring MBA students are drawn to Tuck not only because of the strength of the MBA program, but also be-
cause of the school’s culture. An alumna with whom we spoke fell in love with Tuck the day she visited the
school: “Tuck has a really nice campus that is separate from the rest of the school. During my first visit, I
learned that you can leave your things anywhere on campus and [they] will be there when you go back … even
your computer! Tuck students are really comfortable with each other, and you always feel like you’re hanging
out at your friend’s house.”

This level of comfort is due in part to Tuck’s close-knit residential community. More than half the first-year
class lives on campus in furnished dorm rooms with private baths, such as in Tuck’s Whittemore Hall, which

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 11

opened in 2000, and the sleek and modern complex of buildings opened in 2009 that in-
cludes Achtmeyer, Raether, and Pineau-Valencienne Halls, although Raether is a commu-
nity space instead of a dorm. Tuck’s residential community also provides convenience, al- Tuck's location
lowing classmates to easily meet for study group sessions and social activities. differentiates it from
most other top MBA
Single students are eligible to apply for on-campus housing, described on the school’s
programs—and they
website as “comfortable, state-of-the art residential facilities designed with mature stu-
dents and executives in mind.” Due to a limited availability of only 145 rooms, allocation is
want applicants to
determined through lottery. Referring to the quality of Tuck’s living options, a first year we understand that. I
interviewed commented, “There is no bad place to live on Tuck’s campus.” A second-year always encourage
student told mbaMission that the dorms are “one of the really cool things for single people clients to make the
coming to Tuck. Because the dorms are connected to the classrooms, you get a large group effort to visit Hanover
of people who live, study, party, hang out, do everything in this series of buildings, which before submitting an
builds community.”
application. Being
able to authentically
A notable percentage of Tuck students with families and partners choose to live in Sachem
Village, Dartmouth’s graduate student complex located less than two miles from campus
articulate your fit
on the other side of Hanover. A second-year student and resident of Sachem Village told with the Tuck's
us, “The apartments and townhomes in Sachem Village are really nice. Residents can even unique culture and
bring their pets and purchase washers and dryers to install in most apartments.” Another environment will help
described Sachem Village as “a mini Tuck community.” Rents in Sachem Village during the you stand out.
2019–2020 academic year ranged from $1,025 per month for a small two-bedroom unit, to
$2,185 per month for a three-bedroom home. A representative from the Dartmouth Real Es-  Melissa Blakeslee, mbaMission
tate Office told mbaMission that Sachem Village rents are generally comparable with cur- Senior Consultant
rent market prices.

Second-year students have off-campus housing options in Hanover and neighboring towns, which can be as
close as a 10–15 minute walk to campus or as far as a 10–20 minute drive. Advance Transit provides free public
bus service between the Dartmouth grounds and nearby communities, according to Tuck’s website. For those
who prefer to live alone, one-bedroom apartments closer to campus tend to cost between approximately $700
and $1,300 per month, sometimes including heat and hot water. However, many students share housing and
rent country homes in Hanover and neighboring towns. These options can range from $1,000 per month for a
small two-bedroom house to $4,000 per month for a larger home, with most houses closer to $1,400 per month
for a three-bedroom, two-bath ranch-style home.

The Dartmouth College Real Estate Office offers an online search tool for local rental listings that can be found at
https://realestate.dartmouth.edu. One second-year student described the homes in the area as simply “stun-
ning,” though he jokingly added, “Some of the homes are so nice that some homeowners only rent to women.”

But what is life really like in Hanover? Some applicants might be surprised to discover that Hanover has only a
few bars and absolutely no nightclubs. However, candidates should not fear being bored in Hanover. A second-
year student we interviewed shared that “Tuck students create their own fun.” The school’s students, known

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 12

as “Tuckies,” never lack for things to do on campus, because student groups and first- and second-year social
chairs plan frequent activities that help keep the Tuck community connected. A first year with whom we spoke
likened Tuck to an all-inclusive resort because the school and various student groups sponsor so many activi-
ties throughout the year.

Indeed, Tuckies enjoy a seemingly constant stream of social events, including parties (both public and pri-
vate), game nights, ski trips, and performances at The Lebanon Opera House or the Hopkins Center for the
Arts (known as “The Hop Theatre”). Tuckies also have multiple opportunities to socialize with classmates over
drinks or dinner at local restaurants. The number one spot, according to one second year, is Murphy’s, “a great
Tuck spot, where you will always run into a bunch of Tuckies every night of the week. And the food is pretty
good, too.” Other local restaurants include the Dirt Cowboy Cafe, Sushiya, and Ramunto’s Brick and Brew piz-
zeria. In addition, several upscale restaurants exist within easy driving distance, such as Carpenter and Main
in nearby Norwich, Vermont. One second-year student told mbaMission that Simon Pearce, the famous glass-
blowing workshop, also has an upscale wine bar and bistro, called the Simon Pearce Mill (or the Simon Pearce
Restaurant), on the Ottauquechee River in Vermont, which is great for date nights and is only a 20-minute drive
from campus.

Tuck students also spend time together enjoying the outdoors. Hanover lures people out
into the fresh air all year long and offers a multitude of activities that allow residents to
enjoy some of the nation’s most spectacular natural settings. In addition to extensive ath- Since Tuck is such a
letic and fitness facilities, Dartmouth has its own 18-hole golf course, downhill ski area, and culture fit program,
rowing club. A recent alumna we interviewed said that most of the students in her class
I always suggest my
were very athletic and outdoorsy. Frequent group activities included indoor and outdoor
clients interested in
hockey, skiing, nature walks, snowshoeing, bike riding, and hiking.
Tuck go visit to make
However, one second year admitted to us, “It can be overwhelming at times to always see sure it's the right fit
your classmates.” If students need an escape, several options are available for day and for them. Most come
weekend trips throughout New England. Also, students can easily reach major metropoli- back even more excited
tan cities such as Boston and New York by car (two- and four-hour drives, respectively), about the program, but
and people travel regularly to these cities on the weekends for interviews, social functions, I have had a few realize
and even salon services. A large number of Tuck students have cars, and a second year
it wasn't the right size
mentioned that students will sometimes email the entire class to solicit or offer a ride.
or location for their
Also, Dartmouth Coach, a luxury bus line, offers round-trip transportation to/from Boston
for approximately $50 and round-trip transportation to/from New York City for approxi-
particular needs.
mately $160.
 Susan Kaplan, mbaMission Senior
Consultant
A final element to consider when evaluating Tuck is whether you can handle the New Eng-
land winter. With average high temperatures during wintertime ranging from 28 to 33 de-
grees Fahrenheit and average lows ranging from ten to 17 degrees Fahrenheit, Hanover can
get pretty cold. Moreover, the wind chill factor can make things feel even more frigid, and according to stu-
dents we interviewed, the snow can be intense as well. However, underground tunnels connect Tuck’s dorms
and academic buildings, giving students an easy way to avoid the elements. When we asked a second-year stu-

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 13

 dent about his reactions to the weather, he told us, “To outdoor enthusiasts and those who love winter weather
and winter sports, Dartmouth is basically a playground. Some students even arrange their class schedules
around when they can get to the slopes. But even if you don’t like the weather, you can have a wonderful time
here, and if you live in the dorms, you don’t really have to go outside.”

2. Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger

Another element that affects the character of a school’s MBA experience is class size. You might
want to reflect on your high school, college, and work environments to help you determine whether
you would be more comfortable in a larger class or a smaller one—or whether this is even a consider- Reflect on your past
ation for you at all. academic and work
environments to
Students at smaller schools (which we define as having approximately 350 students or fewer per
determine whether
class) tend to interact with most of their peers and professors at some point during the typical two-
year MBA period. Thus, the smaller schools are generally considered more “knowable,” and their com-
you would be more
munities tend to be quite closely knit. Also, consider that assuming a leadership position is easier in comfortable in a larger
a smaller environment, because, for example, the Finance Club may have only one president at both or smaller class—or
a small school and a large school, but competition for such a position would obviously be greater in whether this is a
the larger program. consideration for you
at all.
Some individuals might prefer to be at a larger school where they can better maintain their anonymity
if they so choose. A student at a school with close to 900 people or more in each class will not likely
get to know each and every one of their classmates by the end of the program, and some people might
prefer this. Further, advocates of larger classes tout the advantage of being able to interact with more people during
one’s MBA experience—and to thereby develop a broader and more robust network of peers. Note that many schools
divide students into smaller groups—called “sections,” “clusters,” “cohorts,” or even “oceans”—in which approximately
60–90 students take certain classes together, and this approach can help foster a stronger sense of community within
the larger programs.

With a target class size of approximately 280 students, Tuck is one of the smallest top-tier MBA programs, and
the school is known for its close-knit community and collaborative culture. A first-year student shared why
he is happy that he chose Tuck: “I went to a large undergrad institution in a city, which diluted the community
experience. Tuck is neither large nor in a city. I am so excited to live, learn, and play with a tight-knit group of
people.” The Class of 2021 entered the school in the fall of 2019 with 284 members (287 for the Class of 2020).

What Tuck lacks in student numbers, it makes up for in the strength of its community. Tuck’s collaborative cul-
ture is likely due in part to the section experience. During their first year, students are divided into four sections
of approximately 60–70 students who complete the core curriculum together as a group. Because students take
all their classes with their section mates, they tend to develop strong professional and social relationships. The
section composition changes at the start of the winter term and again in the spring, which allows students to
interact with and learn from other members of their diverse class. “The section is a great way to meet friends,”

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 14

a recent graduate told us. “You are with them for School (Class of 2021) Women International Minorities

three hours every day. They tend to be the peo- Chicago Booth 40% 31% 27%2
ple you are talking to the most.”
Columbia Business School 38% 47% 33%1

Tuck assigns each student to a study group of Cornell Johnson 35% 32% 14%4

five to six section mates who work together to Dartmouth Tuck 42% 38%2,3 24%1
prepare for class. One second-year student
Duke Fuqua 43% 37% 37%
explained the collaborative nature of the study
group experience to mbaMission: “In class, stu- Harvard Business School 43% 37%2 27%1,2

dents often start their comments by saying ‘This Michigan Ross 45% 32% 22%1,2
is the way our group thought of the problem’
MIT Sloan 41% 42% NA
versus ‘This is the way I thought of the problem,’
which is pretty unique to Tuck.” This example un- Northwestern Kellogg 43% 32% 26%

derscores the importance of “fit” at the school. NYU Stern 37% 33%3 9%4
Teamwork is emphasized at Tuck, and a recent
Stanford GSB 47% 43%2,3 27%1
graduate we interviewed summarized the con-
UC Berkeley Haas 37% 35% 29%1,2
cept well by saying, “The school has much less
wiggle room to get the class composition wrong. UCLA Anderson 34% 33% 29%
Tuck seeks to find smart, confident, intellectu-
UPenn Wharton 46% 30% 36%1
ally curious people who are both collaborative
UVA Darden 40% 33% 21%1
and driven.”
Yale SOM 42% 44%2,3 29%1,2
Another apparent benefit of Tuck’s size is the
opportunity first-year students have to form 1
Specified as U.S. minorities.

relationships with members of the second-year 2

Includes permanent U.S. residents.

class. A first-year student we interviewed ex- 3

Includes dual citizens.

pressed how happy he was to have been able to 4

Specified as underrepresented minorities.

leverage the many relationships he had devel-

oped with second-year students through social
events, student groups, and electives during the flexible spring term (discussed in greater detail in the Cur-
riculum section) to explore internship and career opportunities. A second year told us that because of Tuck’s
small size, first- and second-year students can easily interact, saying, “After all, even though they are in very
different places in terms of what they are learning, they are only a year apart, which is not really so much. First
years can learn a lot from second years’ experiences, but first years bring a lot to the table as well, so it is worth
getting to know as many people as possible.”

Tuck’s students typically have more work experience than those at other top programs, and the Class of 2021
entered with an average of approximately five years of experience. Although some top MBA programs have
trended toward accepting younger applicants, Tuck’s small community environment actually benefits from its
students’ depth of professional experience. In fact, an associate director of admissions at Tuck told mbaMis-
sion, “It would be very rare that we would offer deferred admission to a college senior.”

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 15

 Year-Over-Year Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class
Profile Data: Dartmouth of of of of of of of of of of of
Tuck 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

Number of Applicants NA NA NA 2,563 NA NA NA 2,744 2,744 2,528 2,804

Number of Full-Time 284 287 293 285 286 281 277 281 270 280 240
Students

Average GMAT 723 722 722 717 717 716 718 717 718 716 712

GMAT Range 620– 620– 620– 680– 680– 670– 530– 550– 570– 670– 660–
780 780 780 7501 7601 7501 780 780 790 760 760

Average GPA 3.52 3.49 3.51 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.53 3.53

Average Years of Work 7 5.25 5.25 5 5 5 5 5 5 5.2 5.3

Experience

Average Age of NA NA NA 28 28 28 28 28 28 27 28
Candidates

Age Range NA NA NA 24–37 24–35 23–35 24–37 24–42 NA NA 24–37

Female Representation 42% 45% 44% 44% 42% 32% 33% 34% 33% 35% 33%

International 38%2 36%2 37%2 30% 32% 35% 31% 32% 34% 33% 30%
Representation

U.S. Minority 24%3 20%3 23% 18% 20% 14% 16% 18% 14% 30% 18%
Representation

Students with Partners 29% 32% 31% 31% 25% 32% 31% 36% 42% 36% 37%

Students with Children 3% 4% 5% 5% 5% 5% 6% 6% NA NA NA

1 Listed as middle-80% range.

2 Includes U.S. dual citizens and permanent residents.

3 Includes American Indian, African American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino.

The school reportedly strives to maintain a small student-to-faculty ratio and, according to the Princeton Re-
view, has one of the lowest—and some might say best—such ratios (7:1) among the top U.S. business schools. All
of the school’s full-time faculty members teach in the MBA program and appear to maintain a balance between
research and teaching. Tuck professors also stay active in the business community by holding advisory posi-
tions on boards and taking on consulting engagements, and this ongoing connection to the current business
arena allows them to personally bring real-world experience into the classroom.

However, one thing we learned that Tuck students value most about the school’s faculty is the professors’ avail-
ability and approachability. A second year we interviewed shared that students commonly run into professors
at restaurants or elsewhere around town and that faculty members are always very approachable. Another
second-year student commented, “Professors are extremely accessible. You can go up to them, and they will
invite you to their offices, or out for coffee or to their houses for dinner. Unlike at other businesses schools, a

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 16

 big divide between students and faculty does not exist at Tuck. … They often host events and are very much a
part of the community.” He then affirmed, “Accessibility is the best part of Tuck.”

Most Common Undergraduate Major for Incoming Students (Class of 2021) Class Size (Class of 2021)

Chicago Booth Business 29% 900 to 1,000 Harvard Business School

Columbia Business School Business 32% 800 to 900 UPenn Wharton

Cornell Johnson NA NA 700 to 800 Columbia Business School1

Dartmouth Tuck Arts / Humanities / Social Sciences 43% 500 to 600 Chicago Booth

Duke Fuqua NA NA 400 to 500 Northwestern Kellogg

Michigan Ross
Harvard Business School Economics / Business 43%
Stanford GSB
Michigan Ross Economics / Business 38% MIT Sloan

MIT Sloan Engineering 33% 300 to 400 Duke Fuqua

UCLA Anderson
Northwestern Kellogg Economics / Business 49%
NYU Stern
NYU Stern Business 30% Yale SOM
UVA Darden
Stanford GSB Humanities / Social Sciences 50%
200 to 300 Dartmouth Tuck
UC Berkeley Haas Engineering 19%
UC Berkeley Haas
UCLA Anderson Business 23% Cornell Johnson

UPenn Wharton Humanities 43%

Schools are listed in order from largest class to smallest within

UVA Darden NA NA each category.

1
Includes J-Term students.
Yale SOM STEM 30%

3. Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core

Many business schools have a “core” curriculum—a standard series of courses that all students must
take. However, these core requirements can vary tremendously from one program to the next. For
example, one school may teach its required curriculum for the entire first year, meaning that stu-
dents will not take any elective courses until their second year, whereas another MBA program may The rigidity or flexibility
stipulate only one or two required courses. of a school’s first-year
curriculum affects
The rigidity or flexibility of a school’s required curriculum affects students’ education and socializa-
students’ education
tion. Regardless of their professional experience, students at a school with a rigid core curriculum
must all take the same classes. At some schools, for example, even CPAs must take the required
and socialization.
foundational accounting course, whereas at others, students can waive selected classes if they can
prove a certain level of proficiency. Again, both approaches have pros and cons, and what those are
depends on your perspective.

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 17

Proponents of a rigid core curriculum would argue that academics Can Waive/ Cannot Waive/

understand what skills students need to become true managers and Test Out of Classes Test Out of Classes

that when students “overspecialize” in one area, their overall business Chicago Booth Harvard Business School
education can ultimately suffer. A significant body of academic writ- Columbia Business School MIT Sloan
ing has been devoted to critiquing programs that give students a nar- Cornell Johnson Stanford GSB
Dartmouth Tuck UVA Darden
row view of business, notably Henry Mintzberg’s Managers Not MBAs:
Duke Fuqua Yale SOM
A Hard Look at the Soft Practice of Managing and Management Devel-
Michigan Ross
opment (Berrett-Koehler, 2004) and Rakesh Khurana’s From Higher
Northwestern Kellogg
Aims to Hired Hands: The Social Transformation of American Business NYU Stern
Schools and the Unfulfilled Promise of Management as a Profession UC Berkeley Haas
(Princeton University Press, 2007). UCLA Anderson
UPenn Wharton

Advocates of the core curriculum approach would also argue that

having all students take the same classes creates a common language and discussion among the
Average GMAT of Incoming
classmates because of the shared experience. In addition, proponents contend that a rigid core Students (Class of 2021)
curriculum facilitates learning, because students who have applicable direct experience bring that
Chicago Booth 730
knowledge and insight into the classroom and can thereby help teach others. Finally, schools with
Columbia Business School 727
mandatory cores generally keep students together in their sections for several months, if not an en-
tire academic year, and students who interact every day in this way ultimately forge strong bonds. Cornell Johnson 696
This sustained contact and connection can create a deep sense of community among the students.
Dartmouth Tuck 723

Duke Fuqua NA
In contrast, those who would argue in favor of a more flexible curriculum feel that students benefit from
the opportunity to specialize immediately—that time is short, and students need power and choice in Harvard Business School1 730

preparing for their desired careers. So if, for example, a student intended to enter the world of finance, Michigan Ross 719
an advocate of flexibility would argue that the student should be able to study finance in depth through-
MIT Sloan 727
out the MBA program, possibly even from day one, so as to gain as much experience as possible in this
area—especially before interviewing for a summer internship. Furthermore, proponents for flexible Northwestern Kellogg 730

curricula caution that experienced students could end up “wasting” hours taking courses in subjects NYU Stern 721
in which they already have expertise. Finally, they would assert that a flexible schedule allows students
Stanford GSB 734
the opportunity to meet a greater number and wider variety of their classmates.
UC Berkeley Haas 725

A distinguishing aspect of the Tuck curriculum is that the school divides its academic year UCLA Anderson 719
into quarters, or terms—known as fall A, fall B, winter, and spring—rather than semesters,
UPenn Wharton 732
which allows students to take a broader range of courses throughout the two-year pro-
gram. During the core curriculum, Tuck students complete 13 courses, the First-Year Proj- UVA Darden 713

ect, and self-chosen elective courses. Yale SOM1 720

In November 2018, the Tuck faculty voted unanimously in favor of a revamp of the MBA core 1
Represents median rather than average.

curriculum. “Central to this endeavor are structural changes to the academic calendar
designed to meet the evolving and future needs of students and companies while preserving the core’s re-
nowned rigor,” the school explained in the announcement for the change. Among the adjustments made were
new core courses, an extended orientation program, a restructure of the winter term to ensure more efficient

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 18

recruiting, and adjusted term lengths. The Class of 2021 was the first to study under the new curriculum.
Although all students must complete Tuck’s mandatory core curriculum, those who have proven industry ex-
perience or knowledge—such as CPAs and those with the CFA designation—are sometimes allowed to replace
certain core courses with an elective. An alumnus told mbaMission that he had been excited to be able to dive
right into his target industry—private equity—during the fall B term after waiving the “Financial Measurement,
Analysis, and Reporting” course (no longer part of the core).

Tuck’s 31-week core for first years is longer than the core at most schools and includes the following courses.

Fall A term (August to October)

• “Analytics I”
• “Financial Accounting”
• “Management Communication”
• “Managerial Economics”
• “Managing People”

Fall B term (October to December)

• “Analytics II”
• “Capital Markets”
• “Crafting Strategy”
• “Marketing”

Note: Students transition to their new sections at the start of the winter term and again in the spring.

Winter term (January to March)

• “Corporate Finance”
• “Global Economics for Managers”
• Electives

Spring term (March to May)

• “First-Year Project”
• “Managing Organizations”
• “Operations Management”
• Electives

Fall A/B terms are like “quantitative boot camp,” shared a recent graduate. As a second year explained to
mbaMission, the start of the academic year is intense, with classes five days a week, intended to bring all
students to the same level. “Basically, it is six weeks of classes in four,” he explained. “Everyone will need this
knowledge for group projects, other classes, and to make sure everyone is on the same page. In addition to lots
of work every night, there are many projects due on Mondays. It is very challenging. But when it is over, every-
one comes out laughing and remembering how they sat in a study room until 2:00 a.m. arguing about why [they]
made a given decision. It is a bonding experience, but when you are doing it, it is definitely not fun.”

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 19

This student continued by explaining that the most challenging classes are those that the first years take in
Fall B: “It is a very aggressive curriculum, teaching advanced skills on the theory that everyone should have
them, even if not all will use them. There are daily deliverables in the three quantitative classes. You learn in
class on Monday what [you] will need for a project on Monday night to hand in on Tuesday.” However, this stu-
dent noted, things taper off a bit after that: “Winter is for recruiting; spring is much more manageable.”

In the first year, the spring term offers the most flexibility. During this term, students complete the “First-Year
Project,” a semester-long course that provides students the opportunity to apply their core academic knowl-
edge to a real-world problem. Students work in self-selected teams of five on a project of their own choos-
ing, with a Faculty Advisor who coaches them through the process. Most projects have an external client who
provides motivation for the project and access to data and people in the target organization. The exception is
entrepreneurial projects, for which the student team develops a business plan for a new product or service
and pitches it to venture capitalists. Remarked one second year we interviewed, the project “should be the
capstone of your first year.” Students are generally offered the opportunity to take electives in their winter
and spring terms.

Tuck students are free to completely customize their second-year curriculum, and the school does not offer
majors in particular subjects. Instead, students can choose from more than 100 electives and, if they wish, can
tailor their coursework to focus on one of 13 areas of study, as follows:

• Accounting
• Communication
• Economics
• Entrepreneurship
• Ethics and Social Responsibility
• Experiential
• Finance
• Health Care
• Marketing
• Operations and Management Science
• Organizational Behavior
• Other
• Strategy

After completing the first-year curriculum, second-year students must complete a minimum of 12 additional
full classes (ultimately resulting in 82.5 credits in total). All students are required to take at least a mini course,
or 1.5 credits, from an approved list of offerings dealing with ethics and social responsibility—which a second
year described to mbaMission as “very strong.” This student also confirmed that Tuck does “a good job of in-
tegrating that mind-set [that of ethics/social responsibility] into the rest of the classes as well; professors
always bring up the topic of corporate responsibility in the context of business decisions.” Another second
year, who had completed five courses in this area, explained, “The classes are popular because [these] are

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 20

 issues that come up time and time again; they are top-of-the-mind these days. The professors are passionate
about the issues.”

An alumnus noted to mbaMission that a major advantage of Tuck’s smaller class size is that “unlike at much
larger business schools … in most cases, students [at Tuck] actually get the second-year courses they desire.”
In addition, students can create their own areas of concentration by enrolling in an independent study or a field
study through the “OnSite Global Consulting” course (discussed in greater detail in the Consulting section).

4. Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method

Students will likely encounter multiple styles of learning while in business school—including partici-
pating in simulations, listening to guest speakers, and partaking in hands-on projects—but the two
most common MBA learning styles are case method and lecture. Students will encounter
many different styles
Pioneered by HBS, the case method, or case-based learning, requires students to read the story
of learning during
(called a “case”) of either a hypothetical or a real protagonist who is facing a managerial dilemma. As
their time at business
the student reads, the student explores the protagonist’s dilemma and has access to various quan-
titative and qualitative data points meant to facilitate further analysis. (Cases can vary in length but
school, but the two
are typically 10–20 pages long.) After reading and studying the entire case, the student generally un- most common are case
derstands the profundity of the problem and is typically asked a simple question: “What would you method and lecture.
do?” In other words, how would the student act or react if they were in the protagonist’s place? What
decision(s) would the student make?

After completing their independent analysis of the case, the student typically meets with the members of their study
group or learning team (if the school in question assigns such teams) for further evaluation. Together, the group/team
members explore and critique one another’s ideas and help those students who may have had difficulty understanding
particular aspects of the issue or progressing as far on their own. Often, though not always, the team will establish a
consensus regarding the actions they would take in the protagonist’s place. Then, in class, the professor acts as facilita-
tor and manages a discussion of the case. Class discussions can often become quite lively, and the professor will guide
students toward resolving the dilemma. Sometimes, the professor will ultimately reveal the protagonist’s decision and
the subsequent results—or even bring the actual protagonist into the classroom to share and discuss the case’s progres-
sion and outcomes in person.

In short, the case method focuses primarily on the analytical process and illustrates that the problems presented have
no clear-cut right or wrong responses. For a student to disagree with the protagonist’s chosen path—even after it has
proved to be successful—is not unusual. After all, another approach (or even inaction) may have produced an even better
result.

Note that case-based learning is not specific to one academic discipline. Cases are available in finance, strategy, opera-
tions, accounting, marketing, and still other areas. Further, many cases are interdisciplinary, meaning that they address
more than one area at a time, such as requiring students to think about how a financial decision might affect the opera-

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 21

tions of a manufacturing company or the ways in which a marketing decision might involve signifi- Average GPA of Incoming Students

cant financial considerations. Importantly, students in case environments are often graded on their (Class of 2021)

“contribution” to the class discussion (measured by the level of one’s participation in discussions and Chicago Booth 3.60
analysis, not on the frequency with which one offers “correct” answers), so the case method is not for
Columbia Business School 3.60
those who are uncomfortable speaking in class. However, it can be incredibly helpful for those who
Cornell Johnson 3.41
want or need to practice and build confidence speaking publicly.
Dartmouth Tuck 3.52
Lecture is the method of learning that is familiar to most people—the professor stands in front of
Duke Fuqua NA
the class and explores a theory or event, facilitating discussion and emphasizing and explaining
Harvard Business School 3.70
key learning points. Often, students have read chapters of a textbook beforehand and have come to
class with a foundation in the specific area to be examined that day. Although the case method gives Michigan Ross 3.50
students a context for a problem, those who favor lecture tend to believe that the case method is
MIT Sloan 3.60
too situation specific and therefore prefer a methodical exploration of theory that they feel can be
Northwestern Kellogg 3.60
broadly applied across situations. In lecture classes, the professor and their research or theory are
technically paramount, though students still participate, challenge ideas, and debate issues. NYU Stern 3.54

Stanford GSB1 3.70

Note that at some schools, professors may alternate between cases and lectures within a single se-
UC Berkeley Haas 3.67
mester of classes.
UCLA Anderson NA

Tuck professors use a mix of teaching styles in their classrooms, including case method, UPenn Wharton 3.60
lecture, and team projects. “I found that Tuck classes are well balanced,” shared a recent
UVA Darden 3.50
graduate we interviewed. “Most classes have a mix between lecture and case—for example,
in ‘Managerial Accounting,’ half were case, half were problem sets.” Another alumnus told Yale SOM2 3.66

mbaMission that “some experiential courses, like [‘Advanced Management Communica- 1

U.S. schools, 4.0 scale only.

tion’, formerly titled ‘Advanced Presentation Skills’] are more student driven. Students de- 2
Represents median rather than average.

liver both impromptu and prepared presentations and receive specific feedback on their
presentation styles from classmates.” Overall, everyone we interviewed emphasized that
at Tuck, students truly learn from both classmates and professors alike, through a variety of teaching styles.

Tuck students always have homework, but the frequency of written assignments varies from class to class.
For example, some courses reportedly have written assignments every class; these are not graded, but pro-
fessors randomly cold-call students to present them (so being prepared is key). On the other hand, other
courses have no assignments to turn in at all. A recent graduate mbaMission interviewed explained, “It’s com-
mon, though, to have a written assignment every other class or two classes. But at the end of the day, it’s not
about the grade. Professors really care that students learn the material.”

To improve the school’s offerings and provide students with deeper interaction with professors, Tuck has add-
ed courses in a new seminar format called Research-to-Practice Seminars. The seminars were conceived as a
key component of Tuck 2012, the school’s strategic plan. The courses bring together 15 second-year students
with top faculty for a “deep dive” into a specific topic. Research-to-practice seminars offered in recent years
include “Corporate Takeovers,” “Time in the Consumer Mind,” “Retail Operations,” “Leadership and Society,”
“Strategy in Innovation Ecosystems,” “Firm Organization in a Global Economy,” and “Deconstructing Apple.”

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 22

5. Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers

Schools’ brands and reputations develop over time and tend to endure, even when the programs
make efforts to change them. For example, many applicants still feel that Kellogg is only a marketing
school and that Chicago Booth is only for people interested in finance, even though both programs
boast strengths in many other areas. Indeed, this is the exact reason mbaMission started producing Do not merely accept
these guides in 2008—we wanted applicants to see beyond these superficial “market” perceptions. stereotypes but truly
Make sure you are not merely accepting stereotypes but are truly considering the breadth and depth
consider the breadth
of resources available at each school.
and depth of resources
We have dedicated the majority of this guide to exploring the principal professional specializations
available at each
for which resources are available at this particular school, and we encourage you to fully consider school.
whether the MBA program meets your personal academic needs by supplementing the information
here with additional context from the school’s career services office, by connecting with the heads of
relevant clubs on campus, and perhaps even by reaching out to alumni in your target industry.

Most Common Pre-MBA Industry (Class of 2021) School Top Industry for % Entering
2019 Graduates the Industry
Chicago Booth Consulting 25%
Chicago Booth Consulting 33.7%
Columbia Business School Financial Services 29%
Columbia Business School Financial Services 34.3%
Cornell Johnson NA NA
Cornell Johnson Financial Services 37.0%
Dartmouth Tuck Financial Services 25%
Dartmouth Tuck Consulting 38.0%
Duke Fuqua Financial Services 18%
Duke Fuqua Consulting 32.0%
Harvard Business School Venture Capital / Private 16%
Equity Harvard Business School Financial Services 29.0%

Michigan Ross Consulting 26% Michigan Ross Consulting 32.0%

MIT Sloan Consulting 26% MIT Sloan Consulting 30.7%

Northwestern Kellogg Consulting 27% Northwestern Kellogg Consulting 31.0%

NYU Stern Financial Services 29% NYU Stern Consulting 37.1%

Stanford GSB Consulting 20% Stanford GSB Finance 33.0%

UC Berkeley Haas Tie: Consulting; Finance 20% UC Berkeley Haas Technology 32.9%

UCLA Anderson Finance 26% UCLA Anderson Technology 29.5%

UPenn Wharton Consulting 25% UPenn Wharton Financial Services 35.8%

UVA Darden NA NA UVA Darden Consulting 35.5%

Yale SOM Financial Services 20% Yale SOM Consulting 37.2%

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 23

Top Industries: 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
Dartmouth Tuck

Consulting 38% 30% 33% 36% 34% 35% 27% 36% 33% 26% 34% 34%

Financial Services 24% 20% 20% 20% 24% 25% 30% 22% 29% 25% 28% 32%

Technology 19% 24% 20% 16% 18% 18% 13% 11% 12% 9% 8% 8%

Health Care/Pharma-
5% 8% 5% 4% 6% 6% 5% 4% 4% 9% 6% 4%
ceuticals/Biotech

Consumer Goods/
4% 6% 11% 13% 10% 7% 10% 13% 11% 7% 9% 7%
Retail

Manufacturing 4% 5% 4% 4% 2% 3% 6% 5% 4% 7% 11% 4%

Most Tuck students are career changers, according to the school’s website, and students we interviewed
report that the resources the Career Development Office offers are particularly strong, especially for those
interested in the finance or consulting fields. More than sixty percent of the 2019 graduating class accepted
offers in these industries combined—but Tuck is not strictly a finance or consulting school. Tuck’s general
management program prepares students to succeed in various industries, including entrepreneurship, con-
sumer goods/retail, technology, health care, and nonprofit.

Tuck students and alumni with whom we spoke explained that in the wake of the economic crisis, job oppor-
tunities in finance were harder to come by. An alumnus we interviewed focused his studies on private equity
but ultimately accepted a position in management consulting because opportunities in private equity were
limited. However, the school’s most recent employment figures suggest finance-related jobs may be on the
upswing for Tuck graduates.

In 2013, for the first time in at least six years, the percentage of graduates who accepted roles in the financial
services industry was higher than that entering consulting, though for the Classes of 2014 through 2019, inclu-
sive, consulting (35%, 34%, 36%, 33%, 30%, and 38%, respectively) was again the top industry, with financial
services (25%, 24%, 20%, 20%, 20%, and 24%) in second place in all but 2018, in which it was in third place
behind technology. Job acceptances in the health care industry were at a high of 9% in 2010, but have hovered
at lower numbers in more recent years, reaching 6% in both 2014 and 2015, 4% in 2016, 5% in 2017, 8% in 2018,
and 5% in 2019.

Technology is an industry that has seen a general increase over time, progressing from as low as 8% for the
Classes of 2008 and 2009 to 19% for the Class of 2019, putting it in third place that year, behind consulting
and financial services. Although consulting has been fairly consistent over the past eight years, with approxi-
mately one-third of the class typically entering this industry—38% of the Class of 2019 did so—this figure did
dip noticeably in 2013 and 2010, reaching only 27% and 26%, respectively. (See the Appendix for a listing of the
top hiring companies at Tuck for 2018–2019.)

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 24

6. Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage

The size and depth of a school’s alumni base may be important to you as you seek to break into a
specific field or region/country. Some MBA programs have had large classes for many years and can
therefore boast sizeable alumni networks, whereas other schools may have pockets of strength in Some schools boast
particular parts of the world or in certain industries—or can claim a smaller but tighter-knit and more sizeable alumni
dedicated alumni network overall. For example, Dartmouth Tuck has a smaller absolute number of
networks, while others
alumni than most top U.S. schools but has repeatedly been touted as having the highest rate of an-
have pockets of
nual alumni giving, thanks to its very dedicated graduates.
strength in particular
Although acquiring detailed breakdowns of a school’s alumni base is sometimes difficult, you may regions or industries.
want to consider whether the school you are targeting has alumni clubs in your chosen professional
area (i.e., some schools have industry-specific alumni groups) or preferred post-MBA location. Fur-
thermore, if you are determined to live in a particular city/country/region after graduating, then earning your MBA in or
near that area, if possible, may be a good idea, so that you can more easily connect with local alumni while you are in
school—particularly if you want to pursue a niche professional area and do not expect to participate in on-grounds re-
cruiting. Of course, technological developments have greatly facilitated outreach, meaning that alumni are no longer a
flight or long drive away, but are now just a phone call, email, text, or even Skype session away.

Alumni Base
Schools are listed in order from largest alumni base to smallest within each category.

NYU Stern, UPenn Wharton, Harvard Business School 75,000 to 110,000

Northwestern Kellogg, Chicago Booth, Michigan Ross 50,000 to 75,000

Columbia, UCLA Anderson, UC Berkeley Haas, Stanford GSB 25,000 to 50,000

MIT Sloan, Duke Fuqua

Cornell Johnson, UVA Darden 10,000 to 25,000
Dartmouth Tuck

Yale SOM 10,000 or fewer

0 25,000 50,000 75,000 100,000 125,000

Note: Some schools include MBA program graduates only in their alumni total; other schools may also include alumni from their part-time, executive, doctoral, and/or other programs,

so totals may not be directly comparable.

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 25

Tuck has approximately 10,500 living alumni, and although that figure may sound small compared with a larger
school’s alumni base, numerous students and graduates we interviewed reported that Tuck has an active and
close-knit alumni community. Through their continued involvement with the school as mentors, visiting ex-
ecutives, recruiting contacts, and internship providers, Tuck’s graduates keep an open channel between the
school and the business world. Tuck students we interviewed for this guide could not say enough about the
strength of student-alumni interactions, emphasizing that the vitality of the school’s close-knit community
endures long after graduation.

One second-year student we interviewed noted, “Tuck has very responsive alumni. … The
support of the alumni is especially seen in their efforts to try and assist students [in get-
ting] jobs and internships. It is not unusual for a graduating student to reach out to ten alum- Tuck alumni are so
ni and get responses from six of them on the same day. It’s also not uncommon to have the passionate about their
CEO of a large corporation take a call from a student because [they are] a Tuckie.” Another
school. My clients
shared that he had pretty high expectations with regard to the school’s alumni community
always report back
“but still underestimated how strong the network can be.” He explained, “The connections
were instant. I received same-day responses, all the time. There is a strong pay-it-forward
that they had amazing
mentality and a genuine interest in seeing people from Tuck do well. Alums go out of their conversations with
way to help with networking, job preparation, anything.” students and alumni.

Still another second year told mbaMission, “It is absolutely wonderful to see how close the  Jessica Shklar, mbaMission

alumni are to the students. It is the best part about Tuck. Everyone spent two years in Ha- Senior Consultant

nover; that creates a bond with the area and with each other. We all had the same home-
work, in the same room, with the same professors. You can reach out to alumni cold and
find them very responsive, generous, open, and willing to share. Alumni love their school and they love other
Tuckies.”

Tuck alumni also stay connected to the school through its annual campaign. The school reportedly boasts one
of the highest giving rates—reportedly two-thirds of the alumni pool donate within each fiscal year—of all U.S.
MBA programs. During the 2019 fiscal year, the school received more than $43M in donations, after the previ-
ous year’s record of $51M.

More than 70% of Tuck’s alumni achieve top management positions in their chosen industries, residing in 74
countries around the world. The business school’s U.S. alumni clubs are in the following areas: Atlanta; Bos-
ton; Chicago; Colorado; Hartford, Connecticut; Houston; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; New York City; Northern
California; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; Seattle; Upper Valley, New Hampshire/Vermont; and Washington,
DC. The alumni groups abroad are in Argentina, Brazil, China, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, France,
Switzerland, Japan, and Canada. A New York alumnus with whom we spoke stated that the city’s alumni club is
very active and plans events at least once every quarter.

In 2012, Tuck launched an online alumni portal called myTUCK. This social network allows alumni to interact
with colleagues, fellow graduates, students, and faculty. Alumni can also take advantage of career and net-

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 26

 working resources, job boards, and interviewing advice and have access to research conducted by members
of Tuck’s faculty.

In 2012, the school also established a Latin American and Caribbean Council (formerly the Latin American
Council), made up of Tuck graduates who work or live in the area. The Council aims to “help to recruit the best
MBA students from Latin America, expand career opportunities, build relationships with corporations, assist
in developing targeted programmatic and curricular activities, and strengthen Tuck’s global brand,” explains
the school’s website. A similar group was established in Europe the previous year (2011) and was later expand-
ed into the Europe, Middle East, and Africa Council.

In 2014, Tuck’s alumni efforts abroad continued with the establishment of the Asia Pacific Council (formerly
the Asian Council). The board’s 18 members for the 2019–2020 year included past and current executives from
such companies as Korn Ferry, Christie’s, and Goldman Sachs. “We’re especially proud of how we can be as a
resource for all students, from the recently admitted to alumni,” a board member commented in a June 2014
Tuck Newsroom article. “Not only do our boards tie active Tuck alumni together, but we’re also an accessible
network for first- and second-year students.” Lastly, the Dartmouth Alumni Admissions Ambassador Program
engages alumni from around the world to aid in Tuck’s international recruiting efforts.

7. Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience

When contemplating an MBA program, do not overlook the school’s facilities. Renovations, upgrades,
and new construction are all regular occurrences on school campuses these days, as some programs
increase their square footage while others unify disparate areas or refresh existing spaces. Some If a school has not
schools boast on-campus housing or elite athletic facilities, others have established new green updated its facilities in
spaces and meeting rooms, and still others have refurbished or added classrooms, theaters, librar-
recent years, perhaps
ies, and other such resources.
none were needed or
Keep in mind, though, that just because a school has not updated or added to its facilities in recent
the school has invested
years, this does not mean that its offerings are outdated or subpar; the lack of updates may simply be in other aspects of its
because none have been needed or the school has invested in other aspects of its program instead. A program instead.
campus visit is always the best way to evaluate firsthand what a school has to offer, but we nonethe-
less dedicate this space to a discussion of the facilities available at this particular program.

Tuck’s 200-acre campus, which is separated from the rest of the Dartmouth grounds, includes both modern and
historic elements. With traditional academic buildings, sleek dorms, and cozy study spaces, Tuck exudes that
Ivy League feel. Eleven interconnected academic and administrative buildings offer large and small classrooms,
group study rooms, conference rooms, lounges, a business/engineering library, and offices for faculty and staff.
Tuck’s Achtmeyer, Raether, and Pineau-Valencienne Halls, which were originally called the Living and Learning
Complex (LLC) and were completed in January 2009, provide additional on-campus residential space, as well as
classrooms, study areas, and community common areas. A recent graduate described the facility to us by say-

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 27

ing, “The LLC is an amazing building. The compelling design, spacious and comfortable classrooms and dorms,
and various amenities make it a very popular place at Tuck.”

A second-year student described the LLC in detail to mbaMission, saying the facility includes “three class-
rooms—two for 60–70 people and one large lecture hall for 130. The main floor is a social area—it holds band per-
formances, an annual gala, and more; then there are lounges with TVs, Sony PlayStations, and 20 or so study
rooms with six chairs and LCD TVs so that you can practice PowerPoints. Above these are dorms with several
rooms in each wing and a large kitchen. These are all beautiful spaces. There is a fireplace on the main floor, and
in back, a beautiful wood porch where you can sit and stare at the river. The rooms are gorgeous, not huge but
good for dorm rooms.” He even pointed out that the building has great water pressure!

In 2009, Tuck renovated Buchanan Hall, formerly a student dorm, to provide faculty and administrative office
space (and some accommodations for students in Tuck’s Executive Education program). A wide range of study
areas is available across campus, including in Stell Hall and the aforementioned LLC. Stell Hall, built in 1930, is
a popular spot for students and professors to congregate. “It feels like a formal living room in an old mansion,”
an alumnus told us. “The long Oakwood tables, comfy chairs, and fireplace make you feel like you’ve walked into
someone’s home.” In the words of a second year we interviewed, “Stell Hall is what you think of when you think
‘Ivy League,’ with wood panels, old portraits, and a good fireplace. It hosts some social events, but mostly has
soft furniture where people can do homework. We call it the ‘non-library library,’ because it looks like a library
but without the books.”

As mentioned in the Location section, many first-year Tuck students live on campus. Those we interviewed
reported that the dorms provide everything a student needs to be comfortable—furnished rooms with private
baths and common areas, including living rooms with flat-screen TVs, study spaces, business resource centers,
kitchen and dining areas, and an exercise facility. An alumna with whom we spoke said that another benefit of
the residential community is that “you can get to class quickly without ever stepping outside.” Underground tun-
nels connect Tuck’s dorms and academic facilities. But do not let the word “tunnel” mislead you. “The tunnels are
actually nice,” explained the alumna. “They are not dungeon-like. They are carpeted and decorated.”

When evaluating the different resources at Tuck, candidates should not ignore the dining facilities, given that
living on a residential campus means that campus dining is typically one’s primary source for meals. Explained a
second year we interviewed, “We mostly eat at Byrne Hall, which is only open during the week. The food is okay,
definitely not great, and it closes early (7:30 p.m.). But it gets us through. With the [newest] dorm, there are big,
open kitchens that people cook in, and that is a nice feature. On the weekends, most people walk into town to
grab a bite.” Another second-year student noted that Byrne has expanded its vegetarian offerings by including a
meat-free entrée at both lunch and dinner.

A first-year student noted to mbaMission that Tuck’s living facilities are “amazing, and the learning facilities are
great because of the number of breakout and group meeting rooms.” When he compared Tuck’s campus to that
of other schools he considered attending—including HBS, the Stanford GSB, UC Berkeley Haas, and Columbia—he
felt that “Tuck had the best facilities next to HBS.”

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 28

8. Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?

MBA rankings should always be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism, given that they can fluctu-
ate dramatically from year to year and from publication to publication. For example, if you had relied
on the U.S. News & World Report rankings to choose the NYU Stern School of Business as your busi- The various surveys
ness school in 2016 because of the program’s position at number 11, you probably would have been should and will provide
disappointed to see the school then slide down to 20th place just one year later. Similarly, if you had
some context for your
selected UC Berkeley Haas in 2014, when it was number 19 in Bloomberg Businessweek’s ranking, you
decision, but resist the
would have been delighted to see the program rise to number six in 2018.
temptation to choose
Can an MBA program—which is made up of so many moving parts—really change so much in just one a school based on
or two years? Furthermore, how can one reconcile that MIT Sloan is ranked in the top five on the most rankings alone.
recent Financial Times and U.S. News & World Report rankings but is listed at 16th by The Economist?
Or that Stanford GSB holds the seventh position in The Economist survey but is ranked first by Bloom-
berg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Poets&Quants, and U.S. News & World Report?

An MBA ranking that appears to be gaining in popularity, according to feedback we have received from candidates in
recent years, is from Poets&Quants, which aggregates what it considers the top five MBA surveys—Bloomberg Business-
week, The Economist, the Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report, and Forbes—to create a composite ranking.

Of course, the various surveys should and likely will provide some context for your decision, but resist the temptation to
choose a school based on rankings alone, because rankings may ultimately betray you—possibly even before you graduate.

One thing to keep in mind, particularly for international students, is that a school’s reputation domestically can be quite
different from its reputation abroad. Years ago, mbaMission worked with an international candidate who was accepted
into the MBA programs at Cornell Johnson and Dartmouth Tuck. When this individual shared the good news with his man-
ager, his manager said, “I thought you would have gone to an Ivy League school like Princeton!” Of course, Dartmouth and
Cornell are in fact Ivy League institutions, and Princeton does not even have an MBA program—the manager’s reaction
illustrates how possible misconceptions can arise. So, after considering an MBA program’s strengths, you might factor
in that some schools have greater brand power in certain parts of the world, especially if you plan to live and work abroad
after you complete your studies.

We advise you to consider your MBA a long-term investment that will pay dividends throughout your life, and such an in-
vestment should be based on more than a one-time ranking. In fact, most MBAs who are five to ten years out of school are
not even aware of what their school is now ranked. Perhaps more importantly, if you were to ask one whether the school’s
position in the rankings has any effect on their career, the response would certainly be an impassioned “No!”

Tuck often places in the top ten in of the most prestigious business school rankings. The school rose one spot
to tenth place domestically but stood steady in 12th place internationally in The Economist’s 2019 survey. The
school rose dramatically in the 2019 Bloomberg Businessweek ranking, shifting from 19th in the United States
to second. The program stood unchanged domestically at tenth place and dipped one spot internationally to

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 29

 U.S. Ranking: Dartmouth Tuck 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009

Poets&Quants NA NA 9 9 7 7 9 8 8 8 8 6 NA

U.S. News & World Report 12 12 10 8 8 9 9 9 9 7 7 8 NA

Bloomberg Businessweek1 NA NA 2 19 7 5 14 15 [12] 12 [14] 14 [12]

Financial Times NA 10 10 10 10 13 12 12 10 11 9 7 8

The Economist NA NA 10 11 8 6 3 2 2 2 1 2 4

1
Until 2015, Bloomberg Businessweek released rankings every two years (in November), so numbers in brackets represent carryover from the previous year’s ranking.

16th place in the 2020 Financial Times survey. Tuck was placed ninth in the 2019 Poets&Quants ranking of U.S.-
based business schools, unchanged from the previous year.

In U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 assessment of American MBA programs, the school stood unchanged at
number 12 in a tie with Michigan Ross and Duke Fuqua, and was included among the following specialty rank-
ings: management (5) and finance (26, tied with two other schools). In addition, in the Princeton Review’s 2020
evaluation of 248 MBA programs, Tuck was named number two for Best Campus Environment, number four for
Best MBA for Management, number seven for Most Family Friendly, number nine for Best MBA for Consulting,
and number ten for Toughest to Get Into and for Best Career Prospects.

However, even though Tuck is a top business school in the United States (and Dartmouth is an Ivy League in-
stitution), it is not as well known abroad. A graduate of the program told us, “Those who know of Tuck hold the
brand in high regard. I recently visited east Africa and met with U.S.-trained executives, and they had a very
high esteem of Tuck. However, I also interviewed in South Africa with an executive who graduated from a top
U.S. program 15 years ago, and it took him a few seconds to make the Tuck–Dartmouth connection.”

The school is actively working to increase its brand awareness internationally. One method is through creat-
ing a diverse class (international students make up 38% of the Class of 2021). In addition, the Ambassador
Program, established in 2005, allows students to work with Tuck’s staff to improve the school’s brand inter-
nationally and in the United States by creating and running initiatives such as establishing alumni clubs, fos-
tering recruiting relationships, organizing professor visits, and hosting information sessions in their home
countries. In 2019–2020, the school had ambassadors for such locations as Africa, the Middle East, Europe,
and Asia.

With regard to the school’s position in the various rankings, one second-year student explained to mbaMis-
sion, “I paid attention when I was applying but stopped after I got in. Most Tuckies believe that this is the best
school there is; no one cares about the rankings, and the students here are very happy with their choice. Most
didn’t come to Tuck because of its rank—they know that it is a top school, but they chose it because it is out-
doorsy, quaint, and they want the kind of experience that it offers.”

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 30

 Poets&Quants (2019) U.S. News & World Report (2021) Bloomberg Businessweek (2019) Financial Times (2020) 1,2 The Economist (2019) 1,3

1 Stanford GSB 1 Stanford GSB 1 Stanford GSB 1 Harvard Business School 1 Chicago Booth

2 Chicago Booth 1 UPenn Wharton 2 Dartmouth Tuck 2 UPenn Wharton 2 Harvard Business School

3 Harvard Business School 3 Chicago Booth 3 Harvard Business School 3 Stanford GSB 3 Northwestern Kellogg

4 UPenn Wharton 3 Northwestern Kellogg 4 Chicago Booth 4 MIT Sloan 4 UPenn Wharton

5 Northwestern Kellogg 5 MIT Sloan 5 UVA Darden 5 Columbia Business School 5 UCLA Anderson

6 MIT Sloan 6 Harvard Business School 6 UPenn Wharton 6 Chicago Booth 6 UC Berkeley Haas

7 Columbia Business School 7 UC Berkeley Haas 7 MIT Sloan 7 Northwestern Kellogg 7 Stanford GSB

8 UC Berkeley Haas 8 Columbia Business School 8 UC Berkeley Haas 8 UC Berkeley Haas 8 Michigan Ross

9 Dartmouth Tuck 9 Yale SOM 9 Columbia Business School 9 Yale SOM 9 Duke Fuqua

10 Yale SOM 10 NYU Stern 10 Northwestern Kellogg 10 Dartmouth Tuck 10 Dartmouth Tuck

11 UVA Darden 11 UVA Darden 11 Cornell Johnson 11 Duke Fuqua 11 Cornell Johnson

12 Michigan Ross 12 Dartmouth Tuck 12 UCLA Anderson 12 UVA Darden 12 Columbia Business School

13 Cornell Johnson 12 Duke Fuqua 13 NYU Stern 13 NYU Stern 13 UVA Darden

14 Duke Fuqua 12 Michigan Ross 14 Yale SOM 14 Cornell Johnson 14 NYU Stern

15 UCLA Anderson 15 Cornell Johnson 15 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 15 UCLA Anderson 15 USC Marshall

16 NYU Stern 16 UCLA Anderson 16 Washington Foster 16 Michigan Ross 16 MIT Sloan

17 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 17 USC Marshall 17 Michigan Ross 17 Georgetown McDonough 17 UW Foster

18 UT Austin McCombs 18 UT Austin McCombs 18 UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan- 18 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 18 Yale SOM
Flagler
19 USC Marshall 19 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 19 UF Warrington 19 GIT Scheller
19 Georgetown McDonough
19 UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan- 20 UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan- 20 USC Marshall 20 UTA McCombs
Flagler Flagler 20 Duke Fuqua

1
This list reranks U.S. schools from international ranking.
2
Financial Times ranks Dartmouth Tuck 16 internationally.
3
The Economist ranks Dartmouth Tuck 12 internationally.

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 31

Dartmouth College
Tuck School of Business

Summary

Founded in 1900, the Tuck School of Business was the country’s first graduate school of management. As part of Dart-
mouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, Tuck offers students all the amenities of a large Ivy League school with the
feel of a small, close-knit community. Many of the students and alumni we interviewed reported that they choose Tuck
because they preferred the camaraderie of a smaller academic and social environment.

Tuck is committed solely to its full-time MBA program and does not offer part-time, evening, PhD, or executive MBAs.
The school does, however, provide Executive Education programs for seasoned executives and the Tuck Business Bridge
Program, which offers courses to undergraduate students interested in business school. Although Tuck is a general
management school, the program attracts a large number of MBA candidates interested in finance and consulting.

Several years ago, Tuck formulated a strategic review, called Tuck 2012, which looked ahead to ensure that the school’s
MBA program would continue to be recognized as among the best in the world. Some of the major changes associated
with Tuck 2012 included hiring additional faculty to improve the student-to-faculty ratio, modifying the core curriculum
to add additional flexibility, and improving programs focused on leadership development and globalization.

Tuck 2012 also led to the development of additional opportunities for students to interact and collaborate with profes-
sors. One such addition was the school’s research-to-practice seminars, smaller courses designed to give students
insight into a real-world business issue while teaching them general methods of intellectual inquiry. These seminars
enhance the high level of faculty-student interaction for which Tuck is already well known. “We wanted a way for our fac-
ulty to share with students not only best practices but also their approach to creating knowledge,” then-Dean Paul Danos
explained in a 2011 Tuck Newsroom article, adding, “One should continuously inform the other. At Tuck, our research
faculty teach a high percentage of courses, and we just wanted one more dimension to keep the research-and-teaching
linkage together.”

The goal of the seminars is to clarify the connection between research and the way in which research results are applied
to the practice of management. The classes bring small groups of second-year students together with top faculty to fo-
cus intensely on a specific topic. A second-year student described the series to mbaMission as “a wonderful way for stu-
dents to delve into a topic that they are very passionate about. The professors who teach the seminars are the very best.”

The Tuck core curriculum was revamped in 2018–2019, when faculty members voted in favor of a longer orientation pro-
gram, further flexibility in the electives, a new sequence of data analytics courses and other new courses, and other
changes. “The first-year core curriculum is a hallmark of the Tuck academic experience and essential to our mission of
educating wise leaders to better the world of business,” Dean Slaughter said in a March 2019 Tuck News post regarding

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 32

the changes. “To create the best curriculum for our students to be successful, we must continually look outward, listen
to our many stakeholders, and learn from their feedback to adapt to a dynamic world,” Slaughter continued.

Leadership Development

Tuck’s curriculum emphasizes teamwork, and the school has a long history of incorporating group work into the learning
process to create a foundation for leadership development. The school’s mission is to “[educate] wise, decisive leaders
who better the world through business,” explains its website, thereby helping ensure that Tuck students graduate with
the leadership skills necessary to excel in the global business community.

Each first-year student is required to take “Managing People,” which introduces conceptual frameworks for enhancing
individual and group performance, as well as “Managing Organizations,” which teaches students the frameworks for di-
agnosing performance at the organizational level and for exercising leadership in an organizational setting. In 2018–2019,
Tuck added the “Crafting Strategy” course, through which participants receive the essential “tool kit” for mastering stra-
tegic leadership.

A second-year student we interviewed described his experience with the leadership curriculum: “In study groups, you
take various surveys to learn your leadership style and how you interact with a group. At the end of the year, a second-
year fellow guides a discussion where study group members give feedback. I got a lot of value out of it, just in having
formal, and both quantitatively and qualitatively driven, feedback.”

The school’s Center for Leadership supports its current leadership development course offerings, with a focus on over-
coming barriers to self-awareness and on understanding the match between leadership strengths and the demands put
on leaders in different work settings. Professor Pino Audia, who is the founder and former faculty director of the center,
explained in a 2009 Tuck press release, “While most leadership teaching in business schools is still done through the
case method, the center at Tuck will embrace a personalized approach to leadership where the lens shifts from other
leaders onto the students themselves.” Each year, the center supports five Dartmouth undergrad students via the Paga-
nucci Fellowship Program (in addition to offering several other fellowships), a social entrepreneurship–focused consult-
ing experience that “supports Tuck’s efforts to study complex social issues and the ways businesses can create positive
social and financial value,” states the school’s website.

In addition, students can apply to the MBA Fellows Program through the school’s Center for Digital Strategies, which
awarded 13 for the 2019–2020 academic year, 14 fellowships for the 2018–2019 academic year, 12 fellowships for the 2017–
2018 academic year, eight fellowships for the 2016–2017 academic year, 13 fellowships for both the 2015–2016 and the
2014–2015 academic years, and 19 fellowships for 2013–2014 (up from just six fellowships in 2012–2013). MBA Fellows gain
one-on-one exposure to the center’s guest speakers—who are often senior executives in global corporations—and help
coordinate the center’s programming and events.

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 33

The Dean

In March 2014, Paul Danos revealed that he would be stepping down from his position as Tuck’s dean after nearly 20
years—one of the longest tenures among the deans at the top-ranked business schools. In January 2015, after an exten-
sive eight-month search, the school announced that Matthew J. Slaughter, who has been a professor at Tuck since 2002
and served as the associate dean for faculty, would assume the role of dean in July. Slaughter received the MBA pro-
gram’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2011 and teaches the elective course “Leadership in the Global Economy,” which is
reportedly one of the most popular classes at Tuck and was a recipient of the Aspen Institute’s 2019 Ideas Worth Teaching
Award. He also teaches within the Tuck Executive Education program and is the co-director of its consortium program,
Global Leadership 2020.

Slaughter received his BA from the University of Notre Dame in 1990 and his PhD in economics from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in 1994. Before joining the Tuck faculty in 2002, he was a member of the economics department at
Dartmouth College, where he received the John M. Manley Huntington Teaching Award in 2001. Outside of Tuck, Slaugh-
ter is a member of numerous committees and boards, including the International Tax Policy Forum’s Board of Academic
Advisors and the Economics Innovation Group’s Economic Advisory Board. He has served on the Congressional Budget
Office’s Panel of Economic Advisers and the U.S. State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Economic
Policy. In addition, he served on the Council of Economic Advisers in the Executive Office of the President from 2005 to
2007. In 2017, Slaughter joined the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as an Elected Fellow.

“Tuck and Dartmouth have been my professional home since graduate school, and I am honored and humbled by this
opportunity,” Slaughter said in the school’s official announcement of his appointment. “Tuck is a wonderful school that
since its founding has evolved in creative and innovative ways to address the world’s challenges and opportunities.
Building on Tuck’s many strengths, I look forward to working with faculty, students, staff, and alumni to craft a compel-
ling vision for the future that will enable Tuck and its graduates to thrive in our ever-changing world.”

The school that Slaughter stepped up to lead is largely different from the one Paul Danos first knew in 1995. Given his
lengthy tenure, Danos can claim an impressive number of accomplishments and contributions to the Tuck community,
including faculty expansion and multiple new curricular offerings. In addition, according to a 2014 Fortune article, the
school’s endowment grew from $59.2M to $310M during Danos’s five terms as dean. In September 2016, Dean Slaughter
announced a new “mission, vision, and strategy” for the school. “The biggest thing we are focused on is articulating a
fresher vision of where Tuck will be in the future,” Slaughter commented to the Financial Times. The plan was spearhead-
ed by a new mission statement, Tuck educates wise leaders to better the world of business, which Slaughter described
as follows in a news article on the Tuck website: “It is my hope that these words will not only shape our actions and our
impact on the world, but will also remind us of the broadest aspirations that led to Tuck’s founding more than a century
ago—and the responsibility that comes with it.” The plan underlined such themes as humility, collaboration, and empathy.
“Through the application of [these themes], enlightened decisions can be made to substantially improve business per-
formance and the world we live in,” the mission states.

During his first years as dean, Slaughter has emphasized the importance of global experiences in the MBA program. One
of the efforts designed to accomplish this is TuckGO, a new curriculum element that requires students to immerse them-
selves in another country via four possible fulfillment options: a Global Insight Expedition, a First-Year Project, an OnSite

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 34

Global Consulting assignment, or an international exchange program. “The genesis of [TuckGO] was from the students,”
Slaughter said in a 2015 interview with Poets&Quants. “Four years ago, a group of second years came to me and asked
us to think about what global means at Tuck. … I immediately thought that was a refinement opportunity for us so we’re
building a suite of inter-cultural awareness sessions and more global opportunities.” In the same interview, Slaughter
expressed his hopes for the school’s future: “Our faculty, staff, and students are committed to making a better world,” he
said. “[The] way we do it is by creating a community where you feel a strong sense of belonging. We empower students
and instruct them to pursue their dreams. Our goal is to prepare wise leaders to better the world.”

In April 2018, Slaughter announced the launch of a $250M fundraising campaign, titled “The Tuck Difference: The Cam-
paign for Tomorrow’s Wise Leaders.” At the time of the announcement, the school had already received approximately
$132M from alumni, and by March 2020, the number had risen to more than $192M. The campaign is the first of its kind at
Tuck since 2009, and is part of the university-wide “Call to Lead” campaign, which has a combined goal of $3B. “I would
love for every alum to know that the goals of the campaign are deeply linked to our strategic outlook for the school, and
[the campaign is] deeply linked to our mission of educating wisely just to better the world of business,” Slaughter said in
a video released for the announcement of the campaign. He underscored in the video that the priorities of the campaign
are the student body and faculty, such programs as TuckGO, and campus development. “The order of these priorities—
people, programs, places—is important,” Slaughter wrote in the announcement. “Our most cherished asset is talent. The
dynamism and diversity of our students and our faculty are why Tuck thrives. They are the reason increasing our ability to
attract the very best students and scholar-educators to sustain a world-class learning community comes first.”

In July 2019, Slaughter was appointed to a second term as dean. “I am pleased that Matt will continue to bring fresh ideas
to Tuck for another four years,” University Provost Joseph Helble said in the announcement. “The Tuck community has
been enriched by Matt’s inspiring leadership and the innovative ways he is making Tuck a stronger and even more vibrant
school,” Helble said. Chair of the Tuck Board of Advisors spoke similarly of Slaughter’s work: “The energy and optimism
we feel about Tuck’s future is in every way a reflection of Matt’s leadership. … I look forward to working with Matt over the
next four years and continuing the great progress Tuck has made under his deanship.”

Professional Specializations

Consulting

With 20 professors in the area of strategy and management, Tuck’s MBA program prepares students for careers in con-
sulting by helping them develop the skills the top-tier firms in the industry demand. In fact, 38% of the Class of 2019 ac-
cepted consulting positions (up from 30% in 2018, 33% in 2017, 36% in 2016, 34% in 2015, and 35% in 2014). Although Tuck
does not offer a dedicated consulting track, the school’s general management, strategy, and management courses—
including “Advanced Competitive Strategy,” “Implementing Strategy,” and “Digital Change Strategies”—are top choices
among those aspiring to a career in this field.

Students can also gain hands-on consulting experience through the “OnSite Global Consulting” (formerly Tuck Global
Consultancy) course, which gives second-year students the chance to put their MBA education into practice worldwide.
Since 1997, students have consulted with approximately 170 global organizations on nearly 240 projects in 60 countries.

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 35

On-site consulting projects are led by small teams of students working under the supervision of Tuck professors with ex-
tensive consulting backgrounds. A large percentage of the second-year class participates in this elective, defining proj-
ects in the spring or early fall, then traveling to their assigned countries during one of the three decided-upon months to
perform on-site research and analysis.

At the end of the program, students present their findings to their clients. Past clients include major corporations such
as Alcoa, British Telecom, Cargill, Citibank, Corning, DHL, DuPont, Hewlett-Packard, Home Depot, Intel, John Deere,
Johnson & Johnson, McGraw-Hill, Microsoft, Nike, Unilever, and Walmart. A recent graduate we interviewed enrolled in
the “OnSite Global Consulting” course to gain experience in preparation for a strategy consulting career and explained,
“The project was more strategic than my previous IT [information technology] consulting work. It was great to work with
high-level executives that would seriously consider my team’s recommendations.”

Consulting projects from recent years have included assisting with a growth strategy for educational programs in Uru-
guay, developing a business plan for a brewery in Switzerland, analyzing the energy market in light of new regulations in
Spain, and evaluating the potential for expanding tourism in Machu Picchu, Peru, at the initiative of the government. A
PDF of example projects from 2013–2018 can be found here: www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/uploads/content/Tuck_OnSite_
Global_Consulting_Past_Projects.pdf.

A second-year student who participated in the project in Peru told us, “[The OnSite Global Consulting project] is unique
to Tuck and one of the main reasons that I chose to come here. It was really valuable to be on this team; it was a very valu-
able experience. We did research before going there, then worked hard every day—full days—including lots of traveling,
understanding the culture, and learning to work in a completely different political culture. For me, personally, it was fas-
cinating. It was the best experience I’ve had at Tuck, and I’ve had a lot of great experiences here. It exceeded my expecta-
tions. It was different from just visiting businesses in another country (which Tuck and lots of other business schools do);
you are a mini consulting company and are there working for them.”

Another second-year student with whom we spoke said, “I was on a project in Lithuania. Without this project, I would
never have thought of visiting Lithuania. It turned out to be one of the greatest experiences for me at Tuck. I learned so
much about the local politics, business, and culture by intensely interviewing government officials, embassy officials,
university professors, local businessman, and customers in three weeks.”

Tuck Community Consulting (formerly Tuck Student Consulting Services), a student-run club, provides its members ad-
ditional ways in which to gain early consulting experience. The club organizes volunteer opportunities for students to
lend their time helping local businesses and nonprofit initiatives with strategic projects. Each project for the club is
designed to take up approximately 40 hours, with individual students contributing roughly ten hours to the team over the
course of two to three months. Students enjoy a seemingly endless number of options through which to make an impact.
Past clients include Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.; Love146; High Horses Therapeutic Riding; and WISE. A second
year we interviewed joined this group to gain exposure to the consulting world via a strategy-based project for a local
nonprofit, which led to an appointment to the organization’s board through Tuck’s Board Fellows program.

Several other student-run clubs at Tuck also offer aspiring consultants the resources they need to pursue careers in
this field, including the Consulting Club and the Case Competition Club. The Consulting Club helps students develop the

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necessary skills to secure management consulting positions through case interview preparation, career treks to Bos-
ton, career panels, and a speaker series. A former club president explained to mbaMission that the group’s primary role
is to assist first years in preparing for the recruiting process. In addition to providing overviews of the field throughout
the year—such as “Overview of the Firms,” “Consulting Recruiting Overview,” “Consulting Trek Overview,” and “General
Management vs. Consulting”—the club offers case marathons and brown bag sessions (meetings over lunch for which
attendees bring their own meals) such as “Firm-Specific Brown Bag Sessions,” “International Recruiting Sessions,” and
“Brown Bag Sessions: Interviews.”

The Case Competition Club focuses on assisting students in preparing for case competitions, such as the IPADE Global
Case Competition, the Global Innovation Challenge, and the Hult Prize (formerly the Hult Global Case Challenge). Partici-
pating in such competitions can give students an edge when they interview for consulting positions.

The following firms are listed among the school’s top hiring companies for 2018–2019: Bain & Company, A.T. Kearney, the
Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, L.E.K. Consulting, EY-Parthenon, and McKinsey & Company.

Entrepreneurship, Private Equity, and Venture Capital

Four members of the Class of 2014 (representing 1%) indicated that they planned to start their own business after gradu-
ating rather than enter a full-time position with an established company; no such data have been reported for subse-
quent classes. Of the 2019 graduating class, 4% accepted roles in the private equity and venture capital industries (2% in
2018, 3% in 2017, 2% in 2016 and 2015, and 4% in 2014).

With numerous course offerings in private equity, venture capital, and entrepreneurship and eight professors devoted to
these fields, Tuck students can explore the theories and practices of starting, growing, and funding businesses. In addi-
tion, the “First-Year Project” course gives students the opportunity to complete an entrepreneurial or consulting project.
The second-year elective “Field Studies in Venture Capital” provides a balance of classroom and real-world practice
through a combination of case discussion, classroom exercises, guest speakers, and team projects.

Numerous opportunities to gain private equity, venture capital, and entrepreneurship experience are also available
through the new Center for Entrepreneurship, established during the summer of 2018 after the Center for Private Equity
and Entrepreneurship was divided into two new centers, the Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital and the afore-
mentioned Center for Entrepreneurship. The latter, which was created to cater to the increased interest in entrepre-
neurship among students, offers courses, internships, and resource packages on key entrepreneurship topics.

The new Center for Entrepreneurship recently launched the Tuck Startup Incubator, which is open to all Dartmouth stu-
dents once at least one Tuck student is involved. Teams take part in weekly workshop sessions to receive feedback from
one another, in addition to visiting experts and alumni. “One of the main points of the incubator is to create a cohort, so
the students work together, provide feedback, and be supportive of each other,” Steven J. Kahl, a Tuck associate profes-
sor and the center’s faculty director who serves as a counselor on the incubator, is quoted as saying in an October 2018
Tuck News article. “Each week, we go through highs and lows of the week, which is important, because this is an emo-
tional journey. You’re figuring out how to wrestle through successes and failures, so they don’t paralyze you,” Kahl said.

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The incubator’s first cohort during the 2018–2019 academic year consisted of four teams, including a mobile app intend-
ed for individuals with digestive issues to track their symptoms, a natural personal hygiene line for men, and a mobile app
for diagnosing aquaculture diseases. In 2019–2020, the size of the cohort grew to 24 teams, among them a social shop-
ping app, a natural skincare line based on Persian traditions, and a solar hardware development startup.

Students can also gain practical start-up experience through internships and fellowships. Tuck’s Maynard Internship
Program helps students secure summer positions with start-up companies. The program has three options: a Summer
Startup Award, an Entrepreneurial Award, and Private Equity/Venture Capital Award. To be considered for the program,
the hiring start-up must have less than $25M in annual revenue and/or fewer than 150 employees. Because most start-
ups have limited funds for internships, the company pays the student intern a stipend, and the Maynard Program supple-
ments that income. More than 100 organizations have participated in the program since it was first established in 2000.
In 2015, Tracksmith, Brooklyn Gin, EcoFactor Inc., and Alta Motors were among the host companies. In 2014, host firms
included CommonBond, Dtex Systems, Gemvara, and Misfit Wearables.

Members of the school’s Entrepreneurship Club can also apply for the Entrepreneurship Fellows Program, which support-
ed three fellows in 2015, for example. The fellowship provides volunteer opportunities to work on entrepreneurship-relat-
ed projects; host visiting entrepreneurs; and plan and organize the bi-annual Dartmouth Entrepreneurs Forum (formerly
the annual Dartmouth Ventures Entrepreneurship Conference), a daylong event open to all of the university’s students.

The latest conference was held in September 2019 in San Francisco. The event included fireside chats with the co-found-
er of Silver Lake Partners and Elevation Partners and the founder and executive managing director of GI Partners. Panel
discussion topics included “The Future of Energy is Now,” “How to Start a Company Before You Turn 30,” and “Chief Mar-
keting Officers and the Engines of Growth.” The day’s schedule also featured a startup showcase and discussion groups
covering such topics as “Calling All Founders” and “It’s Never Too Late to Start a Company.” A networking happy hour
concluded the event.

The March 2019 conference took place in Hanover, with the president and CEO of Smartsheet as the keynote speaker.
The event’s six panel discussions covered such topics as “Rural Innovation in the Northeast,” “Social Impact Investing:
Solving the Problems of Our Time,” and “Voice-First: The Next Great Startup Platform.” A startup competition and the
announcement of its winners concluded the event.

The September 2018 event, held in San Francisco, included fireside chats with a former CEO of General Electric, the chair
of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees, and a Dartmouth professor of computer science. Themes explored by discussion
panels included “What is Blockchain and Why it Will Change Your World,” “When to Jump (2.0),” and “There is Life Beyond
Keystone: The Rise of Craft Beers and Spirits.” The day’s events concluded with a networking happy hour.

In April 2018, the conference was held in Hanover and featured a keynote fireside chat with the co-founder and CEO of
KAYAK.com. Discussion panels covered such themes as “The Path to Startup Acquisition,” “Cultivating an Ecosystem for
Social Entrepreneurs,” and “Navigating the Startup Fundraising World.” The event concluded with the finals of a start-up
competition.

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The September 2017 conference took place in San Francisco and included fireside chats with representatives from such
companies as Tesla, Facebook, and Bain Capital Ventures. Panel discussions explored such topics as “When to Jump
to a New Career,” “How to Build a World Class Team,” and “ Finding Fame and Fortune in the Wine Business.” A managing
partner at Norwest Venture Partners delivered the closing presentation, which was followed by a networking happy hour.

The May 2017 conference, hosted in Hanover, featured fireside chats with the chairman, president, and CEO of Constant
Contact and the chairman of the board of directors at CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. Panels included such themes as “Global
Footprint,” “Hometown Entrepreneurship: Secrets to Building a Successful Startup Outside of the Big City,” and “How to
Innovate.” “Drop-in office hours” ranged in topic from “Funding Defined” with a partner of .406 Ventures to “Intellectual
Property” with the principal attorney of Loginov IP.

The fall 2016 forum was held in San Francisco and offered fireside chats with the director of PayPal, the general manager
of the Elastic Compute Cloud on Amazon, and Dartmouth President Philip Hanlon. Panel discussions delved into such
topics as “Two Next Big Things: Self-Driving Cars and Artificial Intelligence,” “Building and Scaling a Dev Team,” and “Who
Needs Venture Capital? How to Bootstrap Your Business to Success.”

The April 2016 conference, the first under the new title, featured the co-founders of Brooklyn Gin, the founder of TripAd-
visor, and the founder and CEO of CarGurus as keynote speakers. Fireside chats and panels included such themes as
“Building a West Coast Company,” “Biotech,” and “Early-Stage Financing.” A new feature, specialty workshops, focused
on such themes as “Intellectual Property” and “Sales and Marketing.” The event also featured a start-up competition.

In April 2015, the conference was themed “Entrepreneurial Journeys,” and the co-founder/president and the chairman/
CEO/co-founder of EnerNOC gave keynote addresses. Panel sessions covered such topics as “Research, Innovation, and
Successful Commercialization,” “Decisions Made from the Trenches,” and “Tech CEOs’ Path to Success.” The event also
featured a start-up showcase, a start-up workshop series, fireside chats, and an Entrepreneurship Contest that offered
a top award of $70,000.

The Entrepreneurship Club facilitates a number of additional opportunities for student participation in business plan
contests, such as the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, which involves teams representing various industries
from top New England business schools. The club also partners with the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network to connect
students with a wide range of start-up services, from strategic advice to mentoring and networking opportunities. Advi-
sors in the network are experts in the Dartmouth or business community.

Students can also gain field experience by taking advantage of the Ayres Private Equity Fellows Program, hosted by the
Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital. The center offers the second-year students chosen as Fellows networking
opportunities, project guidance, and insight into the field.

The prestigious Kauffman Fellowship, while not provided directly by Tuck, is also available to the school’s students and
provides a 24-month, postgraduate fellowship in the venture capital industry. In fact, since 1997, ten Tuck students have
been finalists for or winners of this distinguished fellowship.

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Tuck’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Club (formerly the Private Equity Club) is one of the larger student groups on
campus, according to a second year we interviewed—and helps to further the education of students interested in the
private equity industry by promoting interaction, dialogue, and partnership between Tuck and the private equity com-
munity through a range of educational and professional events. In addition, club members work closely with faculty and
the Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital, the Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Career Services office to
enhance Tuck’s private equity curriculum as well as job prospects for students interested in careers in this field.

When the club was still exclusively for private equity, one of the club’s former co-chairs emphasized to mbaMission that
because Tuck’s MBA program is smaller than others, it tends to draw less than a dozen students who have a background in
private equity each year: “This makes it a smaller, closer-knit, and more collegial group. It also means that you can really
stand out in private equity here, more than you can at Harvard or Columbia or Wharton, where there might be more than
100 [students with private equity backgrounds] in each year. The Tuck alumni are very committed in this area; some will
only hire Tuck guys. But in all on-campus recruiting, you are going up against fewer other students, which means that your
odds are much higher here than elsewhere. That’s the most important thing that makes Tuck appealing for private equity.”

The Private Equity and Venture Capital Club and Tuck’s Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital jointly host the
school’s annual Private Equity Conference. In 2020, the conference was held in February with keynote addresses by a
senior advisor at Bain Capital and the managing partner and co-founder of Granite Growth. The six panel discussions cov-
ered such themes as “Former VCs Now Growing VC-Backed Companies,” “Buyouts: Using Industry Expertise in the Middle-
Market,” and “Sourcing Strategies in Buyouts and Growth Equity,” with panelists from companies such as Pulse Ventures,
Staley Capital, Open Road Ventures, and Beacon Capital Partners. A networking reception concluded the day’s events.

The February 2019 conference featured two fireside chats (one with the chief investment officer of Dartmouth College
and another with the founder and co-CEO of TPG Capital). Panel discussions covered such themes as “Creating Value
through Operational Improvements,” “Energy Private Equity,” and “Using Industry Expertise to Win Deals,” with panelists
from companies such as BlackRock, Silversmith Capital Partners, Webster Capital, ArcLight Capital Partners, and Ne-
brodi Partners. Attendees were invited to a networking cocktail reception at the end of the day’s events.

The 2018 event featured fireside chats with the former CEO and president of Commonfund Capital, Inc., and the co-CEO
and co-founder of Audax Group, in addition to panel discussions on such topics as “Deal Structuring in Today’s Middle
Market,” “Limited Partners: The Evolving Landscape,” and “International Private Equity.” The daylong event, which in-
cluded panelists from companies including The Carlyle Group, Cambridge Associates, Third Rock Ventures, Hamilton
Robinson Capital Partners LLC, and Pacific Lake Partners, concluded with a networking cocktail reception.

We could not find record of a 2017 event. At the 2016 event, keynote presentations were delivered by the head of global
venture capital at Aberdeen Asset Management and a general partner at New Enterprise Associates. Panel discussions
covered such topics as “Real Estate: Dealing with Disruption in Real Estate,” “Consumer Private Equity: Growth in a Trans-
formative Retail Environment,” and “Early State Venture Capital: The Future of Venture Investing.” Additional speakers
represented companies such as Lehman Brothers Holdings, Boathouse Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, and Castanea
Partners. A networking cocktail reception concluded the daylong event.

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The 2015 Private Equity Conference keynotes were delivered by a managing director of Berkshire Partners and the presi-
dent and CEO of CPPIB. Panel discussions explored such topics as “Energy: Opportunities in the Face of $40 Oil,” “Buy-
outs: Evolution in Motion,” and “Limited Partners: Adapting to the New Normal.” Additional speakers were featured from
companies including Monument Group, ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC, and Parthenon Capital Partners. The daylong
conference concluded with a networking cocktail reception.

In 2014, the event took place in February, with a commencing keynote presentation by the CEO of the National Venture
Capital Association. Panel discussions concentrated on such topics as “Real Estate PE: Insights on the New Normal,”
“Buyouts: Adapting in the Middle Market,” “Limited Partners: Private Equity Appeal Against Public Equity Performance,”
and “Growth Equity/Venture: Strategies for Success in a Competitive Environment.” The chairman of Oaktree Capital
Management also delivered a keynote address, and the event concluded with a cocktail reception.

Finance

In 2019, financial services was the second most popular career path for Tuck’s graduates (after consulting), with 24% of
the class accepting full-time offers in this industry (investment banking 9%, other financial services 8%, private equity/
venture capital 4%, and investment management 3%). This aggregate figure is within the same approximate range as
that of previous years: 20% in 2018, 2017, and 2016, 24% in 2015, 25% in 2014, 30% in 2013, 22% in 2012, and 29% in 2011.

With eight professors, including Dean Slaughter, devoted to economics and 17 in the field of finance, and with course of-
ferings related to corporate finance, private equity, capital markets, economics, microfinance, real estate, and taxation,
Tuck students can tailor their finance concentration and gain broad exposure to the field. Students aiming specifically
for Wall Street can choose from a range of elective course options, including “Advanced Corporate Finance and Gover-
nance,” “Research to Practice Seminar: Corporate Takeovers,” and “Corporate Valuation.” According to a recent alumnus
with whom we spoke, almost one-half of the second-year class takes the popular “Investments” course, often taught by
Professor Kenneth French (see the Notable Professors and Unsung Heroes section for more on French). New elective
offerings in 2019–2020 for this area included “Venture Capital and Private Equity Basics,” “Cases in Financial Reporting,”
and “Empirical Evidence in Finance,” also taught by Professor French.

Tuck has developed several courses and resources to keep students abreast of the changing economy. In addition, in
2008, students led an initiative to organize town hall meetings, called the News Hour program, that bring together stu-
dents, faculty, staff, alumni, and guest speakers at least twice every quarter to discuss timely topics such as the presi-
dential elections, the credit crisis and bailout, and the global business outlook.

Tuck has three established student groups related to finance: the Finance Club, the Investment Club, and the Private
Equity and Venture Capital Club. The Finance Club organizes recruiting and social events, resume reviews, mock inter-
views, workshops, career panels, and company-hosted events on finance topics such as valuation, a day in the life of
a trader, and how to succeed on Wall Street. A Wall Street Trip is also offered, during which students visit investment
banks in New York City, such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Credit Suisse, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America
Merrill Lynch, Jefferies Capital Partners, UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Barclays Capital.

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The Tuck Investment Club oversees Tuck Asset Management (TAM, formerly called the Tuck Investment Fund), estab-
lished in 1996 to “give students the opportunity to learn about the portfolio management process in a hands-on manner,”
explained the club’s website in 2018. The group manages almost $500K, according to a June 2014 post on the Tuck 360:
MBA Blog, via TAM. First-year students can join TAM as analysts, while second-year students fill the roles of portfolio
managers and senior analysts. As of 2015, Dartmouth undergraduate students are able to join TAM as junior analysts.
Students pitch investment ideas every month, and the co-chairs of the Investment Club then implement what they feel
are the best options.

A graduate and former Investment Club member told mbaMission, “There were plenty of meetings to practice stock
pitches and do mock interviews with second-year students who interned in the sector.” Students also credit the club
with access to top investment management firms. According to the same alumnus, “There was lots of networking with
Fidelity, MFS, and Wellington. Each of these firms sends Tuck alumni to campus for stock-picking workshops.”

From what we learned in doing research for this guide, Tuck provides great access to business executives. As yet another
example of this, each year (though we were not able to confirm this for the past three years as of the publication of this
book), a group of second-year students travels with the Investment Club’s advisor to Omaha, Nebraska, to meet with
Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. During this annual trip, the Tuck group joins students from other top busi-
ness schools to enjoy a question-and-answer session with Buffett, have lunch with him, and tour one of his investments,
the Nebraska Furniture Mart. An alumnus told mbaMission about a particular highlight of the trip: “Everyone got to take
a picture with him. Just listening to him talk was amazing. He also signed books and sent them to us three weeks later.”
A second-year student we interviewed added, “The Warren Buffett trip is amazing. Definitely one of the top experiences
at Tuck!”

In January 2017, 20 students met Buffett at a restaurant for a Q&A session with students from a handful of other busi-
ness schools. “I’m so grateful to Tuck for the opportunity to meet Warren Buffett,” a first-year Tuck student wrote on
the Tuck360 MBA blog, continuing: “He is an inspiring figure, and he truly believes that we can all positively impact the
world of business.” The 2014 trip also gave 20 students the opportunity to rub shoulders with Buffett. “For two and a half
hours—standing, no less, for almost the entire time—the 84-year-old investment legend fielded questions on any and all
topics,” a student participant wrote in a 2015 personal blog post, “All the while during our discussion, his infinite wisdom,
wit, humility, quirkiness, and self-deprecating sense of humor were on full display.”

The school’s Lindenauer Forum for Governance Research (previously called the Lindenauer Center for Corporate Gover-
nance) was founded in 2000 and provides academic research that is used in Tuck’s finance curriculum. The center’s re-
search relates to key questions facing the capital markets industry, including how to raise capital on competitive terms,
how to efficiently restructure poorly performing corporations, and how to implement optimal incentive structures at
both the top management and board levels.

Firms in this industry that recruited at Tuck in 2018–2019 and are listed among the school’s top hirers for the year include
Bank of America Securities, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, Morgan Stanley, the Van-
guard Group, and UBS.

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 42

General Management

As we have already noted, Tuck is considered a general management school, and it boasts ten professors in the academ-
ic area of operations and management science and 20 in strategy and management. Tuck’s broad general management
curriculum helps students develop the skills they will need to succeed in a variety of positions within this field. A second
year stated in a 2011 admissions blog post, “I came to Tuck to focus on a general management degree, as my undergradu-
ate education … was too quantitatively focused. Courses such as ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation Strategy’ [and] ‘Cor-
porate Communication’ were exactly what I was looking for. That being said, the quantitative offerings at Tuck are also
really good.” Another second year praised the former course in an April 2018 Tuck news article, saying: “’Entrepreneur-
ship and Innovation Strategy’ is a cannot-miss course that all business leaders should, and must, take.”

New electives launched for the 2019–2020 academic year include “Leadership Development: Skills-Awareness, Skills,
and Strategy,” “Five Memos for the Modern Leader,” and “Reconceiving Representation: Gender Equity in Management
and Society.”

Other electives offered in the areas of strategy and organizational behavior include the following:

ƒ “Comparative Models of Leadership”

ƒ “Leadership Out of the Box”
ƒ “Negotiations”
ƒ “Power and Influence”
ƒ “Research to Practice Seminar: Social Networks in Organizations”
ƒ “The CEO Experience”

Tuck’s General Management Club works to inform students about the different kinds of general management opportuni-
ties that exist, to assist students with networking and interview preparation, and to increase companies’ access to Tuck
students interested in this field. The club also organizes career treks and helps students with the recruiting process. Of
Tuck’s Class of 2019, 15% entered positions with a general management function (18% in 2018, 15% in 2017, 16% in 2016,
15% in 2015, and 18% in both 2014 and 2013). The General Management Club has reported the hiring of Tuck students for
general management positions by such companies as AT&T Inc.; British Petroleum; Colgate-Palmolive Company; Hon-
eywell International Inc.; NBC Universal, Inc.; Target Corporation; United Technologies Corporation; and Washington
Mutual, Inc.

International Business

Tuck continues to build a strong international reputation; as evidence, note that 38% of the Class of 2021 (36% of the
Class of 2018, 37% of the Class of 2019, 30% of the Class of 2018 and 32% of the Class of 2017) is made up of interna-
tional students. Lisa Miller, director of global insight expeditions and the on-campus programs of TuckGO emphasized
to mbaMission, “Tuck is consistently ranked very strongly in U.S. and worldwide surveys. Tuck is committed to global en-
gagement for the sake of delivering a top-notch global business education and attracting the strongest students world-
wide and providing them with excellent career opportunities and lifelong support.”

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Tuck has three professors dedicated to the area of international business, and the school’s commitment to instilling a
global perspective in its students begins with the required first-year course “Global Economics for Managers.” Thereaf-
ter, a range of electives and programs is available for students to continue developing their international expertise. One
such elective is “Countries and Companies in the International Economy,” which focuses on countries, firms, and the in-
teractions between them in the arenas of international trade, investment, and finance. “This course was a playground for
applying the concepts we had learned in the core for interpretation of real world situations,” a second-year student said
of “Countries and Companies in the International Economy” in an April 2018 Tuck news article regarding students’ favorite
courses. The mini course “Doing Business in China” examines the country’s development and emergence as a notable
business region. “International Strategy” analyzes some of the basic issues related to the formulation and implementa-
tion of global strategies, and “Nowcasting in the Global Economy” delves into the concept and practice of nowcasting.

For the first time, in fall 2015, all incoming MBA students were required to fulfill the new TuckGO requirement, which
consists of a faculty-led orientation and an immersive global experience. “The world has become much more global,”
said Professor and then-Associate Dean Phillip C. Stocken in the 2014 announcement of the requirement. “As a result, we
believe our graduates must have a global business capability—a global mindset—to successfully navigate the different
cultures, countries, and markets in which they will inevitably work. There is no better way to do this than spending time
on the ground in another country.” Students can choose from four TuckGO components: Global Insight Expeditions are
travel courses that take place in March and allow participants to gain insight into countries’ business practices; OnSite
Global Consulting is an elective course available for second-year students that offers hands-on consulting projects; Ex-
change Programs, which in past years have taken Tuck students to such locations as Paris, Sydney, Barcelona, Shanghai,
Mexico, and Seoul; and First-Year Projects, which are a part of the core curriculum and sometimes are able to fulfill this
requirement.

Exchanges are offered with the following 22 schools around the world:

ƒ Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile (only in Spanish)

ƒ Australian Graduate School of Management, Sydney, Australia
ƒ China Europe International Business School, Shanghai, China
ƒ Columbia University, New York, NY
ƒ ESADE Business School, Barcelona, Spain
ƒ ESSEC Business School, Paris, France
ƒ Fletcher School, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States
ƒ Graduate School of Business and Commerce, Keio Business School, Tokyo, Japan
ƒ Graduate School of Business, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea
ƒ Graduate School of International Management, International University of Japan, Urasa, Japan
ƒ Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, Beijing, China
ƒ HEC School of Management, Paris, France
ƒ HHL—Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Leipzig, Germany
ƒ Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Business School, Hong Kong
ƒ IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Barcelona, Spain
ƒ Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, India
ƒ Instituto de Empresa, Madrid, Spain

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 44

 ƒ IPADE Business School, Mexico City, Mexico
ƒ SDA Bocconi School of Management, Milan, Italy
ƒ Universität St. Gallen (University of St. Gallen), St. Gallen, Switzerland
ƒ Vermont Law School, South Royalton, VT
ƒ WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management, Koblenz, Germany

Internationally focused dual degrees available at Tuck include the MBA/MA with the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced
International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and the MBA/MALD with Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law
and Diplomacy, which prepares students for management positions in international corporations, financial institutions,
economic and development institutions, and government agencies.

The Killingstad Speaker Series (formerly the Global Insights Distinguished Speaker Series), sponsored by the Center for
Business, Government and Society (CBGS), brings global leaders with vast international experience at the intersection
of business and government to campus for lectures, class visits, and seminars. Together with students and faculty from
both Tuck and Dartmouth College, these speakers explore issues affecting international business and public policy, with
an emphasis on topics that typically do not get extensive treatment in the classroom.

The series welcomed such speakers in 2019 as a professor of the practice of economic policy at the Harvard Kennedy
School, a writer for the Washington Post, and Dean Slaughter. Other past speakers include: a former U.S. senator, a prom-
inent author and lecturer, a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the commissioner of the Federal
Trade Commission, and the president of Bridgewater Associates. Speakers welcomed during previous academic years
include the chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the governor of the Bank of Japan,
the founder of the consulting firm Quorum Strategies, a former New Hampshire governor, the U.S. Assistant Secretary
of State for Economic and Business Affairs, the chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States,
and the CEO of Anglo American.

The CBGS also hosts a number of other special events throughout the academic year, such as small group discussions
and business and political breakfast discussions, which have explored such themes as “President Obama and a Republi-
can Congress: What Will Happen in the Next Two Years?” and “Falling Oil Prices: Implications for Business and Politics,”
as well as the Speaker Series. The center also hosts visiting executives, which have included the president and CEO of
Seventh Generation, the chairman and CEO of Eaton Corporation, and the CEO of Anglo American.

Student-led events presented via the CBGS are free and open to anyone who wishes to attend. In the past, they have
included seminars on such topics as “Global Sourcing: Balancing Profits, Risk, and Responsibility” and “Beyond BRIC:
The Business Case for Africa.” In 2014, the most recent year the event was hosted, attendees at Africa Highlight Week
enjoyed two film screenings, a networking mixer, a faculty panel, and a football tournament. The previous year (2013), the
event featured two panel discussions—“Investing in Africa’s Growth” and “Rooted in Africa”—and ended with a keynote
address by Osamuyimen “Uyi” Stewart, the chief scientist for the IBM Research Laboratory in Africa.

Tuck students can also opt to take a mini course over spring break at a partner school. For example, in the past Tuck has
offered the class “Doing Business in Europe” at the IE Business School in Madrid, Spain, taught by local faculty. Further

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such options are the “Doing Business in China” and “Doing Business in the Arab Gulf States” mini courses. Students re-
ceive credit for taking part in such mini courses.

The CGBG encourages students to participate in case and other competitions related to global business and to share
what they have learned with the rest of the Tuck community. A sampling of international case competitions includes
the Global Social Venture Competition at the Haas School of Business, the HKUST International Case Competition, The
Negotiation Challenge, and the IESE-Roland Berger International MBA Case Competition.

The center also provides support for student-initiated, noncredit language courses and discussion groups. Tuck stu-
dents can take noncredit language courses through Dartmouth’s Rassias Center. CGBG’s then-Executive Director Lisa
Miller told mbaMission, “Most of our students will travel internationally for business during their careers, and many will do
assignments outside their home countries. Knowledge of a foreign language can be very helpful in such cases. We plan
to develop our language and culture offerings more.”

In an interview with mbaMission, a recent co-chair of the International Club at Tuck explained that the organization has
been in existence for more than 20 years and is one of the largest clubs on campus, with approximately 200 members, in
roughly equal numbers of first and second years and including both international and U.S. students. The co-chair specu-
lated that two factors drive the club’s popularity: “First, in today’s world, many students recognize the importance of
international thinking and a global cultural mind-set. This helps us to have a large constituency. Second, we organize fun
events (parties) as well as cultural events (country chats). This unique blend attracts many students.” He then added, “We
try to foster a casual environment between all students to maximize the cultural exchange between all students on an
everyday basis. This year, we added international movie nights, during which we show a movie from different countries
around the world on campus.”

Of Tuck’s Class of 2019, 10% reported having accepted a full-time position outside the United States at graduation (9% in
2018, 8% in 2017, 11% in 2016, 8% in 2015, and 14% in 2014).

Marketing

Although some may not typically count marketing among Tuck’s recognized strengths, from what we learned doing re-
search for this guide, we believe that students interested in this field can be confident they will have the courses, re-
sources, and support they need to pursue marketing careers. In fact, Tuck has 16 professors devoted to the field of mar-
keting, and in 2019, 10% of graduates entered positions with a marketing function (down from 19% in 2018, 21% in 2017,
16% in 2016, 15% in 2015, 13% in 2014, and 10% in 2013).

As part of the core curriculum, all Tuck students take “Marketing,” which introduces marketing strategy and principles
applicable in both for-profit and nonprofit settings. The MarkStrat game used in this course provides a medium through
which course learnings come to life via simulated marketing scenarios. One second year described the simulation on
Tuck’s admissions blog, saying, “There are four groups in each industry, and each group has the capability of developing
a marketing strategy in two markets with as many products as they want. After developing a marketing strategy, each
group launches their products. Then MarkStrat simulates a real scenario where all the groups compete against each
other. The measure of performance is the value of the stock of each group.”

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In their second year, students have a number of options for elective courses in this study area. A new elective offering,
“Digital and Social Media Strategy,” was launched in 2019–2020. The following is a sampling of other relevant classes of-
fered in 2019–2020:

ƒ “Business Applications of Natural Language Processing”

ƒ “Consumer Insights”
ƒ “Customer Analytics”
ƒ “Marketing in the Network Economy”
ƒ “Marketing Research”
ƒ “Multichannel Route-to-Market Strategy”
ƒ “Quantitative Digital Marketing”
ƒ “Research to Practice Seminar: Time in the Consumer Mind”
ƒ “Retail Pricing Strategies and Tactics”
ƒ “Selling and Sales Leadership”
ƒ “Strategic Brand Management”

Tuck’s Marketing and Brand Management Club (formerly just the Marketing Club) provides students interested in a career
in this field with numerous networking and interview/career preparation opportunities. Particular resources and events
that stood out to us at mbaMission include brand management interview workshops hosted by recruiting companies,
brown bag lunches with second-year students to discuss summer internship experiences, access to marketing execu-
tives through the Visiting Executive Program, presentations by professors on key marketing topics (e.g., Marketing 101,
Super Bowl Ad Review), and marketing mentorships, in which first-year students are paired with second-year students
for mock interviews, resume critiques, and general career advice. The club also hosts alumni panels dedicated to defin-
ing marketing opportunities at different companies and provides career resources, such as marketing case interview
preparation.

The club also sponsors an annual New York City Marketing Trek in the fall, with two- to three-hour sessions during which
students meet with representatives from marketing firms and with Tuck alumni and take office tours of various firms.
Companies visited on such trips have included American Express, Colgate Palmolive, Nielsen, and PepsiCo. A student
raved about the experience in an October 2015 Tuck 360: MBA Blog post, saying, “On a very practical level, the trek re-
vealed what people mean when they say, ‘Tuck thrives because of alumni responsiveness.’ I appreciated the way that
alumni from the various firms took time to provide tours of their offices, share their experiences, and ensure that senior
leadership from their firm gave us a truly strategic view of the major priorities of their organizations. … The trek offered
great insights into the marketing world and possible jobs out there, but more importantly the trip confirmed that regard-
less of the path I choose, I sure am lucky to have this kind of network in my corner!”

The Marketing Club, in partnership with the school’s marketing faculty and the Forbes CMO Network, hosted the fifth an-
nual Marketing Symposium in November 2019 with the theme “Marketing Agility in a Rapidly Evolving World.” The daylong
event featured such speakers as the CEO of Beyond Broth, the CEO of B.GOOD, and the vice president of global marketing
at Ecolab. Panel discussion topics included “Marketing Agility to Engage Today’s Customers,” “Roles in Marketing,” “Keep-
ing a Brand Fresh in a Constantly Changing World,” and “Establishing Marketing as a Profit Center.”

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The October 2018 symposium, themed “The New Era of Customer Engagement,” featured talks from the editor of the
Forbes CMO Network, the executive vice president of digital marketing at Universal Pictures, and the founder of CMO Inc.
Discussion panels explored such themes as “Marketing in the #FakeNews Era,” “Redefining the Role of the CMO,” “Brand
Management as a Foundation for Success,” and “Driving Success with Big Data.”

Companies that are known to hire MBAs for marketing positions and that are listed as top hirers of Tuck students in
2018–2019 include Wayfair, Amazon, Honest Company, eBay, Walmart, and Colgate-Palmolive.

Nonprofit/Social Entrepreneurship

Although many of Tuck’s employment reports in recent years have not specified what percentage of graduates took jobs
in the nonprofit sector, 1% did so in 2019 and 2018 (including government and education), 2% in 2017 (including govern-
ment), 1% in both 2012 and 2011, and 4% in 2010.

Tuck offers an array of classes to prepare students for careers in nonprofit and social entrepreneurship, as well as cor-
porate responsibility. Discussions of ethical issues in the “Ethics in Action” elective are led by strategy, economics, and
marketing faculty. Other courses we noted that focus on business’s role in society include “Corporate Responsibility,”
“Business and Climate Change,” “Ethical Decision-Making,” “Transforming Public Interest Organizations,” and “Business
and Ethics at the Base of the Pyramid.”

Students can also work on independent study projects in these fields through the “OnSite Global Consulting” course;
some projects have involved nongovernmental organizations in such countries as Brazil, Japan, Korea, China, and Swit-
zerland. Students can also take classes at the Dartmouth Thayer School of Engineering and the Vermont Law School,
which both have relevant course offerings in these areas.

Tuck’s Center for Business, Government & Society (CBGS)—formerly known as the Center for Business and Society and,
before that, as the Allwin Initiative for Corporate Citizenship—focuses on shaping business and management’s role in so-
ciety and the community. The primary goal of the CBGS is to “[empower] business leaders to navigate immediate stake-
holder interests and the broader, deeply intertwined interests of both governments and society to help build a more
sustainable global economy and contribute to the common good,” states its website. As the number of aspiring MBAs
interested in pursuing nonprofit opportunities grows, the new center aims to continue the tradition of providing these
students with significant academic resources in this field.

Via CBGS, students can gain practical experience in the arena through various hands-on opportunities. Tuck students
can work with faculty members to develop cases, participate in self-designed independent studies, contribute to a First-
Year Project that has a social or environmental focus, and/or consult for nongovernmental organizations internationally
via the “OnSite Global Consulting” course mentioned earlier.

One past First-Year Project entailed two teams of five students who designed a $300 dwelling capable of providing shel-
ter, clean water, and solar energy to impoverished populations. One team traveled to India to investigate the feasibility of
such a dwelling, while the other team visited Haiti to seek a potentially appropriate location. For another First-Year Proj-
ect, several first years traveled to Zanzibar to explore how aqua culture could enhance the quality of life and contribute

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to greater economic success for the region. Researching the development of a tuberculosis vaccine in Tanzania, another
group of students collaborated with faculty from Dartmouth Medical School. Another project involved a case focusing
on a LEED-certified building in Birmingham, Alabama, on which a second-year and a first-year student collaborated. The
case was later used in the school’s “Real Estate” elective course.

The center also supports Tuck’s annual Business, Government & Society Conference, reportedly one of the school’s larg-
est student-run conferences. Students develop the theme and bring together an array of corporate leaders, industry
experts, and academic scholars to explore current business practices and future opportunities as organizations engage
in vexing global challenges. The February 2018 conference was themed “2050: Building the World We’ll Lead.” Keynote
speeches were given by the president emerita of The Heron Foundation and a lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School.
The event’s three discussion panels were titled “Labor, Technology, and Education,” “The Climate Economy,” and “Capital
Markets.”

The February 2017 conference, themed “Business Not as Usual,” featured keynote speeches by the director of sustain-
ability at Wal-Mart, a director of philosophy at Patagonia, and a senior director of U.S. pricing strategy and investment
at Wal-Mart. Discussion panels explored such issues as “Building Communities: The Social Impact of Real Estate and
Placemaking,” “Winners and Losers from International Trade in Emerging Economies,” and “Balancing National Security,
Privacy, and Profits.”

The 2016 conference was held in February with the them “The New Business Imperative: Meaningful Engagement with
Stakeholders.” Keynotes were delivered by the president of global public affairs at UPS, the deputy chief of staff at AFL-
CIO, a managing director at Bain Capital, and an assistant professor at Harvard Law School. Panels covered such topics
as “The Future of Food: Consumer Engagement and Partnerships for Food and Agriculture Companies” and “Renewables
and Infant Industries: Energy Subsidies, Strategic Priorities and the Future of Alternative Energy.”

The 2015 annual conference had as its theme “The ROI of Social Impact” and welcomed as keynote panelists the vice
president of business development at Tesla Motors and the founder and managing partner of DBL Investors. The event
included breakout sessions on such topics as “When the Profitable Thing Isn’t the Right Thing,” “Investing in Education:
How Do We Measure Success?,” “CR Beyond the PR,” “BRICs and the Global Energy Future,” “Doing Well by Doing Good:
New Models in Healthcare,” and “Measuring Social Impact Throughout a Company’s Life Cycle,” with representatives from
such companies as the NewSchools Venture Fund, Deutsche Bank, Freight Farms, and PatientsLikeMe.

Prior years’ themes include “Resource Constraints” (2010), “Can We Innovate Our Way Out? The Collective Role of the
Public and Private Sectors in Driving Long-Term Growth” (2011), “Trading Off: Impactful Business Strategy in Uncertain
Times” (2012), “Carrots or Sticks: Using Incentives to Drive Positive Change” (2013), and “Business as a Lever for Social
Change” (2014).

In addition, Tuck students participated in the United Nations Climate Change Conferences (also known as the Conference
of the Parties) in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009; in Cancún, Mexico in 2010; in Doha, Qatar in 2012; in Warsaw, Poland in
2013; and in Madrid, Spain in 2019. The teams attended sessions and met with representatives from international busi-
ness groups and nongovernmental organizations to learn more about summit proceedings and their implications for
global business. CBGS sponsored the 2013 and 2012 trips, while the previous two trips were sponsored by the Allwin

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Initiative. A second year who attended the Copenhagen conference reported that it “was a great experience,” adding, “It
is really critical for me to understand where that dialogue is, be able to interact if I need to, and take to any business I end
up working in.” A second year commented in a 2013 Tuck Newsroom article, “Attending events like COP19 [the 2013 con-
ference] helps B-school students to further understand these negotiations as well as seek feasible solutions to address
climate change–related challenges.”

Campus activities provide other channels for students to focus on social responsibility. Tuck’s Net Impact Club is one
of the largest student groups on campus, reportedly with more than 130 members, and offers students significant ex-
periential/leadership opportunities via such resources as Tuck Community Consulting and the Revers Board Fellows
Program. Tuck Community Consulting is a student-managed group that arranges volunteer opportunities with local busi-
nesses and nonprofits. In the Revers Board Fellows Program, students work alone or in pairs and apply their business
knowledge as nonvoting members of boards of participating local organizations. They attend board meetings and may
be assigned to committees and/or asked to complete project work. To provide additional professional development,
organizations appoint board members to mentor participating students. A president of Tuck’s Net Impact chapter em-
phasized to mbaMission the school’s strong support of sustainability issues, saying, “I was not sure how much of that was
going on at Tuck, but there is a lot. We work to get the ideas integrated into coursework, and the professors are very open
to it. It [sustainability] has come up in every class I have taken.”

The Tuck GIVES (Grants to Interns and Volunteers for the Environment and Society) Fund provides stipends for students
who accept internships with nonprofits; money for the fund is raised via an annual charity auction held in the spring.
The club works closely with CBS, the Career Development Office, the MBA Program Office, and the Dean’s Office and has
raised more than $850K in funds since its first auction in 2001—allowing it to support 175 interns. (See the Social/Com-
munity Life section for more information on the Tuck GIVES auction.)

Tuck students can also participate in the Upper Valley Nonprofit Exchange, a network that brings nonprofit leaders to-
gether to learn from one another and from Tuck faculty members and guest speakers. Via the exchange, students can
serve as a resource for nonprofits by offering pro bono consulting or volunteer services. Lastly, some students elect to
participate in Tuck Builds (discussed in the Social/Community Life section), a volunteer initiative begun by a former Tuck
student, through which students work on a building project site during the day (such as a Habitat for Humanity home) and
network with faculty and alumni over dinner in the evening. Guest speakers, who are Tuck alumni, discuss topics related
to community involvement from both a personal and a corporate perspective.

In 2009, two students founded Tuck Sustains, a partnership between the school’s students and administration with the
goal of “reducing the Tuck environmental footprint and promoting a healthy work-life balance among the Tuck commu-
nity,” states the group’s site. Tuck Sustains has installed display cases above the trash, compost, and recycling bins in the
Tuck dining hall to help students evaluate where their waste should go and are encouraging students to choose reusable
containers. Possible future projects include tracking energy usage on campus with Green Light monitors, and collabo-
rating with the administration to enhance energy efficiency on new campus construction.

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Notable Professors and Unsung Heroes

Kenneth French (www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/faculty/faculty-directory/kenneth-r-french): Kenneth French has pub-

lished numerous papers in collaboration with the famous Eugene Fama of the Chicago Booth School of Business, who is
widely recognized as the “father of modern finance” and received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2013. French
is notable in his own right, however, and was elected to head the American Finance Association in 2007. His popular “In-
vestments” course is a “must take,” according to students we interviewed. “People really enjoy that class,” a second-year
student emphasized to mbaMission. Given the demand for the class, students must rank it highly when selecting their
electives to have a shot at gaining a spot.

French, who is the currently the Roth Family Distinguished Professor of Finance at Tuck, teaches the course using a
lecture format, but a recent graduate explained to mbaMission that French also likes to use the Socratic method and
challenge student assumptions: “French has a dry sense of humor with some sarcasm, but he is very approachable.”
Another alumnus told us, “French is a very compelling speaker—probably one of the best at Tuck, and he does a good
job of explaining complex material well.” And a second-year student we interviewed remarked, “He has a cutting-edge
academic mind in terms of how to look at investments, and his theories are different from what a lot of academics teach.”

Vijay Govindarajan (www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/faculty/faculty-directory/vijay-govindarajan): Vijay Govindarajan, affec-

tionately known by students as simply “VG,” has been cited by Bloomberg Businessweek and Forbes as a top-ten strategy
professor. In addition, VG was featured by Poets&Quants in October 2012 as being one of the “World’s 50 Best Business
School Professors.” His research focus includes global strategy, strategic innovation, strategy execution, and strategic
controls. VG has been a consultant to several well-known companies, including Walmart, FedEx, and Microsoft, and in
2008, he served as chief innovation consultant to General Electric. In 2014, VG was named the inaugural holder of the
Coxe Distinguished Professorship of Management and in 2015, he was chosen as a faculty fellow at Harvard Business
School for a two-year period. He was also the 2015 recipient of the Association of Management Consulting Firms’ Award
of Excellence. In 2019, he received the Thinkers50 Innovation Award.

An alumnus told mbaMission, “VG’s class is great, and the cases have been interesting. Most of the cases are about manu-
facturing companies; however, they are not boring at all. He’s a great speaker and great lecturer.” A recent graduate
described Govindarajan’s classroom style to mbaMission by saying, “VG maintains a balance between lecture and class
participation. He never cold-calls, because he believes that students will be prepared. He doesn’t want students to com-
ment for the sake of commenting and wants people to say something meaningful, which might be different from the ap-
proach at other schools.” Another alumnus shared that VG often brings great speakers to class.

Robert Howell (http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pages/faculty/bob.howell): Robert Howell has been teaching for more
than 40 years and is quite accomplished in the field of accounting and financial management, having served as chief
financial officer of two publicly traded consumer product companies earlier in his career. In addition to teaching the
“Financial Statement Interpretation and Analysis” course, Howell is a senior partner of the Howell Group, LLC, and co-
founder of the Center for Corporate Excellence. A recent graduate told mbaMission, “Everyone takes his class.” For one
of the course’s major projects, which occurs near the end of the term, students work in teams to analyze a company and
present their recommendation on whether to buy, hold, or sell its stock. “Professor Howell has a sense of humor, and he
told students that ‘it’s better to be directionally right and not precisely wrong,’” shared another alumnus.

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A second year described Howell to mbaMission as “a character, and a really, really great professor,” adding, “His classes
are very entertaining, and he is strongly opinionated. He makes even diagnosing financial statements fun; he operates
on the assumption that these don’t tell you much unless you can unwind them, so it’s a very valuable class. I sometimes
see him in the Tuck gym; he’s a really down-to-earth, approachable guy.” Another second-year student likewise spoke
highly of Howell, saying, “He is a fantastic professor. The consummate practitioner-scholar, Professor Howell has an un-
surpassed ability to simplify and explain complex financial concepts. More importantly, Professor Howell teaches a co-
herent investment philosophy regarding how to make investment decisions. I believe that the framework he provides will
prove useful long into my career in finance. … [He] peppers his class discussions with pertinent anecdotes and examples
underlying investment principles borne from his deep real-world experience and through his work teaching executives
investment concepts.”

Kevin Lane Keller (www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/faculty/faculty-directory/kevin-lane-keller): Tuck states on its site that

Kevin Lane Keller is an international leader on branding, and Keller has served as a brand consultant for some of the
world’s most recognizable companies, including Coca-Cola, MTV, and Procter & Gamble. In 2012, Keller was featured as
one of the “World’s 50 Best Business School Professors” by Poets&Quants. For 2013–2015, Keller served as the executive
director of the Marketing Science Institute as a two-year appointment, and is currently the senior associate dean for in-
novation and growth at Tuck.

A recent graduate told mbaMission, “It is cool to hear his experiences from different companies he’s worked in.” Another
alumnus added, “He is very approachable and in touch with students. He likes to get feedback from students in terms
of what they experienced during internships or jobs.” As for Keller’s teaching style, yet another alumnus explained, “He
is more of a lecturer than a class participation professor.” And a second-year student we interviewed described him as
“straight out of the West Coast—very laid-back. He’s known as a cool professor, and a brilliant one.”

For the final project (which accounts for 40% of a student’s final grade) in Keller’s “Strategic Brand Management” course,
students form a “brand management team” with three to four of their classmates to conduct a brand audit, which in-
volves analyzing a brand of the team’s choosing and preparing a subsequent report and presentation to be made to the
class. One alumnus told mbaMission, “I really enjoyed the brand audit project, because you get to pick a brand that in-
terests you and then learn all about it. It was a lot of fun and also challenging.” Remarked a second year we interviewed,
“That he is such a top guy in his field but still teaches one of the core classes is something that is very special about Tuck.”

Social/Community Life

Tuck students enjoy a variety of social events during which they can build relationships with their classmates. In fact,
a second-year student told mbaMission, “There are typically at least three social events to attend every week …. You’ll
never be bored at Tuck, and if you are, you are doing something wrong. The school knows that it is lacking in that urban
vibe and makes up for it every way that it can. And it does a great job.”

Admitted Students Weekend (ASW): ASW is a student-led event held in the spring for candidates who have been admit-
ted to Tuck, intended to show prospective students everything that Tuck has to offer as they make their final decision
about which business school to attend. “Admitted Students Weekend is designed to give you a feel for what attending

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Tuck is really like and an opportunity to meet a couple hundred of your future classmates,” one of the 2018 event’s co-
chairs wrote in a March 2018 post on the Tuck MBA Blog.

The 2011 event’s co-chair similarly described the weekend to mbaMission as a “two-day trial” of Tuck, saying, “They get
housing with current Tuck students, attend mock classes, Tuck ’Tails, meet faculty, are hosted at a small group din-
ner and meet current students and other accepted ones. They see that second-year students—who won’t even be there
when they arrive next fall—care enough to come, and they start to get to know the current first years, who will be their big
brothers and sisters and support [them] when [they] cry over an exam (although you never should because it is not worth
it). It is a great bridge from being an accepted student to being a Tuckie.”

A recent graduate we interviewed noted that her favorite part of ASW was the international lunch, during which students
and partners cook foods from their home country and share them with the rest of the Tuck community. Multiple recep-
tions and events are also planned for these prospective students and their families, such as upper valley treks, class
simulations, dinner parties, a Vegas Night, and a dance party. In a January 2016 Tuck MBA Blog post, a former ASW co-
chair wrote, “ASW [offers] great chances for potential TPs (Tuck Partners) to meet with current TPs, attend panels about
finding employment, life at Tuck, life with kids at Tuck (Tiny Tuckies! They have a name, too!), housing in the Upper Valley,
and more.”

Tuck Veterans Club: The Tuck Veterans Club (formerly the Armed Forces Alumni Association), sponsors study sessions
for midterms and finals, organizes various social events, and speaks with prospective students. A past club co-president
told mbaMission, “Overall, the students and administration are accepting and supportive of veterans. We bring a unique
perspective to the classroom and study group discussions.” He continued by saying, “The small, close-knit community
and sense of camaraderie amongst Tuckies is somewhat similar to what we [veterans] experience in our respective ser-
vices. Some of us are married, and Hanover is a great place for families as well.” The group has sponsored an annual
Military Visit Day in recent years, during which members of the club visit campus to participate in such events as panel
discussions, class visits, and networking happy hours with Tuck students.

Fall, Winter, and Spring Formals: The school’s seasonal formals are exactly what they sound like: an opportunity for stu-
dents to dress up and attend a fancy dinner/dance with their classmates. The Fall and Winter Formals typically take place
on campus, whereas the Spring Formal is held off campus at an upscale location (like a country club) in New Hampshire or
Vermont. “Dressing up, dinner with good friends, and dancing one last time with some fabulous friends and classmates
sure made for an incredible evening,” the spouse of a Tuck student wrote of the Spring Formal in a May 2013 personal blog
post, while another spouse commented on her own blog of her rainy Fall Formal experience: “[There] were about 500
20- and 30-somethings dressed in semi/formal wear and mud boots, riding yellow school buses to a party on a muddy
riverbank under a tent. Why, yes, business school does at times feel a bit like College 2.0.”

Small Group Dinners: In 2009, several students decided to brainstorm ways to bring Tuckies together outside of aca-
demic, professional, and social activities. With support from the administration, the students founded Small Group Din-
ners, which is open to all Tuck students. As reported by a first-year student on Tuck’s admissions blog, for these dinners,
students volunteer to either host a meal at their home or attend as a guest and bring a side dish. The parties are arranged
so as to bring together students from both class years and to bridge different academic sections, nationalities, living ar-
rangements, career aspirations, and social circles.

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A second-year student explained the dinners to mbaMission in detail, saying that Tuck provides some basic funding (ap-
proximately $50) for the host(s) to cover the cost of the main course—emphasizing that the money is specifically for food,
not alcohol—and the guests bring the rest of the meal. He added that because so many first years live in dorms and many
more second years live in houses or apartments, more often than not, second years host first years, though not 100% of
the time. Remarking that the goal of these dinners is to “integrate first and second years,” he added that the meals are “a
great way to meet more people.” A second-year student wrote in an October 2017 Tuck 360 MBA blog post that the tradi-
tion made her “feel at home while being away from home,” and that “these moments built up a sense of family and love
during [her] Tuck experience.”

The school’s Class of 2013 appreciated the tradition so much that the students chose to fund one dinner every year for
future Tuckies. “We T’13s formed deep relationships at the Small Group Dinner table, so we gave to ensure that this and
other community-strengthening traditions continue,” explained the Class of 2013 president in a May 2014 Tuck News-
room article. The Class of 2019 continued to support the tradition by choosing the Small Group Dinner program as the
recipient of the 2019 class gift, which is presented by second-year students.

Tuck Builds: Getting outside, swinging hammers, and interacting with members of the local New Hampshire community
through Tuck Builds is an annual pre-term tradition at Tuck. Through the program, students—according to a broadcast
by the Vermont Public Radio, approximately 10% of the incoming class of 2015, for example—collaborate with local non-
profits to give back in a hands-on way to others in the area. In 2018, the program’s 11th year, Tuck Builds worked with such
organizations as the Upper Valley Trails Alliance, which maintains hiking trails in the area and Habitat for Humanity, which
builds habitation with and for those in need. In 2018, partner organizations also included COVER, a Vermont-based home
repair nonprofit organization, and Upper Valley Land Trust, which promotes land conservation in the area. Projects in
2017 included painting, carpentry, and roof building on various houses.

“In a microcosm, we were a model of how business should operate: erasing the lines between business and the surround-
ing community to create lasting value,” a first year wrote in an August 2014 post for the Center for Business & Society
Blog. “One of the things that drew me to Tuck is its connectedness with the community around it,” said another student,
describing her experience with Tuck Builds in a 2009 article from WCAX News, adding, “Frankly it is fun and it feels good
to give back to the community that I am part of.”

In addition to fostering engagement at the intersection of business, environment, and society, Tuck Builds gives both
incoming and returning MBA students the chance to bond with one another and to interact with faculty and alumni. Par-
ticipants work on projects over the course of five days in August and are treated to group dinners each evening. “I didn’t
know we would have these opportunities when I applied for Tuck Builds,” wrote a first-year student in a September 2013
MBA Blog post, “and I was pleasantly surprised and happy. Prospective Tuckies—go for it!”

Tuck GIVES (Grants to Interns and Volunteers for the Environment and Society): March 2020 marked the 20th annual
Tuck GIVES auction, a student-led event that raises money to fund salaries for Tuck students who accept internships
with nonprofits. The event typically includes both a silent auction and a live auction, but only a silent auction was hosted
in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. In 2019, the auctions culminated in a Mardi Gras–themed closing party.
Students dress up for the event in their fanciest attire and watch two of their classmates lead the auction of donated
items. These offerings can range from dinners with faculty (such as a Cajun-style group dinner cooked by the dean and

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a South African group dinner hosted by a professor) to vacations (including a vacation package at a luxury resort in Ber-
muda and a trip to a ski resort in Colorado) to student-hosted themed dinners, tickets to Red Sox games, tennis and fly-
fishing lessons, babysitting services, and a daylong workout session with Tuckies from the Armed Forces.

The 2018 auction featured a masquerade-themed party, while the 2017 event concluded with a Roaring ‘20s–themed
party. In 2016, the auction concluded with a Starry Night–themed party, and in 2015, participants enjoyed a Monte Carlo–
themed party. In regard to the auctions, a member of the admissions staff told mbaMission, “Our goal is maximum partic-
ipation of the Tuck community, which includes students, their partners, staff, and faculty. I have donated two necklaces
and bracelets that I made from African beads I purchased in Ghana, one of the deans auctions off an evening in his barn,
which is actually a huge, wonderfully furnished place with a giant TV and bar—and other folks offer dinners, photography,
painting, and just all sorts of things.” Since its inception in 2001, the auction has raised more than $850K to support 175
interns, notes the Tuck GIVES website.

Tuck Hockey: Any applicant considering Tuck should know that, according to a recent graduate mbaMission interviewed,
“Hockey is a big deal here and is passionately supported.” Approximately 150 students participate in the games organized
every year, and students can choose from various teams to join, depending on their skill level. “Hockey is deeply ingrained
in Tuck culture,” notes the school’s website. An alumnus told U.S. News & World Report in August 2012 that hockey is a
large part of bonding at Tuck, saying, “It’s 40 below [zero] with wind chill on winter mornings. People don’t leave for the
weekends. Your network is your classmates, and hockey is a strong part of the culture.” A second-year student in the ar-
ticle recounted how his manager—a Tuck alumnus—had shared some words of wisdom for doing well at the school: “Work
hard, do well, and get yourself a pair of ice hockey skates.”

The school’s hockey teams play in various venues around town. Thompson Arena at Dartmouth is the main facility, and
Campion Rink near Sachem Village has hosted tournaments, intramural games, and skating sessions. In the winter, Oc-
com Pond freezes over, providing yet another spot for Tuckies to enjoy hockey. And for those who like to compete, op-
portunities abound to do so. The school’s advanced teams compete against teams from other business schools across
the country, including Wharton, Harvard, Michigan, Babson, and Cornell. Intermediate players play pickup games against
students from the Vermont Law School, local teams, and intramural clubs. The beginner teams compete against each
other and in Wharton’s annual Cheesesteak Chalice Tournament. And those who are not quite ready to play hockey can al-
ways get in the game by cheering on their classmates! A non-hockey-playing second year told mbaMission, “Every school
needs one thing that binds everyone together. Here it is hockey, and I like the fact that it is something physical, not just
business or academics.”

Tuck Partners: Given that, generally, more than one-third of Tuck students come to school with their significant others
(29% in 2019, 32% in 2018, 31% in 2017 and 2016, 25% in 2015, 32% in 2014, and 31% in 2013), Tuck Partners—a social group
comprising students’ wives, husbands, boyfriends, and girlfriends—is an important part of the Tuck community. The
partners develop close bonds through informal social events, such as book club and gourmet club meetings, and can
also attend official Tuck events with their student partners. In addition, numerous activities are planned throughout the
academic year specifically for “Tiny Tuckies,” the children of Tuck students.

A second-year student told us that what she loves most about Tuck is that you can always find something to do, regard-
less of your marital status. “There is no segregation of single and married people,” she said. “Everyone is really connect-

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ed.” A married second-year student told mbaMission that initially, his wife had been very concerned about what their life
would be like at Tuck, but that now, “she can’t imagine a place that is more supportive.” He added, “The partner network
is really strong, with lots of events just for them, but the partners are also integrated into Tuck—they are on the social list
emails, are invited to all the parties, and can sit in on the classes. My wife is friends with people from Tuck whom I am not
close to. Tuck really reaches out to them [the partners].”

The wife of a first-year student noted in an October 2013 post on the Tuck 360 MBA blog that even though moving to Dart-
mouth required uprooting from her former life in Boston, she found Tuck’s welcoming and robust community one of the
“silver linings” of life at the school. “Partners are integrated in a way that makes it easy for couples, and other students,
to become lifelong friends,” she explained. Similarly, a 2015 graduate called Tuck “the most family-friendly MBA” in an Au-
gust 2015 blog post. “Tuck really was a place where my entire family felt a part of something together,” he wrote, adding:
“I truly cannot imagine a better place for a student with a family (like myself) to get an MBA.”

Tuck ’Tails: These “happy hours” occur almost every Thursday for the entire campus and are typically sponsored by a dif-
ferent student group each week. Faculty and students gather over beer, wine, and other refreshments. A recent gradu-
ate we interviewed noted, “The Tuck ’Tails are fun, and usually linked to different events and clubs. They are chill, but
sometimes lead to bigger parties!” The events are generally held on campus in Stell Hall, but when the weather is nice, the
festivities are sometimes moved to a tent outside or onto the new deck in the LLC. Tuck alumni have hosted global Tuck
‘Tails in such cities as Toronto, Mexico City, Atlanta, Singapore, and New York.

Winter Carnival: Each February, more than 650 MBA students from a dozen or more top business schools across the
country gather in Hanover to take a break from classes and recruiting and join Tuckies for the school’s Winter Carnival
weekend. The 2020 event celebrated the 35th anniversary of the carnival and featured a house band, a hot dog eating
contest, and pond hockey games. The 2018 event hosted participants from more than 18 MBA programs for two days of
festivities, including a ski race, an ‘80s ski gear sale and auction, and a closing party. The 2017 Carnival welcomed stu-
dents from 15 MBA programs and featured a racer banquet. The 2016 event was themed “A Clash of Carnivals” and, on the
first day, students could choose from such activities as sledding, skating, and pond hockey, as well as an ’80s-themed ski
party. On the second day, attendees could compete in a ski race or miniature golf and then celebrate at the closing party.

With the theme “Carnival of Thrones,” the 2015 event welcomed aspiring MBAs from 14 business schools to participate
in the weekend events. In 2014, attendees also enjoyed the 38th Annual Winter Carnival Concert, which featured a jazz
ensemble. In the previous year (2013), the carnival featured such activities as a human dogsled race, a hot-dog-eating
contest. All events at the Winter Carnival are geared toward socializing while also raising money for a selected nonprofit
organization.

The costumes teams choose for the skiing competitions tend to be a highlight of the event. Past costumes, noted a first
year with whom we spoke, have included “Hawaiian-themed clothing, business suits, and even Speedos!” A Harvard Busi-
ness School student who traveled the 130 miles to participate in the 2012 carnival observed in an article in his school’s
newspaper, “We left the weekend with not only bellies full of free beer, but also a lot of great new friends and memo-
ries,” adding, “It is REALLY fun to hang out with other b-schools, and there should be more weekends that bring students
across the country together.”

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A second year described the Winter Carnival to mbaMission as one of the more anticipated events at Tuck: “It is a big
social event, to embrace the winter. On Friday, there is a big party at Occom Pond, with hot chocolate; it’s very family
friendly. On Friday night, they hold a dance party. The ski races are on Saturday, followed by another party. … It’s a cool
way for other schools to come and experience the winter wonderland that is Tuck.”

Academic Summary

Curriculum: Tuck offers a general management curriculum, which was revamped in 2018–2019. Students are free to spe-
cialize in certain areas, but they are not required to do so. Incoming students must complete the first-year core cur-
riculum, the Tuck “First-Year Project” course, and electives. Second-year students must complete a minimum of 12 full
classes to reach the graduation requirement of 82.5 credits. All students are required to take at least a mini course, or 1.5
credits, from an approved list of courses dealing with ethics and social responsibility.

Tuck’s 31-week core for first years is longer than the core at most schools and includes the following courses.

Fall A term (August to October)

ƒ “Analytics I”
ƒ “Financial Accounting”
ƒ “Management Communication”
ƒ “Managerial Economics”
ƒ “Managing People”

Fall B term (October to December)

ƒ “Analytics II”
ƒ “Capital Markets”
ƒ “Crafting Strategy”
ƒ “Marketing”

Note: Students transition to their new sections at the start of the winter term and again in the spring.

Winter term (January to March)

ƒ “Corporate Finance”
ƒ “Global Economics for Managers”
ƒ Electives

Spring term (March to May)

ƒ “First-Year Project”
ƒ “Managing Organizations”
ƒ “Operations Management”
ƒ Electives

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 57

Grade Disclosure Policy: Tuck does not prohibit grade disclosure to recruiters. However, students we interviewed ex-
plained that recruiters rarely request grades.

Grading Policy: Students are given letter grades: H (honors), S+ (Satisfactory Plus), S (Satisfactory), LP (Low Pass), F
(Fail).

Majors: Tuck does not offer majors. However, students can tailor their curriculum and take courses from 13 special inter-
est concentrations, as follows:
ƒ Accounting
ƒ Communication
ƒ Economics
ƒ Entrepreneurship
ƒ Ethics and Social Responsibility
ƒ Experiential
ƒ Finance
ƒ Health Care
ƒ Marketing
ƒ Operations and Management Science
ƒ Other
ƒ Organizational Behavior
ƒ Strategy

Research Centers and Initiatives:

ƒ Center for Business, Government & Society
ƒ Center for Digital Strategies
ƒ Center for Entrepreneurship
ƒ Center for Health Care
ƒ Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital
ƒ Lindenauer Forum for Governance Research
ƒ Revers Center for Energy
ƒ Women at Tuck Initiative

Teaching Method: Tuck’s program blends case method, lecture, simulations, individual/team projects, and other forms
of learning.

Admissions Basics

Note: Any specifics discussed in this section related to application requirements were valid for the 2019–2020 admissions
season (unless otherwise noted). Be aware that requirements for any subsequent admissions cycles may differ. Always
check with the school directly to confirm all application details.

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An alumnus we interviewed noted, “The Tuck Admissions Office is always open and staffed with people eager to answer
your questions.” The school also hosts online chats and manages an admissions blog to provide applicants with the info
they need about Tuck to put forth the best application possible. A recent graduate underscored to us that the school will
even work directly with applicants who have been denied admission, if requested, and offer feedback on how they can
strengthen their application the next time around. In fact, this alumnus knew of several classmates who were accepted
the second time they applied, after receiving this kind of assistance.

The Application Process: The application process is the same for all applicants, regardless of test scores, years of work
experience, and other quantifiable metrics. The admissions committee employs a holistic review process to assess each
applicant’s fit as well as their academic and professional excellence. Every candidate’s file is read at least three times—
twice by members of the staff (the admissions committee) and once by the director of admissions, who makes the final
decision, based on input from the admissions staff. In the case of differing opinions on a candidate, the applicant’s files
go back to the staff for review. The admissions committee as a group then discusses the candidate’s strengths and
weaknesses, considering the demographics of both the applicant pool as a whole and the applicants who have already
been slated for offers.

Admissions Rounds: Tuck has historically had four admissions rounds, including an Early Action deadline, but in 2018–
2019, the school only had three admissions rounds (September, January, and April). In 2019–2020, however, the school
returned to the four-round method, with the fourth one featuring a rolling deadline due to the coronavirus situation. Each
round has a firm application deadline and a decision date, so submitting an application months or weeks in advance of
the deadline confers no advantage. In addition, Tuck is a member of the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management,
which has a separate application process, interview, and deadlines. Consortium application deadlines generally fall in
October-November and January.

Tuck explains on its admissions pages, “It is to your advantage to apply as early as you are ready. The admissions com-
mittee cannot predict the quality of future applications, and is therefore inclined to admit well-qualified applicants early
in the process. In addition, early application ensures that you will receive a decision earlier.” However, the school also
emphasizes the importance of not rushing your application and goes on to state, “Regardless of the round in which your
application has been submitted, the admissions committee will give full and fair consideration to your candidacy.”

GMAT/GRE: Tuck has no GMAT or GRE cutoffs and stipulates no ideal score or average. Applicants are evaluated on a
holistic basis, and all their attributes are considered (work experience, community/leadership activities, etc.). Tuck’s
application allows candidates to report all valid scores from the previous five years, and the admissions committee will
consider higher scores on a particular section of a previous exam but will not create a new combined score for an ap-
plicant. Only the highest composite score is considered. Tuck pays attention to applicants’ standardized test scores
because the school believes that, in conjunction with undergraduate grades, the exam is a good indicator of academic
potential. The committee also states that while it cannot guarantee that any new scores submitted after the application
deadline will be reviewed, an effort will be made to update an applicant’s file if new scores are submitted.

GPA/Transcript: In a 2009 Bloomberg Businessweek interview, Tuck’s then-Director of MBA Admissions Dawna Clarke
explained that an applicant’s undergraduate academic performance can tell the admissions committee a lot about that
person’s overall performance, their decision-making process in terms of what classes they elected to take, and the con-

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 59

sistency of the candidate’s performance (e.g., whether it trended upward or fluctuated irregularly). Clarke added that the
admissions committee feels that seeing how quantitatively prepared candidates may be is helpful in evaluating them,
and that GPA can indicate how much individuals challenge themselves.

Global Mindset: Tuck’s admissions committee added a new admissions criterion in 2007 that it calls
“global mindset.” This refers to the extent to which an applicant has traveled, worked, and/or lived
abroad, as well as to the number of languages the candidate speaks, though no set requirements My clients who are
exist for these factors. In a 2011 “Ask Dawna” video blog post, Clarke shared that international experi- successful at Tuck
ence was becoming more important to recruiters, noting, “In this global economy, we feel that busi-
are those who show
ness leaders need global skills.” In addition, Tuck believes that students who possess a global point
concretely how they fit
of view add greatly to the depth of experience at the school. Clarke stressed in the same video, “Be
authentic and reflect on the experiences you have had in your professional and personal life that are
with that culture and a
international in nature.” collaborative mindset.

We at mbaMission would recommend that applicants with less robust international experience con-  Susan Kaplan, mbaMission Senior
Consultant
sider enrolling in a foreign language course, seeking professional or extracurricular projects that
could provide some level of international exposure, and/or reflecting on the extent to which they have
been exposed to other cultures, and then highlight meaningful examples of this in their application.

Word Limits: Although the Tuck admissions committee offers a somewhat flexible word limit, it expects candidates to
adhere to the suggested ranges and guidelines. For the 2020–2021 application season, candidates are encouraged to
keep their three required essays to 300 words each. (See Essay Analysis below for more information.)

Interviews: Tuck has an applicant-initiated interview system. While some schools conduct interviews by invitation only
after reviewing a candidate’s application, Tuck uses an open interview policy. Clarke stated in a 2012 video on Tuck’s
YouTube channel that this approach is rare among top business schools and encouraged all interested candidates to visit
the school, interview on campus, and get a feel for the community before applying. Although not all candidates are able
to come to Tuck to interview, many applicants travel from around the globe to do so; therefore, a U.S. applicants who do
not interview on campus might find themselves at a disadvantage comparatively.

Tuck may invite an applicant to an interview after reviewing their file. The school extends such invitations to a few do-
mestic applicants each round, and even though these candidates live in the United States, they typically live far from
Hanover. Interviews initiated by the admissions committee are conducted by members of the committee, admissions
associates, or alumni interviewers and may take place off campus or by Skype. Interviews conducted on campus take
place primarily with committee members and second-year students acting as admissions associates.

Waitlist: Candidates are placed on Tuck’s waitlist for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the committee needs more infor-
mation about an applicant but sees many positive qualities in the candidate and is interested enough to seek additional
data, or it questions the applicant’s English or quantitative strengths and so encourages the candidate to retake the
GMAT/GRE or TOEFL or to complete supplementary coursework. In other cases, the school may pinpoint no particular
area of concern but is simply unable to offer admission at that point.

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 60

The good news is that if you happen to land on the waitlist, Tuck will provide feedback on how to strengthen your candi-
dacy. “If we need something from you,” the admissions committee writes in a December 2017 blog post, “we will let you
know. Update us with important information such as promotions or updated test scores. There’s no need to make surprise
visits to campus or stay in constant contact. Keep in mind how you handle yourself on the waitlist also gives us an idea of
how you will handle yourself as a student. You can help your candidacy by maintaining your professionalism and checking
in every once in a while.” The school admits people from the waitlist every year, but the number varies for each class.

Financial Aid: Tuck offers scholarships to U.S. and international applicants based on a combination of need and merit, and
these awards range from $10,000 to full tuition. Recipients are notified of such scholarships at the same time they receive
their offer of admission to Tuck or as part of their financial aid award package. All applicants must complete an application
for Tuck School of Business Scholarships by the specified deadlines (submitting the application early is to the candidate’s
advantage). In assessing merit, Tuck considers a variety of factors, including exceptional academic performance, leader-
ship, professional accomplishments, service, and ability to contribute to the diversity of the Tuck community.

Regarding international students, a member of the admissions staff told mbaMission, “Tuck offers funding options for
international citizens attending Tuck. The programs do not require a U.S. co-borrower and offer very competitive terms.
The maximum amount is determined by a needs analysis performed by the Financial Aid Office using the information pro-
vided by the student and may vary by individual. International students can borrow up to the cost of tuition and manda-
tory fees, less other aid for the two years at Tuck. Our goal in providing the program is to supplement the student’s other
financial resources. International students should also investigate all sources of funding from within their home country,
including government and private scholarships and loans. International students may also be eligible for other types of
loans if they have a U.S. cosigner with positive credit history.”

Reapplicants: Tuck does not look upon reapplicants negatively and in fact, the admissions committee is willing to pro-
vide specific feedback to some applicants who have been denied admission to help those candidates strengthen their
candidacy in their subsequent application. “[We] want to see reapplicants who have taken action to strengthen their
candidacy,” the admissions committee writes in a December 2018 blog post, “not someone who simply resubmits their
previous application. Spend some time reflecting on your prior application and identify what areas might have held you
back the first time. Then work hard to improve them.” All reapplicants must submit a new application, essays (includ-
ing an additional reapplicant essay), recommendations, and a nonrefundable application fee. Reapplicants who applied
the previous year must submit only one new recommendation and do not need to provide a self-reported transcript un-
less additional class work has been completed. Tuck states on its website that it strongly encourages all reapplicants to
schedule an on-campus interview to share how they have strengthened their candidacy in the interim.

“As a reapplicant, you have the opportunity to gain additional professional experience and take on new responsibilities,”
the admissions committee states in a December 2019 blog post. “You have more opportunities to lead and collaborate,
challenge yourself, get involved, reflect, and grow. As a result, you may find that you are in a stronger position to contrib-
ute and thrive at Tuck. We hope you will view this additional time before you start your MBA positively.”

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 61

Dartmouth College (Tuck) Essay Analysis, 2020–2021

In a blog post about the upcoming MBA admissions season, Luke Anthony Pena, the director of admissions and financial
aid at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, references the upheaval and uncertainty so many of us have expe-
rienced during the COVID-19 pandemic and refers in contrast to the “stability of Tuck’s clear and transparent criteria,
essays, and approach to MBA admissions.” Apparently wanting to keep the process of applying to the Tuck program as
uncomplicated and understandable as possible, the admissions committee has made only minimal revisions to its appli-
cation. The essay questions basically remain the same (aside from the slightest adjustment in phrasing for one), mean-
ing that the information candidates are expected to provide via their three 300-word essays is likewise unchanged. The
school’s first prompt broadly covers the applicant’s need for an MBA, and specifically a Tuck MBA. Essay 2 deals with the
candidate’s individuality, and the third essay is about a time when the applicant helped facilitate another’s success. Tuck
clearly seeks individuals who will be ambitious, cooperative, and supportive members of its community. Read on for our
more detailed essay analysis.

Essay 1: Tuck students can articulate how the distinctive Tuck MBA will advance their aspirations. Why are you pursu-
ing an MBA and why Tuck? (300 words)

By not specifically requesting short- and long-term goals in this essay prompt, Tuck leaves the decision of how to frame
your career aspirations up to you. The natural assumption is that if you have reached a point in your professional journey
where you believe an MBA is necessary to move forward, you must have a goal in mind that you are working toward—even
if that goal is still fairly nebulous or malleable at this point.

To address the “why Tuck?” element of this prompt, you will need to indicate which of the school’s resources and/or what
aspect(s) of its program as a whole will be most helpful to you in your pursuits, and this requires more than a pandering
summarization or a stark list of offerings. This means you must move beyond the Tuck website, viewbook, and related
marketing materials and make direct contact with students, alumni, and other school representatives. The pandemic is
understandably preventing in-person admissions events and campus visits, but the school will be offering online events
and is also working to develop special interactive options that will allow candidates to familiarize themselves with Tuck’s
environment and resources. Understanding what and who the school’s program truly entails, as well as how it works, is
key in identifying and then articulating your need for a Tuck MBA in particular. By thoroughly doing your research on the
school and drawing a clear picture for your admissions reader of how the particular offerings you have identified relate
directly to your needs and how you intend to apply them, chances are high that you will submit a truly effective essay.

Because this prompt encompasses some of the most elemental components of a traditional personal statement es-
say, we encourage you to download a free copy of the mbaMission Personal Statement Guide. This document provides
in-depth guidance on how to consider and respond to these sorts of questions, along with numerous illustrative ex-
amples. Please feel free to claim your complimentary copy today at https://shop.mbamission.com/products/personal-
statement-guide.

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 62

Essay 2: Tuck students recognize how their individuality adds to the fabric of Tuck. Tell us who you are. (300 words)

In the past, this essay question also asked applicants to explain how they would contribute to the school, but the current
version places the primary emphasis on sharing their character and personality. And with the essay’s rather tight word
allotment, keeping the scope of the query narrow makes sense. Nevertheless, we feel that the prompt’s first line, which
notes that Tuckies “recognize how their individuality adds to the [school’s] fabric,” is a hint that candidates are expected
to understand and be able to articulate how they fit with (and could therefore theoretically contribute to) the school’s
community—they just do not need to be overly specific and detailed in conveying this information.

First, we suggest you grab some paper and make an old-fashioned list of your key characteristics, values, and interests.
Do not concern yourself with trying to single out the “right” ones but rather the ones most representative of who you are.
A good brainstorming tactic is to imagine meeting someone for the first time at a party or other event and the process of
getting acquainted. What kind of information would you want to know about this person, and what facts about yourself
would you be most eager to share, as a way of conveying who you are and making a connection? Take some time to delve
into your personality in this way. At the same time, keep in mind what the admissions committee will already know about
you from the other portions of your application, to avoid wasting an opportunity to share something new, and try to iden-
tify stories that provide context and color to your claims, rather than just stating them outright. For example, rather than
a declaration like “I tend to be a very altruistic person and enjoy giving back to my community by being a reading tutor,”
you might say something more like, “Tuesday nights have become my favorite night of the week, because that is when I
tutor local elementary students in reading, and the way their eyes light up when they learn a new word or finish another
book never fails to inspire and gratify me.” Giving your claims sufficient context and a bit of “life” in this way allows the
admissions committee to more fully understand and appreciate them.

This essay prompt actually allows you a great deal of freedom to choose and share the information you believe is most
important for the admissions committee to know about you. In addition to focusing on the elements of your personality
that you feel are most distinct and revelatory of who you are as an individual, give some thought to which of your char-
acteristics mesh best with the Dartmouth Tuck experience. (We strongly encourage you to click through and read the
school’s admissions criteria [www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/criteria] in detail, if you have not already done so.)
Avoid simply trying to fit in as much information as possible about yourself in hopes of stumbling on the “right” answers
and instead clearly present and illustrate your most fitting qualities. Authenticity and enthusiasm are the keys to your
success with this essay.

Essay 3: Tuck students invest generously in one another’s success even when it is not convenient or easy. Tell us
about a time when you helped someone else succeed. (300 words)

In an earlier version of this prompt from a few seasons ago, the school began by describing Tuck students as “nice.”
Although this reference has been removed, we are of course confident that this has not changed, and in its place, the
admissions committee includes a qualifier that its students remain committed to helping others even when doing so is
difficult in some way.

This essay prompt aligns perfectly with Tuck’s long-held belief in teamwork and community spirit. By illustrating with
this essay that you have a natural interest in helping others reach their goals and have successfully done so, you will

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 63

demonstrate for the admissions committee that you possess the qualities it is seeking in its next class of students. In
addition, stepping up proactively to assist someone in an endeavor that is important to them shows an instinct for lead-
ership, which is valued by all MBA programs.

Because this is a fairly straightforward essay prompt, we recommend responding in an equally straightforward manner.
Beyond simply sharing a story of having supported, assisted, and/or encouraged another on their path to success, you
will need to share the motivation(s) and thought processes that led you to want to do so in the first place. With only 300
words with which to respond, you will need to clearly but succinctly convey the situation as you originally found it, your
inspiration to contribute, the actions you then took, the outcome, and, ideally, what you learned from the experience
(though this last element should be somewhat brief). The qualifier “even when it is not convenient or easy” suggests to us
that stories in which the path to the desired outcome was not entirely direct or smooth may resonate slightly better with
the admissions committee. Also, in a June 2018 Tuck news article, Peña commented, “Tuck is a distinctly collaborative
community so being able to challenge others tactfully and thoughtfully is important” (emphasis ours). With this in mind, if
you are deciding between two or more instances you could discuss for this essay, consider going with one in which your
help was perhaps not requested or immediately accepted—one in which you needed to diplomatically negotiate your of-
fer of input and assistance.

Note that Tuck does not specify from which realm of your life—professional, personal, or community related—the story
you choose to share here must come. This means you can plumb the entirety of your experiences for the one you believe
best fulfills what the school wants to see and about which you feel most strongly. Also consider that although the prompt
says “someone else,” this could potentially apply to a pair or small group, if presented effectively. Perhaps, for example,
you helped a duo of small business owners with a marketing issue or supported a small musical group or athletic team in
some capacity. In any case, absolutely avoid bragging about your role or suggesting that the party you aided could never
have succeeded without you. The school is looking for evidence that you not only have a natural inclination to invest in
and bolster others but you also have the capacity and skills to do so effectively and are mature enough to grow from the
experience yourself.

Do not try to include several different experiences (perhaps for fear of offering the “wrong” one) and instead focus just on
one that you describe in detail. Let the narrative unfold naturally, making sure that the basics are all clearly presented.
What the school wants to know is that the incident you are showcasing was truly significant for you and had a meaningful
impact, so let that be your guide.

Optional Essay: Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere (e.g.,
atypical choice of evaluators, factors affecting academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes). Complete
this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application. (300 words)

You may be tempted to take advantage of this optional essay as an opportunity to share an additional compelling story
or to highlight a part of your profile that you fear might be overlooked or undervalued, but we strongly encourage you
to resist this temptation. Submit an optional essay here only if your candidacy truly needs it. Consider what the school
says about this essay in a Tuck 360 blog post: “If you give us an extra five paragraphs to read and it’s not necessary, we
will question your judgment or your ability to express yourself succinctly elsewhere.” You really cannot get much clearer
than that! So again, only if your profile has a noticeable gap of some kind or an issue that would might raise a red flag or

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elicit questions on the part of an admissions officer—such as a poor grade or overall GPA, a low GMAT/GRE score, a gap
in your work experience, an arrest, etc.—should you take this opportunity to provide additional information. Download
a free copy of our mbaMission Optional Essays Guide (https://shop.mbamission.com/products/mbamission-optional-
essays-guide), in which we offer detailed advice on deciding whether to take advantage of the optional essay as well as
on how to do so effectively (with multiple sample essays) to help you mitigate any problem areas in your profile.

Reapplicant Essay: (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. (300 words)

Whether you have improved your academic record, received a promotion, begun a new and exciting project, increased
your community involvement, or taken on some sort of personal challenge, the key to success with this essay is convey-
ing a very deliberate path of achievement. Tuck wants to know that you have been actively striving to improve yourself
and your profile, and that you have seized opportunities during the previous year to do so, because a Tuck MBA is vital to
you. The responses to this essay question will vary greatly from one candidate to the next, because each person’s needs
and experiences differ. We are more than happy to provide one-on-one assistance with this highly personal essay to
ensure that your efforts over the past year are presented in the best light possible.

The Next Step—Mastering Your Dartmouth Tuck Interview: Many MBA candidates find admissions interviews stressful
and intimidating, but mastering this important element of the application process is definitely possible—the key is in-
formed preparation. And to help you develop this high level of preparation, we offer our free Interview Guides! Download
your free copy of the Dartmouth Tuck Interview Guide today at https://shop.mbamission.com/products/uva-darden-
interview-guide.

B-School Insider Interview: Courtney Duffy, Dual-Degree Student, Dartmouth College’s

Tuck School of Business and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Class
of 2019

February 2019

Originally from Worcester, Massachusetts, Courtney Duffy is a 2012 graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut,
where she studied political science, English, and the interdisciplinary arts. She held several professional roles before ap-
plying to business school, including one as a regional field director on Senator Scott Brown’s reelection bid. She also es-
tablished InkHouse Media + Marketing’s first satellite office in San Francisco before relocating to Washington, DC, to run
government relations for the nation’s largest arts services organization, Fractured Atlas.

mbaMission: Thank you so much for giving us some insight into the Tuck MBA experience today. But you’re not just a Tuck
student, you’re pursuing two degrees at once, right? Can you start by explaining how that works a little?

Courtney Duffy: During my first year at Tuck, I applied to the Harvard Kennedy School’s concurrent MPA program. I began
at Kennedy in the fall of 2018 and am currently back at Tuck finishing up my MBA. Next year, I will be at Kennedy full time
and graduate from there with my MPA in 2020. Last summer, I interned at Facebook on the company’s Economic Policy

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team. I have one more summer in which to intern and eventually plan to work in the private sector—likely a tech com-
pany—with a mission-oriented function.

mbaMission: Nice. What compelled you to choose Tuck for your MBA?

CD: Tuck is eerily similar to my high school and college environments. I had a “nontraditional” background going into
business school and knew I wanted an intimate learning environment with small classes and close professor connec-
tions in which I would feel comfortable making mistakes as I sought to bolster my analytical toolkit. I knew Tuck is often
referred to as tight-knit and all that, but it has exceeded my expectations. Before even arriving on campus, the leader of
the MBA program office connected me with an apartment rental opportunity. The apartment was under renovation, and
she herself walked to the apartment during a lunch break to personally ensure its quality. With her thumbs up, I felt con-
fident signing a lease sight unseen while still living in DC. I also had access to tutoring for my quantitative classes from
second years who made themselves available to meet with me anytime I needed them. During exam season, we literally
met every day—all free of charge! I thought I knew what I was getting when I decided to come here, but I barely knew the
tip of the iceberg.

mbaMission: That sounds great. How have you liked living in Hanover for your studies?

CD: Hanover already holds a special place in my heart, and we hear from alumni recruiters all the time about how happy
they are to be back. I actually hosted an alum and his family at my empty apartment for a week during the summer. He
wanted to share this place with his wife and young daughter. I know I have my whole life ahead of me to live in a bustling
city, and I look forward to that. But going to a program like this one, in a place like this, causes everyone to “buy in,” to
really take advantage of the outdoor opportunities, to embrace the winter weather for all the activities it offers, to host
visiting friends and family with pride, and more. It is such a transformative two years. We all lean into Hanover and em-
brace it and will certainly return to it throughout our lives.

mbaMission: I’ve only ever heard good things about Hanover, so I’m not surprised. What are your thoughts on Tuck’s re-
quired curriculum and the way it is executed?

CD: Having never so much as taken an economics class, I needed a level set, and the first-year curriculum offered just
that. Some of my classmates placed out of certain subjects depending on their pre-Tuck experiences, but for the most
part, they were encouraged to enroll all the same. They added such rich experiences to the classroom, and within my in-
dividual study group, my financially savvy classmates regularly took the time to walk me through the basics of subjects I
had never before touched and which were being covered during the core. I was particularly impressed by the fact that our
professors in the core curriculum had studied our respective backgrounds and sought our experiences during relevant
moments of the conversation in a way that familiarized everyone with one another’s strengths and elevated the discus-
sion quality overall.

Tuck was proactive about soliciting our feedback on the core, as well. One of the most frequent suggestions was to
rework the order of courses in accordance with the recruiting schedule. From what I understand, “Marketing” is moving
to the Fall Term from the Winter Term, for example, to benefit first years recruiting for internships in the marketing and

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brand management space who interview in January. There are also steps being taken to draw closer connections be-
tween the concepts taught during the core and the national and global business world.

mbaMission: Can you comment a little on Tuck’s required First-Year Project (FYP) and how that works?

CD: It’s basically a capstone of sorts which first years complete in the final term of the first year. It’s a way to apply all the
skills you’ve acquired during Tuck’s core curriculum, which is of course rigorous and comprehensive. Traditionally, stu-
dents divide into groups of five or six and select among a number of different projects which are sourced by the school:
a local nonprofit may be looking for a comprehensive marketing plan, for example, or a Tuck alum may want some market
research done to help her decide whether or not to expand her business into another state, and so on. Many of my class-
mates took on FYP clients from other countries and then visited those countries to make a final presentation.

In my case, however, I was part of an "eFYP," the e standing for entrepreneurship. My classmate wanted to explore why
more women don’t run for elected office, and she assembled a team of five women to dig into the issue and develop
potential solutions. We tackled the project over several stages—by interviewing leading researchers in the field, inter-
viewing women who hold elected office, interviewing women who would make great candidates but have never run to
learn what they see as the largest obstacles, and so on. Eventually, we developed technology solutions to tackle the two
largest obstacles cited by these women.

mbaMission: Nice. Have you done any Tuck-related traveling, either just for fun or as part of a course or program?

CD: When it comes to travel opportunities here, my classmates and I face an embarrassment of riches. Informally, I
joined a student-led trip to Colombia over Winter Break during my first year. Formally, I participated in a pre-Tuck trip to
Croatia with 20 classmates, which was overseen by a Tuck alum who runs a tourism company. We had a mid-sized ship
to ourselves and explored, hiked, visited vineyards, swam, relaxed, dined, danced, and more for a full week. I built the
beginnings of lifelong friendships in just a few short days, a trend which has continued in Hanover. I currently live with
two girls I met on that trip. And academically, I love Tuck’s global requirement [TuckGO]. I believe it’s the only top program
that has it? Or maybe it used to be. To fulfill that requirement, I visited China for 11 days over Spring Break of my first year
on a professor-led trek which was entrepreneurship and venture capital themed. Tuck funded the entire trip itself; all
we were responsible for was our own plane tickets. Tuck alumni hosted us for site visits across Beijing, Hangzhou, and
Shanghai at companies such as Alibaba, JD.com, and Didi, among eight or nine others.

mbaMission: That sounds really fun. How would you characterize your classmates and the greater Tuck community?

CD: The strength and intimacy of Tuck’s community is perhaps what the program is best known for. I knew that going in,
and it’s one of the traits that most drew me to apply in the first place. But somehow the community’s depth exceeded my
already high expectations. I can confidently say that I “get it” now. Here’s an example: One of my classmates had a friend
from college who was applying to Tuck, and when the applicant and his wife visited Hanover, my classmate organized a
small group dinner for the couple so they would feel welcome. Over the course of our discussion about Tuck, the appli-
cant noted that any time any one of us mentioned the first name of someone in the community, everyone else knew who
they were talking about. Everyone knows who “Doug” is, who “Simone” is, who “Lina” is. And beyond the simple comfort of
knowing all my classmates and feeling acknowledged for the perspective and talents that I bring to the community, I have

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forged deep friendships that far surpass a simple hello in the hallway. These are my future business partners, investors,
and sounding boards. Most importantly, they are my dear friends.

mbaMission: Have you had any particular professors or courses that have really made an impression on you?

CD: In my earlier academic life, I typically answered this question by choosing an instructor from a class in which I easily
excelled. It’s natural to have positive associations with those who teach you in subjects which align with your natural tal-
ents. In this case, however, I would say Emily Blanchard, the professor of the most difficult course for me in my two years
at Tuck: “Global Economics for Managers,” a course from the core curriculum which is affectionately known as “GEM.”
Beyond being an expert in economics who has been widely published and is frequently sought by reporters to comment
on stories, Professor Blanchard maintained incredibly high expectations—you never wanted to be unprepared and “dis-
appoint” her—all the while weaving in humor and cultivating an environment in which even the more “elementary” ques-
tions were answered with respect and energy. She found a way to weave the most banal concepts into compelling story
lines that were accessible to everyone and directly relevant to the world around us. I visited her office hours frequently
and knew that she genuinely enjoyed holding them. Professor Blanchard is an absolute force, and I am so glad I had the
opportunity to learn from her during my time here.

mbaMission: I love that. Have you had much interaction with Dean (Matthew) Slaughter?

CD: I had always heard that Dean Slaughter had been a beloved professor at Tuck before embracing the dean role full-
time. He actually taught GEM, the course Professor Blanchard teaches now. I jumped at the opportunity to take a course
he began teaching this semester called “Leadership in the Global Economy.” In many ways, the course is like a GEM 2.0.
We tie together all of the concepts and themes we have been discussing since the fall of 2017 and apply them directly to
discussions of policies that have major consequences for millions of people—climate change, immigration, intellectual
property and technology, trade, etc. Ahead of each class and after extensive research on the subject at hand, we each
compose and submit Congressional testimony on behalf of one of the major players involved in the topic. Dean Slaughter
then reviews all the testimony and strategically assembles a foursome whose character testimonies complement each
other well. We then hold an actual Congressional committee–style hearing during class in which the foursome read their
testimonies before answering questions from their character’s point of view which are asked by classmates in the audi-
ence who take on the roles of Congressional members.

mbaMission: That sounds really intense! How would you assess Tuck’s facilities?

CD: There is a finite number of first-year dorm rooms, and demand for dorm rooms was particularly high among my T’19
class. I unfortunately did not win the housing lottery but ended up in a lovely one bedroom a short walk from campus
which turned out to be wonderful. This is not a consistent problem, however. The T’20 class demand was lower, and there
were extra dorms available. As for the best parts of Tuck’s facilities, I love that all the buildings are connected under-
ground, not just because it allows us to avoid the cold on particularly chilly days but mostly because it aligns with that
sense of connectedness that Tuck advocates. It’s no coincidence that I get to campus at 8 a.m. and regularly stay until
between 10 p.m. and midnight. With a gym, library, dining hall, and all the study rooms I could ever need available within a
short walk, Tuck makes for a gorgeous place to study and socialize, no matter the season.

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mbaMission: Sounds good. You’ve mentioned some of your interactions with Tuck graduates. We’ve been told in the past
that the alumni are very responsive, open, and generous with students—would you say that’s still the case?

CD: I felt the strength of Tuck’s alumni network even before I applied. I did some serious diligence during my applica-
tion process, reaching out to alumni of all the schools to which I was applying. Tuck was the only program from which I
received a response from every single alum I emailed, even those I cold emailed! In a few cases, our subsequent phone
conversations about the program lasted a full hour. As a student, I have found myself in a few situations in which I was
invited to interview with companies with a really tight turnaround. The alumni from those companies who I reached out
to, even with the time constraints, still made themselves available to me. I genuinely enjoy speaking to prospective stu-
dents and am eager to continue offering myself as a resource to future Tuckies. It’s my turn to be part of the circle which
has been so good to me!

mbaMission: Sure. Has the school’s career development office helped you with your job searches?

CD: I took an atypical recruiting path, which actually changed slightly upon my acceptance to the Kennedy School. Sud-
denly I had two summers in which to intern, and my reemergence in the real world was delayed a year. Tuck’s career
services office was incredibly flexible and has allowed me to recruit for another summer internship as if I was a T’20. As is
consistent with Tuck all around, the career resources are incredibly personalized for the student and her needs.

mbaMission: That’s good to hear. What other Tuck resources would you say have been most helpful in preparing you for
your post-MBA career?

CD: Tuck has empowered me to develop a greater understanding of myself as a leader. This includes understanding
and growing my strengths, of course, but it also involves digging into my weaknesses, fears, and vulnerabilities. I have
learned how to network more naturally—I am an introvert, so this has been a significant development for me—how to in-
fluence and collaborate with my peers, and how to ask the right questions in any professional setting.

mbaMission: Great. What have been some of your favorite extracurricular activities at Tuck?

CD: I am co-president of the Tuck Band, which is, without a doubt, the most meaningful extracurricular in which I have
engaged during my time here. Any class of 275 high achievers is bound to have talented musicians, and my class is no
exception. As first years, we kept up the Tuck Band tradition by forming a group called The Regressions, which rehearses
on Sunday nights and focuses on cover songs. We regularly play for our classmates at events in Raether [Hall], and even
for events held at Hanover venues like Murphy’s and The Skinny Pancake. Most meaningfully, we were the main act at
Admitted Students Weekend, which meant a lot to us. Several of us had decided at our own Admitted Students Weekend
that Tuck was the place for us when we saw the T’17 and T’18 bands performing. The opportunity to have the same impact
on future T’20s was not taken lightly. It was a real honor.

mbaMission: That sounds really cool. What else do students tend to do for fun outside the classroom?

CD: Tuck offers an incredibly diverse and active social scene. There are also a good number of students who came to
Tuck with young families, so several of the events are family friendly and open to Tuck partners and children, too—the

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“TPs” and “Tiny Tuckies.” While the outdoor- and winter-related activities are genuinely unmatched, everything from ski-
ing and hiking to camping and playing “Tripod Hockey,” I want to emphasize that there is so much more to Tuck and Ha-
nover than these activities. I am not a “nature person” by any stretch, and I have maintained a robust social life without
ever stepping into a ski or skate. We’ll often have themed parties in Raether, some of which the band will play at, such
as “Tuck High,” a high school prom–themed evening, or a mixer with the medical school called Suits and Stethoscopes.
Students also frequent Murphy’s, a pub in downtown Hanover which is the undisputed “Tuck bar.” The bartenders make a
point of learning every student’s name, and it makes for a really cozy experience. This year, we’ve begun hosting open mic
nights at Murphy’s, too, featuring singers, instrumentalists, and even stand-up comedians. The Dartmouth Coach bus is
an inexpensive way to get to New York City or Boston at any time, which is always an option, but most students dig into
their time here and stay in the area over the weekends.

mbaMission: I’m impressed that the bartenders learn everyone’s name! Do students seem very concerned with Tuck’s
placement in the various MBA rankings?

CD: Tuckies do of course pay attention to the program’s various rankings, but it comes from a place of pride in the school
and wanting to make sure the richness of opportunities here is adequately depicted. We maintain an active dialogue,
both within our class and with faculty and the administration, to provide feedback on what can make Tuck even stronger
for Tuckies of the future.

mbaMission: What do you think more people should know about Tuck that they probably don’t know, particularly candi-
dates who might be considering the school—or who are not considering it and should?

CD: I’d like to take this opportunity to dispel three common misconceptions. One, as I mentioned earlier, you don’t have to
be a “nature person” or a seasoned New Englander to come here and have the best two years of your life. Two, you don’t
have to aspire to enter consulting or banking. While Tuck has an exceptional track record of preparing students for roles
in those spaces, there is a strong contingent of students who focus on a wide range of industries, and the resources avail-
able to those engaging in off-campus recruiting are boundless. Three, the financial investment you make in yourself by
spending two years at Tuck will pay off well beyond graduation. The payoff for me, not just in terms of the business and
leadership skills I have gained here, but also on the strength of the alumni community I will soon join, will last me a lifetime.

mbaMission’s Exclusive Interview with Dawna Clarke, Dartmouth Tuck’s Director (from
2005 to 2017) of MBA Admissions

July 2009

mbaMission: I’ll start with my usual first question, which is what should Tuck be known for that it’s not known for? What
do you think is the hidden gem of the school that people overlook?

Dawna Clarke: I’ll answer this from the perspective of someone who has already done their research and knows what a
special place it is in terms of the community and the focus on the two-year MBA program. One is the uniqueness that Tuck
focuses exclusively on the two-year, full-time MBA program, and I see that as a huge differentiator for us in terms of the

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fact that if a student comes to school here, there’s roughly 240 to 250 students in each entering class. The sole focus of
the entire community is on the two-year, full-time program, so you’re not sharing resources at all with faculty who are
also teaching in a part-time program or a weekend program or a global program. The fact that Tuck has that unique focus
on the two-year, full-time program is extremely distinctive.

I would say in an even more hidden way, when people research Tuck, I think that they know it’s a good, solid MBA program.
It’s a great general management program, but it is a rigorous program. I mean, academically, it is quite rigorous. It’s a re-
ally serious place in terms of academics, and our dean [outgoing dean Paul Danos] has really worked hard over the years
on faculty having dual excellence in both research and teaching, and there are a lot of opportunities in the second year to
take what we’re calling these “deep-dive electives” to very specific areas. And also I would say that [something] people
don’t affiliate with Tuck is that it’s a great school for finance. We are a general management program, but if you looked
at the number of people who come here as students who are interested in finance versus the ratio of recruiters, it’s very
strong. So I think we place students in careers in finance equally strongly as the finance schools. And that is something
that is not as well known as I would like it to be.

mbaMission: We know that these days, some schools’ endowments are shrinking, and because of that, the schools are
increasing their class sizes or adding programs. Is Tuck facing any of these kinds of pressures? Is the school considering
adding a part-time program or an executive program?

DC: It is something that we are definitely seeing in the industry, that many schools are expanding or offering spin-off pro-
grams and things. I will say that I’m sure that the Tuck administration feels the pressure, but there are no plans currently
to expand the Tuck School or to offer part-time programs. When I came here in 2005, they were wrapping up a study look-
ing at the feasibility of the advantages and disadvantages of offering a part-time program, but in a different location.

We’re in New Hampshire; 80% of New Hampshire is wooded. It’s a beautiful, beautiful place, but it’s not logistically the
best location for a part-time program. I think it’s a fabulous location if you want to relocate here and stay for a few years,
but the school did undergo a process of evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of offering some kind of part-time
or executive program and decided against it. So, I think the school has done a great job in terms of asking us to look at our
budgets really, really carefully and scale back in a way that would enable them to not lay off people and not have to expand
the class by 30% or something like that. Our class size should be about the same as last year, which was 252.

mbaMission: So no plans to expand the class size?

DC: No.

mbaMission: You mentioned that Tuck might be considered a little more remote or relatively remote. Do you place any
particular emphasis on the class visit for that reason? Does it indicate to you that people are more serious about Tuck
when they make the trip?

DC: I think the fact that we are remote plays into our admissions policies a little bit in that we’re fairly unique in that we re-
main committed to the open interview policy so that any student who wants to interview has the opportunity to interview
on a space-available basis. You know, if 50 people wanted to come on Friday, September 13, or something, then we might

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not have space to accommodate them, but we do have an open interview policy, and part of why we are committed to that
is because of our location. It’s not as easy to get here as it is to get to other major metropolitan areas. So if a student is
interested in making the effort to come, then we by no means want to discourage that.

And also you just asked if there were any myths I would want to dispel about Tuck, and one of things that was such a pleas-
ant surprise to me—and I think is a pleasant surprise to many of those who come here—is that you think of Tuck as being
very remote, which it is, but I have been so pleasantly surprised, and I think students are surprised, by how much there is
to do in the area. And I think in general, the Upper Valley is pretty outdoorsy, and here we have our own ski way, we have
our own canoe and kayak club, you can rent snowshoes, you can take snowshoe lessons, skiing lessons. Embracing the
outdoors is very accessible, even if you’re not an outdoorsy person, because there is so much going on on campus to help
embrace that lifestyle.

It’s a lot of fun, but it’s also pretty sophisticated. I think we have the advantage of being part of the greater Dartmouth
community, and Dartmouth being an Ivy League school draws a lot in terms of the guest speakers who are coming, the
actors and the actresses, and we have the Hopkins Center for the Arts, which brings in a lot of jazz musicians, performing
artists, and visual artists. One of my favorite things to do in the fall—the Hopkins Center of the Arts sponsors a festival
called the Telluride Festival, and there is actually a festival in Colorado every year called the Telluride, and the person who
used to run that film festival runs the Film Society now at Dartmouth. And he goes to Telluride and picks what he thinks
are the six best films at the Telluride Film Festival, and they are shown here at Dartmouth before they are shown to the
general public.

So for example, we got to see Capote here well before it was released to the general public and Into the Wild. It’s a huge
film festival here in New Hampshire. So I think that the fact that we’re remote, it’s really just a beautiful area in terms of
embracing the outdoors, but it’s also surprisingly sophisticated in terms of people who come to us. I’m more socially ac-
tive, or active in things like that here than in places that were significantly bigger. A lot people live within walking distance
of the campus; everything is reasonable. So that is definitely a myth that I would want to dispel. I think it’s just kind of a
neat place to spend two years.

mbaMission: And a fairly large percentage of students live on campus, correct?

DC: Yes. It’s a residential campus, and within the past year we finished one of buildings, called the Living and Learning
Center. I had a tour of it when it opened, and I thought, “I want to live here.” [Laughs] It’s just gorgeous, and it has a yoga
studio and kitchens, and all of the buildings are connected, so you can get from building to building underground through
tunnels, which is very practical in the wintertime. But I think that’s one of the reasons there’s so much bonding at Tuck—it
is a residential campus. It’s residential for single students, and a huge percentage of the single students live on campus,
and then there is married student housing where a lot of the married students live, and then many of the second years
rent houses in the area.

But what I was most struck by when I first came here was the school spirit. As you know, [school spirit] is very high at UVA
and Dartmouth. I think Dartmouth and UVA have such an incredibly high level of school spirit, and I think one of the rea-
sons it is particularly intense here is because it is residential, so the students are studying together and living together

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and playing together, you know, working together, and I think that contributes a lot to the bonding that goes on at an even
higher level.

mbaMission: You said that a certain kind of individual can fit in that kind of environment. Is there anything you do to
screen for that characteristic?

DC: I think that it’s really important for individuals who go to business school and who are going to be potential business
leaders to be adaptable in general. I mean, the world, as you know, is so much more global that we added into the admis-
sions’ criteria a new criterion last year called Global Mindset. So we’re asking people, have you studied a foreign language
or worked abroad or traveled abroad? Or to what extent have you worked with other cultures? Because I think one of the
things we’re finding is that recruiters are looking more and more for that sense of adaptability and the ability to get out
of your comfort zone and to try something new and embrace the global world and to have some global skills. So I think we
look at it in general, but not necessarily how they would adapt, because I think it’s a very easy place to adapt to because
it’s so community oriented, and I think even people who are city slickers really come to appreciate the fresh air.

And like I said, Dartmouth does a really great job of making the outdoors accessible to someone who isn’t even outdoorsy.
The Outing Club is the biggest outing club in the country. We’re one of only two colleges to own our own ski resort. We
have a canoe and kayak club [the Ledyard Canoe Club]. The things that go on here are reasonably inexpensive, so if you
are just a novice, it’s very accessible to you.

But to get to your point, I think for a variety of reasons we look very carefully at sociability, interpersonal skills, com-
munication skills—not just book smarts, but the ability to articulate your point and get along with people. I mean, Tuck
students are known to be very strong in terms of team skills. One of the things that people told me a lot when I came here,
and I have found this to be the case, is that Tuck students and alumni are really well known for humility. It’s just a really
nice aspect of the culture here. I mean, Dartmouth and Tuck, that’s really part of their brand image. There is a certain
amount of humility that is conveyed when you interact with colleagues, subordinates, and things. We do look at it in the
admissions process, but it’s more because we feel like interpersonal skills and communication skills are so important to
have in business and at Tuck.

mbaMission: Can you talk a little bit about why Tuck uses the open interview approach? And what makes for a successful
interview, from your perspective?

DC: Sure. So why do we have the open interview process as opposed to doing it by invitation only?

mbaMission: Yes, and how would someone prepare?

DC: Ok. Super. We’re extremely proud to say that we are very committed to the open interview policy for a variety of
reasons, and one is that we’re proud to showcase our school, and anyone who is interested enough to have done a lot of
research on MBA programs who wants to explore Tuck further, we want to be available to them. To come and explore the
school, which of course they could do even if we didn’t have an open interview policy, but I think if you’re making that kind
of effort to come here and sit in on a class and go on a tour, the least we can do is make ourselves available to interview
someone. I think it’s a reflection of what we value in the admissions process, and we don’t value only that someone has

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 73

been successful academically and on the GMAT and in their career, but we also value a candidate’s interpersonal and
communication skills, and I think that those are very, very hard to convey on the basis of an application.

So the interview, I think, allows some candidate who is a solid candidate but maybe not a standout to really push their
candidacy over the edge and shine because they presented themselves so well or they were so strong interpersonally or
their motivation level [was strong]. Whatever they convey in the interview may help to push them over the edge in terms
of how strong they are in our eyes, and I do think that the open interview policy is a direct, and I’m repeating myself, but it’s
a direct indication of what we value in the process. And I feel personally that if someone has taken the time to complete
our application, which is time consuming, and can be expensive in terms of various application fees and taking the GMAT,
I think that people have the right to be heard. And they can be heard by what they tell us on paper through their applica-
tion, but I think people have an innate desire to be heard in the interview, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to tell us more
about yourself and to market yourself to the admissions committee.

And I think the third reason is because of our location. We’re not in a major metropolitan area. We realize that it is a little
more challenging to get here and a little more time consuming, so we just don’t think that it would be fair for a student to
come here to just sit in on a class and come back again when they are invited back for an interview. So part of it is logistics
and trying to be respectful of our location and the relative cost and time in getting here.

mbaMission: And what is the interview like? What do you think is a successful interview?

DC: I would say one of the facets that contribute to a successful interview is the research an applicant has done. Once
we have gotten to the point of an interview, we would really hope that people are pretty familiar with the program and
have a good idea generally of why they would want to come to Tuck. I think some of the reason that some interviews are
successful is that the candidates are able to do a good job articulating why they think there is a good fit between Tuck
and their background. So Tuck is kind of a bridge between what they have accomplished and achieved up to this point and
how Tuck can be a bridge to what they want to do in the future. So I think research, thoughtfulness, really giving some
analysis to why you want to do this, and being able to articulate just the basics of why you’re interested in Tuck and why
you are interested in an MBA.

And it may change. I mean, we realize that people change their minds all the time, but research is definitely important,
and I think anyone who looks at our website and sees the purpose of the interview for us is not to get a sense of how you
did in your academic courses or on the GMAT but to supplement what is in the written application. So I would say there’s
not a cookie-cutter Tuck student, but I would say one of the threads that binds people together is the hope that all stu-
dents who are admitted have strong leadership potential, interpersonal skills, and communication skills. And so I would
say going into the interview, realize that’s a great time to showcase your personality. Not everyone has to be full person-
ality. People can have strong interpersonal skills in different ways. You know, just recognizing that it is an opportunity to
showcase some of the skills in person that you showcase on paper.

A successful interview, I find one of the common threads, is when people don’t just make broad sweeping statements,
but they have some really good, tangible examples of things that they’ve done. So if they say they have strong leadership
potential, then they tell a story to illustrate that, or if they identify themselves as being a strong team player, then they
would tell us a story, an anecdote, or a vignette that illustrates that they are a team player. It’s very hard if you interview a

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lot of people; you’re not going to remember that so-and-so said that they were a strong team player, but I very well might
remember a very compelling story that somebody told me. So I would tell people to really identify what the three things
are that you’re most proud of that you think are relevant to business school, and how am I going to convey those in the
interview, and what kind of specific examples do I have to tell that would be memorable and compelling?

mbaMission: And what is the actual structure of the interview?

DC: Ours are, intentionally, fairly informal. We have interviews that are conducted by our staff as well as alumni and cur-
rent students, and typically, when someone comes in for an interview, a few minutes are spent just making the person
feel at ease. We try to ease people into it. They’re definitely not intended to put someone on a hot seat. We ask questions
geared toward why someone would be interested in an MBA. Why Tuck? We definitely ask some questions about why they
chose a certain undergraduate school, why they chose a career path, why they chose their path.

We often ask an open-ended question, like, is there anything else that we haven’t asked you about that you would like
to articulate? I think that’s an important question that I hope all of our interviewers are implementing, and sometimes
people have something that they really want to tell us that our questions don’t elicit. But I think they’re fairly informal. We
intentionally want to put someone at ease. That’s the kind of place we are, and we want the interviewee to feel comfort-
able, so that we can kind of see their true personality. I would say that there are certain themes that we focus on in an
inviting, welcoming fashion.

mbaMission: You mentioned that a lot of applicants, once they’ve been accepted, may later change their goals and that
business school is a time to explore. If so, why ask candidates for a goal statement?

DC: Well, people are embarking on a big investment on their behalf, and we want to make sure that we can deliver what it
is that they say at that time that they are intending to pursue. I think that at just a basic level it shows someone has good
decision-making skills. They see the value of an MBA in a general way. They might see the value of a general management
degree, and they might see the value in a Tuck degree, but they have been thoughtful that they have embraced the pro-
cess. I think the more thought and more commitment someone has shown to the process, the more they are engaged in
the experience as a student, whether you are in the classroom or preparing for an interview.

I had a interviewer tell me one time that if he were interviewing Tuck students, the biggest thing that he would focus
on would be how much research they’ve done, because that can differentiate one student from another. And he feels
like there would be a correlation between how someone has prepared for their business school interview and the ex-
tent to which they are really going to knock the socks off a recruiter at the end of the process. That it shows that you’re
proactive. It shows maturity. It shows insight. I think that how committed somebody is about doing their research is a
reflection of how serious somebody is about how they are going to handle other elements of the MBA experience, of how
prepared you are going to be when you go to class and how prepared you are going to be when you have an interview or
are involved as a leader of a club.

I think that also it is perfectly appropriate to say that one of the beauties of an MBA program is that you’re exposed to so
much and so many industries and functional areas that you obviously haven’t been exposed to, and it’s quite common for
people to change their minds, and that’s fine, but what are your thoughts at this time? I also think that it’s really impres-

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 75

sive to me when applicants go beyond reading the viewbook on the Internet. And there are times when applicants say,
“Oh, a friend of a friend went to Tuck, and he introduced me to three people, and I called them up,” and uniformly one of the
things that they say that really resonates with me is that that was a transformational experience or whatever.

Someone who goes that extra mile, who didn’t just read the website, but talked to current students, talked to faculty,
talked to alumni—you know, they are going to make a better choice. You want people who really want to be here; I think
that’s true of most schools. We’re proud of the institution, we’re proud of our students, but the students that embrace it
most are the ones that really want to be here. And setting those goals and knowing why you want to be here and how the
school is going to help you helps make a case that this is really going to be somebody that is serious about this experience
and embrace it fully.

mbaMission: Is this the toughest market you’ve seen since coming to Tuck? And how are Tuck students doing in this
economy?

DC: I definitely think that having done this for several years—and there have been several recessions I’ve gone through as
an admissions director—I would definitely say that it’s one of the toughest job markets, but I think that we’re fortunate in
our scale. Because the ratio of recruiters that come vis-à-vis the graduating students, the second years, I think works
to our advantage. I don’t want to speak for other schools, but I wonder if smaller schools are slightly more sheltered be-
cause of their scale. Even if people are scaling back, I think that our scale works to our advantage.

And we’re lucky this year for a change that we made. We have two people heading up career services at Tuck. One is a
Tuck graduate and one went to Wharton, and they have been incredibly proactive in terms of reaching out to faculty,
sending out resumes for students without jobs for summer internships, and really embracing our board of overseers, the
advisory board. They’ve been unbelievably proactive, from literally floating resumes out through the Tuck community,
looking for these things, and really connecting people on a personal basis. So we have weathered this fairly well consid-
ering that this is a really challenging time for all business schools.

mbaMission: Are you giving more scrutiny to applicants in terms of their employability after graduation? Are more ap-
plicant files going to career services this year?

DC: I would say that it’s not a major component of the admissions process, but we do have joint meetings with the Career
Development Office to give us guidance on if, for instance, the student says that they want to go into private equity, is
it more likely that they will be successful if they have these skills or these backgrounds? So, I don’t know if we’re giving
more scrutiny to employability, but we’re working more closely with career services to make sure that we’re well edu-
cated on what it takes for someone to make a transition into a specific industry. And there are occasions when we might
ask their opinion on how reasonable is it for a student to make a certain transition. We have major admissions criteria
that I could go over if you want to, but I would say that there is slightly more emphasis on career goals, employability—is
the transition a realistic one?

mbaMission: If you could go through your criteria, that would be great.

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 76

DC: Sure. There is a variety of criteria. This is a holistic process, which I’m sure you’ve heard before, and I’m sure a lot of
schools are really proud that they have holistic processes as we do here at Tuck. We definitely are going to look at aca-
demic credentials, primarily at the student’s undergraduate performance, and not just the GPA, but their performance
over time. The GMAT. The TOFEL. We will look at the highest GMAT scores. We’re looking for people who are both team
players and have demonstrated leadership skills or leadership potential, so we will look at the extent to which they were
involved at the undergraduate level, as well as the extent they have been involved in organizations since graduation. So
leadership is huge. Team skills are huge.

We talked about the interview earlier. Interpersonal skills, communication skills are huge. The extent to which you have
done research on Tuck. Career progression and accomplishments are something that we look at in the admissions pro-
cess. Where someone started their career, where they are at the time that they are applying, how have they progressed?
What kind of additional responsibilities have they taken on? It’s a very valuable source of information for us. The letter of
reference—we require two, and we prefer that they are work related. I think those are incredibly valuable, because it’s an
objective set of information from an employer’s perspective of the candidate.

A new criterion that we added about two years ago, I said earlier, is the Global Mindset. So none of these are manda-
tory, but we love to see that people have embraced foreign cultures, studied abroad, traveled abroad, worked abroad.
Employers are looking more and more at that. So if I were to give tips to prospective students on what they can do to be
successful in the admissions process but also to be successful on the tail end of the process, one thing that we hear from
recruiters all the time is that they want students with a global mindset. That’s one of the reasons we added that.

mbaMission: What can you tell us about application volumes recently? How selective is Tuck at this point?

DC: Our applications were flat this year, which is not unusual in a tough economic climate. And I don’t want to speak for
other schools, but it seems like that is fairly common. It’s still a very competitive process. We got close to 2,900 applica-
tions. The targeted class size is about 240.

mbaMission: Can you talk about the discrepancy in volume between the first and second rounds?

DC: Sure. We’re a school that has an Early Action deadline, and that is geared toward people who have identified Tuck as
their top choice and know that they would attend Tuck if they were admitted. And I highly recommend that round if you
fall into that category. It’s nice because you get your admissions decision in mid-December.

We have four deadlines. We have Early Action, we have one in November, one in January, and one in April. Early Action is
October 14, November is November 11, January is January 6, and April is April 2. The most popular deadline is the January
deadline. The second most popular deadline is the November deadline. Well, November and Early Action are pretty even.
And then the smallest deadline is typically the April deadline.

A lot of people ask, is there a clear advantage to applying in one deadline over another? They wonder if there is a strategy
involved. We look at statistics over the years—how many applications we got, how many we admitted, and how many we
yielded—and we try to even it out so we’re not being too generous in one round at the expense of another round. I would
say that we do give slight preference to candidates who apply in Early Action. I think the selectivity is slightly more liberal

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 77

in Early Action and slightly less competitive than the other rounds. Those candidates tend to be good candidates and
have done a good job of doing their research and identifying their top school, and I think that indicates that they’re very
organized, and the early bird gets the worm. It’s a general reflection of how organized they are, and so their applications
tend to be strong, but it is slightly less competitive to get in during Early Action.

mbaMission: Tell us a little more about Early Action. Can you explain precisely how it works and what the advantages are?

DC: I think there are a multitude of advantages. One of them is that it’s time consuming to go through the admissions pro-
cess, to go on all these interviews and study for the GMAT, and write all these essays, so if you know that Tuck is your top
choice, then you can apply in Early Action in mid-October and you will be notified in mid-December, and it saves you a lot
of time and effort and money. There is that very basic advantage. There’s also more time for you to line up your finances.
You have a little more time to go through the process of financial aid. You have a little more time to locate your housing.
If you know in December that you’re going to school in late August, then you’re going to have a huge amount of time to
prepare for it financially and emotionally and logistically. So those are some of the advantages.

The deposit is $1,000 higher than it is for the regular enrollment deposit. It’s $3,500, whereas the deposit for November,
January and April is $2,500. We’re so grateful to have great applicants that have identified Tuck as their first choice. By
admitting people earlier than the other three rounds, it helps guide us that these are the people who have committed to
Tuck in early decision, and those are spaces that are no longer available in November, January, and April. So we want to
ensure that the people who do enroll, that they really are serious about identifying Tuck as their top choice. If we were
less serious about it, what could happen is that people give the deposit back, and we were less generous than we should
have been in a later round. It’s an insurance [policy] for us to make sure that people think seriously about applying Early
Action, because it is a nonrefundable deposit.

mbaMission: So what are some of the don’ts—the absolute don’ts—the mistakes you see people make when they are ap-
plying to Tuck?

DC: There are so many of them that my mind is filling up right now. One is, I mean a lot of people are probably sophis-
ticated enough to know, don’t come [to your interview] looking relatively disheveled. It’s a professional interview, and
you want to present yourself professionally, but that is kind of obvious. We have an open interview policy because we’re
reaching out to our applicant pool, saying we care about the students. I would say, don’t not take advantage of that. It’s
a huge opportunity to stand out. And don’t wait until the last minute. So plan ahead, but don’t not take advantage of the
fact that we have an open interview policy, because that is very unique now among our peer group, and it’s such a missed
opportunity, because some applicants really shine in terms of their interpersonal skills and charisma.

And don’t miss an opportunity to go the extra mile. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to ask around at work, “Hey, do you know
anybody who went to Tuck? I would like to talk to a Tuck grad.” and to say in your application that you had conversations
with this Tuck grad or these Tuck grads shows initiative. So don’t miss an opportunity. It’s a competitive process to go
above and beyond the call of duty a little bit in terms of networking.

mbaMission: Great. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us.

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 78

Appendix:
Tuck Facts and Figures
Note: Facts and figures in this section are prone to change. Occasionally, conflicts may exist between the school’s
publications and its web pages. Applicants are urged to recheck facts and figures for the most up-to-date infor-
mation.

Basics GMAT Verbal Average: 42

GMAT Quant Average: 48
Year Established: 1900 GMAT IR Average: 6.9
Location: Hanover, New Hampshire GMAT Range: 620–780
Dean: Matthew J. Slaughter (2015) GMAT Verbal Range: 32–51
Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid: Luke Anthony GMAT Quant Range: 40–51
Peña (2017) GRE Verbal Average: 163
Programs: GRE Quant Average: 161
ƒ Full-Time MBA GRE Verbal Range: 150–170
ƒ Business Bridge Program GRE Quant Range: 154–170
ƒ Executive Education Percentage of Applicants Submitting GRE Scores: 21%
Dual Degrees: Average GPA: 3.52
ƒ MBA/MALD with The Fletcher School at Tufts University GPA Range: 2.35–4.00
ƒ MBA/MPA and MBA/MPA/ID with the John F. Kennedy School of Students with Partners: 29%
Government at Harvard University Students with Children: 3%
ƒ MBA/MELP with Vermont Law School’s Environmental Law pro- Women: 42%
gram U.S. Minorities (Includes American Indian, African American, Asian
ƒ MBA/MA with the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International American, Hispanic/Latino): 24%
Studies at Johns Hopkins University International Students (Includes dual citizens, permanent resi-
ƒ MBA/MPP with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at dents): 38%
Harvard University Countries Represented:
Joint Degrees: ƒ By Citizenship: 45
ƒ MD/MBA, offered with Dartmouth Medical School ƒ By Birth: 37
ƒ MEM/MBA, offered with the Thayer School of Engineering ƒ By Professional Experience: 43
ƒ MPH/MBA, offered with the Dartmouth Institute Average Months of Work Experience: 64
ƒ PhD/MBA, offered with Dartmouth College

Employment Statistics (Class of 2019)

Class Profile (Class of 2021)
Mean Base Salary: $139,046
Enrollment: 284 Median Base Salary: $140,000
GMAT Average: 723

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 79

Graduates accepted positions in the following industries: Š Seattle: 5%
ƒ Consulting: 38% Š Other: 3%
ƒ Financial Services: 24% • Midwest (IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI):
• Investment Banking: 9% 8%
• Other: 8% Š Chicago: 6%
• Private Equity/Venture Capital: 4% Š Minneapolis-Saint Paul: 1%
• Investment Management: 3% Š Other: 1%
ƒ Technology: 19% • Mid Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV): 6%
ƒ Health Care/Pharmaceuticals/Biotech: 5% • Southwest (AZ, CO, NM, OK, TX): 5%
ƒ Consumer Goods/Retail: 4% • South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MI, NC, SC, TN): 1%
ƒ Manufacturing: 4% ƒ Outside the United States: 10%
ƒ Real Estate: 2% • Asia: 4%
ƒ Transportation: 2% • Central America/Caribbean: 2%
ƒ Energy: 1% • South America: 2%
ƒ Government/Nonprofit/Education: 1% • Africa: 1%
ƒ Hospitality: 1% • Canada: 1%
ƒ Media/Entertainment/Sports: 1% • Europe: 1%

Graduates accepted positions in the following functions: Hiring Organizations, 2018–2019:

ƒ Consulting: 44% ƒ Accenture
ƒ Finance: 17% ƒ Activision Blizzard
• Investment Banking: 8% ƒ Adobe
• Corporate Finance: 2% ƒ AEW Capital Management
• Investment Management: 1% ƒ Altman Vilandrie & Company
• Private Equity/Venture Capital: 3% ƒ Amazon
• Private Wealth Management: 1% ƒ American Express
• Real Estate: 1% ƒ American Tower Corporation
• Research: 1% ƒ American Well
ƒ Marketing: 10% ƒ Amgen
ƒ General Management: 15% ƒ Analysis Group
ƒ Operations/Logistics: 7% ƒ Anheuser-Busch InBev
ƒ Other: 7% ƒ ArcLight Capital
ƒ Human Resources: 1% ƒ Audax Private Equity
ƒ Bain & Company
Graduates accepted positions in the following locations: ƒ Bank of America Securities
ƒ United States: 90% ƒ Barclays
• Northeast (CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT): 54% ƒ Bertelsmann Asia Investments
Š Boston: 30% ƒ Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Š New York: 22% ƒ Biogen Idec
Š Other: 2% ƒ Bird Rides
• West (AK, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY): 15% ƒ BlackRock
Š San Francisco: 7% ƒ Boston Consulting Group

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 80

ƒ Boulder Care ƒ Eli Lilly and Company
ƒ Breakaway Ventures ƒ Enviva
ƒ The Bridgespan Group ƒ Evercore Partners
ƒ Bristol-Myers Squibb ƒ Exeter Property Group
ƒ Brooks Sports ƒ EY-Parthenon
ƒ CaaStle ƒ Farmers Business Network
ƒ Cambridge Associates ƒ Fidelity Investments
ƒ Camp Six Labs ƒ Fifth Wall Ventures
ƒ Capital One ƒ Fitch Solutions
ƒ Carbon Black ƒ Fortive
ƒ Caterpillar ƒ Galera
ƒ Celonis ƒ Genpat
ƒ Cerner ƒ GM Cruise
ƒ The Chartis Group ƒ Goldman Sachs
ƒ Chase ƒ Goodwater Capital
ƒ Chewy ƒ Google
ƒ CIC Capital ƒ Graham Capital
ƒ ciitizen ƒ Graham Partners
ƒ Citi ƒ GreenSky
ƒ Colgate-Palmolive ƒ Harris Williams
ƒ Collins Aerospace ƒ Hearst Corporation
ƒ Columbia Wanger Asset Management ƒ HomeAway
ƒ Comcast ƒ homebase
ƒ Converse ƒ Honest Company
ƒ Corning ƒ Houlihan Lokey
ƒ Creatorland ƒ HP
ƒ Credit Karma ƒ HubSpot
ƒ Credit Suisse ƒ Huron Consulting Group
ƒ CVS Health ƒ Hypertherm
ƒ Danaher ƒ IBM
ƒ Danone ƒ IDEO
ƒ Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center ƒ Impact First Investments
ƒ Datavant ƒ Investor Group Services
ƒ DBL Ventures ƒ Indigo Agriculture
ƒ Dell Technologies ƒ Ingenuity Foods
ƒ Deloitte ƒ Innosight
ƒ Doblin ƒ In-Q-Tel
ƒ DuPont ƒ Iora Health
ƒ eBay ƒ iRobot
ƒ Ecolab ƒ J.M. Huber Corporation
ƒ EDP Renewables ƒ J.P. Morgan
ƒ Edwards Lifesciences ƒ Kaidee

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 81

ƒ Kraft Analytics Group ƒ PricewaterhouseCoopers
ƒ L.E.K. Consulting ƒ Providence Health & Services
ƒ Land O’ Lakes ƒ Quantified Ventures
ƒ Lazard ƒ Revolv
ƒ LDV Capital ƒ Ridgewood Infrastructure
ƒ Liberty Mutual ƒ Robert W. Baird & Company
ƒ Lidya ƒ Samsung
ƒ LinkedIn ƒ Sanofi
ƒ Long Path Partners ƒ School of Rock
ƒ Lyra Health ƒ Search Fund Accelerator
ƒ Macquarie Capital ƒ Segment
ƒ Maine Venture Fund ƒ sessionM
ƒ Marathon Capital ƒ Siguler Guff
ƒ Mars & Co. ƒ Sirius Investment Advisors
ƒ McKinsey & Company ƒ Slack
ƒ MetLife ƒ Snap Inc.
ƒ Microsoft ƒ Stanford Health Care
ƒ Modern Meadow ƒ Starwood Capital Group
ƒ Morgan Stanley ƒ Takeoff Technologies
ƒ Nautic Partners ƒ Tamr
ƒ NBC Universal ƒ Thermo Fisher Scientific
ƒ New Balance ƒ Toast
ƒ New Relic ƒ TomTom
ƒ NextEra Energy ƒ Transfit
ƒ Nike ƒ Trilogy Search Partners
ƒ Nordica ƒ TRINITY
ƒ Northwestern Mutual Capital ƒ TripAdvisor
ƒ Oliver Wyman ƒ Trulund Homes
ƒ Openview Venture Partners ƒ Uber
ƒ Optum ƒ UBS
ƒ Palm Drive Capital ƒ uCardia
ƒ Palo Alto Networks ƒ Ulysses Holdings
ƒ Parker Ranc ƒ UnitedHealth Group
ƒ Payoneers ƒ Urban Leaders Fellowship
ƒ Pegasystems ƒ Valor Performance
ƒ PharmaCCX ƒ Vanguard
ƒ Pill Club ƒ VBI Vaccines
ƒ Pimco ƒ Visa
ƒ Piper Jaffray ƒ Wag!
ƒ Pizza Hut ƒ Walmart
ƒ PJT Partners ƒ Warner Brothers
ƒ plain vanilla ƒ Wayfair

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 82

ƒ Well
ƒ Wellington Management Company
ƒ Western Digital
ƒ WeWork
ƒ William Blair
ƒ Wolverine Worldwide
ƒ WWE
ƒ Ziff Davis

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 83

Bibliography

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“AMCF Announces Winner of the Prestigious Award of Excellence.” business-schools
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excellence-300042651.html “Best Business Schools 2013 Rankings.”U.S. News & World Report.
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B., Claire. “2014 Admitted Students Weekend.” Tuck 360: MBA Blog. rankings
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rankings.aspx graduate-schools/top-business-schools/mba-rankings
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“The Best 294 Business Schools.” Princeton Review. 2017 edition. “Best Business Schools 2016.” U.S. News & World Report. March
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“The Best 267 Business Schools.” Princeton Review. 2018 edition. rankings?int=9dc208
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“The Best 251 Business Schools.” Princeton Review. 2019 edition. schools/
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“Best Business Schools 2017.” U.S. News & World Report. March 15, Byrne, John A. “Wharton Dislodges Harvard to Top 2017 P&Q
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“Best Business Schools 2018.” U.S. News & World Report. March 14, business-schools-in-usa/
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November 11, 2010. www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/ school-of-business#r=nav-f-story
nov2010/bs20101110_255552.htm “Club Spotlight: Tuck Investment Club.” Tuck 360: MBA Blog. June 25,
Blanding, Michael. “The Deep End.” Tuck at Dartmouth News Article. 2014. www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/club-spotlight-
May 3, 2011. www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/newsroom/articles/the- tuck-investment-club
deep-end “The Complete 2014 Business School Ranking.” Bloomberg
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Byrne, John A. “A New Dean at Tuck, a New ‘Refined Vision’ for the Cousins, Lisa, “Getting Hot in Hanover: HBS’s Sexiest Join Other
School.” Poets&Quants. December 6, 2015. http://poetsandquants. B-Schools for the Tuck Winter Carnival.” The Harbus. March 2,
com/2015/12/06/a-new-dean-at-tuck-a-new-refined-vision-for- 2012. www.harbus.org/2012/tuck-winter-carnival/
the-school Danos, Paul. “Financial Crash Shifts Focus on Ethics in MBA
Byrne, John A. “Harvard and Wharton in a Draw for First in P&Q’s Programs.” U.S. News & World Report. February 24, 2012. www.
2018 MBA Ranking.” Poets&Quants. November 14, 2018. https:// usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2012/02/24/
poetsandquants.com/2018/11/14/2018-mba-ranking/3/ financial-crash-shifts-focus-on-ethics-in-mba-programs
Byrne, John A. “Stanford GSB Cruises Into P&Q’s 2019–2020 Danos, Paul. “Letter to the Tuck Community.” Tuck at Dartmouth News
MBA Ranking.” Poets&Quants. November 25, 2019. https:// Article. March, 24, 2014. www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/newsroom/
poetsandquants.com/2019/11/25/poets-and-quants-2019-2020- articles/letter-to-the-tuck-community
mba-ranking/4/ “Dartmouth Halfway to $3 Billion Fundraising Goal.” Associated
Byrne, John A. “Tuck Bucks Down Trend – Apps Up 7.5%.” Press via U.S. News & World Report. April 29, 2018. www.usnews.
Poets&Quants. September 23, 2011. http://poetsandquants. com/news/best-states/new-hampshire/articles/2018-04-29/
com/2011/09/23/tuck-bucks-down-trend-apps-up-7-5/ dartmouth-halfway-to-3-billion-fundraising-goal
Byrne, John A. “Tuck Sets $250M Goal for Capital Campaign.” “Dartmouth College: Tuck School of Business.” Bloomberg
Poets&Quants. April 27, 2018. https://poetsandquants. Businessweek. Full-Time MBA Program Profile. Accessed April
com/2018/04/27/tuck-sets-250m-goal-forcapital-campaign/ 17, 2014. www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings/full_time_
mba_profiles/tuck.html

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“Dartmouth’s Tuck: Admissions Q&A.” Bloomberg Businessweek. April “Global MBA Rankings 2018.” Financial Times. January 28, 2018.
27, 2009. www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/apr2009/ http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-
bs20090427_538861.htm?chan=bschools_mba+insider+-- ranking-2018
+new+design_new+on+mba+insider “Global MBA Rankings 2019.” Financial Times. January 27, 2019.
“Deep Recession in the Markstrat World.” Tuck Admissions http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-
blog. February, 28, 2009. http://tuckschool.blogspot.com/ ranking-2019
search?q=markstrat “Global MBA Rankings 2020.” Financial Times. January 26, 2020.
Eighth Annual Private Equity Conference Agenda. Center for Private http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-
Equity and Entrepreneurship. PDF. February 1, 2013. ranking-2020
“Enhanced Core Curriculum Taking Shape.” Tuck Communications. Gonzales, Katie. “Tuck to add leadership, ethics course requirement.”
March 19, 2019. www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/news/articles/tuck- The Dartmouth. March 31, 2009. http://thedartmouth.
first-year-core-curriculum-changes-to-meet-the-evolving-needs com/2009/03/31/news/tuck/
“For Tuck, a Refined Vision.” Tuck Communications. September 26, “Guest Post: Will T’14 on the PE Conference at Tuck.” Tuck Student
2016. www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/news/articles/tuck-announces- Blog: Will, Class of 2014. February 7, 2013. http://tuckschool.
refined-mission-vision-and-strategy blogspot.com/2013/02/guest-post-will-t14-on-pe-conference-at.
Gaudet, Carole. “Tuck Builds: Circular Saws and CEOs.” Center html
for Business and Society Blog. August 26, 2014. http:// “In Brief.” Tuck Newsroom. May 28, 2014. www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/
businessandsociety.tuck.dartmouth.edu/news-events/blog/ newsroom/articles/in-brief-1
tuck-builds-circular-saws-and-ceos “In-Depth and Interactive.” Tuck at Dartmouth News Article. N.d. www.
“Global MBA Rankings 2011.” Financial Times. January 31, 2011. tuck.dartmouth.edu/news/articles/in-depth-and-interactive/
http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- Ipson, Isaac. “Top 10 Reasons Why Tuck Is The Most Family-Friendly
rankings-2011 MBA.” Tuck 360: MBA Blog. August 12, 2015. www.tuck.dartmouth.
“Global MBA Rankings 2012.” Financial Times. January 30, 2012. edu/mba/blog/top-10-reasons-why-tuck-is-the-most-family-
http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- friendly-mba
rankings-2012 Kardashian, Kirk. “Tuck Center for Entrepreneurship Launches
“Global MBA Rankings 2013.” Financial Times. January 28, 2013. Startup Incubator.” Tuck at Dartmouth News Article. October 23,
http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- 2018. www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/news/articles/tuck-center-for-
ranking-2013 entrepreneurship-launches-startup-incubator
“Global MBA Rankings 2014.” Financial Times. January 26, 2014. MBA Employment Report. Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. 2019.
http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/uploads/content/tuck_employment_
ranking-2014 report.pdf
“Global MBA Rankings 2015.” Financial Times. January 26, 2015. McDonald, Jed. “The Oracle of Omaha: Meeting Warren Buffett.” Tuck
http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- 360: MBA Blog. January 26, 2015. www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/
ranking-2015 admissions/blog/the-oracle-of-omaha-meeting-warren-buffett
“Global MBA Rankings 2016.” Financial Times. January 25, 2016. Melocik, Catherine C. “Measuring the Effects of a Diverse Workforce.”
http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- Tuck at Dartmouth Newsroom Article. November 22, 2009. www.
ranking-2016 tuck.dartmouth.edu/news/articles/measuring-the-effects-of-a-
“Global MBA Rankings 2017.” Financial Times. January 29, 2017. diverse-workforce/
http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- Moules, Jonathan. “Dean of Dartmouth Tuck Focuses on 115-Year
ranking-2017 Old Heritage.” Financial Times. October 30, 2015. www.ft.com/
content/e9f9d478-6da2-11e5-aca9-d87542bf8673

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“Reapplying to Tuck.” Tuck 360: Life at Tuck Blog. December 4, 2018. “Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2014.” Poets&Quants. November 26,
www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/mba/blog/reapplying-to-tuck 2014. http://poetsandquants.com/2014/11/26/poetsquants-2014-
“Reapplying to Tuck.” Tuck 360: Life at Tuck Blog. December 12, 2019. best-business-school-ranking
www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/mba/blog/reapplying-to-tuck “Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2015.” Poets&Quants. November 18,
Riggs, Jonathan. “MBAs and the Business of Climate Change.” Tuck 2015. http://poetsandquants.com/2015/11/18/harvard-business-
at Dartmouth Newsroom Article. December 3, 2013. www.tuck. school-tops-new-2015-poetsquants-mba-ranking
dartmouth.edu/newsroom/articles/mbas-and-the-business-of- “Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2016.” Poets&Quants. November 21,
climate-change 2016. http://poetsandquants.com/2016/11/21/2016-poetsquants-
Riggs, Jonathan. “Regional Advisory Boards Expand Tuck’s Global mba-ranking/
Presence.” Tuck Newsroom. June 23, 2014. www.tuck.dartmouth. “Top Courses at Tuck, According to Students.” Tuck Communications.
edu/newsroom/articles/regional-advisory-boards-expand-tucks- April 19, 2018. www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/news/articles/top-mba-
global-presence courses-at-tuck-school-of-business-according-to-students
“The Road Ahead.” Tuck at Dartmouth Newsroom Article. September “Tuck alumni giving rate remains high, despite the economic
20, 2010. www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/today/features/the-road- downturn.” Press release. July 30, 2009. www.pressreleasepoint.
ahead com/tuck-alumni-giving-rate-remains-high-despite-economic-
Siber, Kate.“Tuck Sustains.” Tuck Today. No date. http://tuck-x5. downturn
dartmouth.edu/today/portfolio/tuck_sustains.html “Tuck Announces New Global Insight Requirement.” Press release.
Sullivan, Adam. “Tuck Students Help Build Homes.” WCAX News. September 3, 2014. www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/newsroom/
August 28, 2009. http://wcax.com/story/11009056/tuck- journalists/press-releases/tuck-announces-new-global-insight-
students-help-build-homes requirement
T., Kate. “First Fall at Tuck.” Tuck 360: MBA Blog. October 10, 2013. Tuck Class of 2012 Profile. Hanover, New Hampshire: Trustees of
www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/better-than-college Dartmouth College, 2009.
Tan, Frances. “Adventure, Fun, Love: My Tuck Experience.” Tuck360 “Tuck Fall Formal.” Life is Good blog. October 8, 2012. http://
MBA Blog. October 10, 2017. www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/mba/blog/ mightymarce.blogspot.com/2012/10/tuck-fall-formal.html
adventure-fun-love-my-tuck-experience Tuck Press Kit. Hanover, New Hampshire: Tuck School of Business, no
Toews, Kate. “The Sage of Omaha: Words of Wisdom from Warren date.www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pdf/tuck-press-kit.pdf
Buffett.” Tuck360 MBA Blog. January 24, 2017. www.tuck. “The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth Launches New Center
dartmouth.edu/mba/blog/the-sage-of-omaha-words-of- for Leadership.” Press release. September 21, 2009. www.
wisdom-from-warren-buffett pressreleasepoint.com/tuck-school-business-dartmouth-
“Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2010.” Poets&Quants. December 14, launches-new-center-leadership
2010. http://poetsandquants.com/2010/12/14/poetsquants-top- Tuck School of Business Program Overview. Hanover, New Hampshire:
100-mba-programs-in-the-u-s Tuck School of Business, 2007.
“Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2011.” Poets&Quants. December 8, 2011. “Tuck School Dean Matthew J. Slaughter Appointed to Second Term.”
http://poetsandquants.com/2011/12/08/the-top-100-u-s-mba- Tuck News. June 17, 2019.www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/news/
programs-of-2011 articles/matthew-j-slaughter-reappointed-dean-of-the-tuck-
“Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2012.” Poets&Quants. December 7, school
2012. http://poetsandquants.com/2012/12/07/the-top-100-u-s- “Tuck School Team Attends United Nations Climate Change
mba-programs-of-2012 Conference.” Press release. December 11, 2009. http://mba.tuck.
“Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2013.” Poets&Quants. December 2, dartmouth.edu/initiative/pr20091211_cop15.html
2013. http://poetsandquants.com/2013/12/02/poetsquants-top- “Tuck Spring Formal.” This Mare Eats Oats blog. May 3, 2013. http://
100-u-s-mba-programs-of-2013 thismareeatsoats.blogspot.com/2013/05/tuck-spring-formal.
html

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“Waitlisted?” Tuck 360: Life at Tuck Blog. December 19, 2017. www. “Which MBA? 2016 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October
tuck.dartmouth.edu/mba/blog/waitlisted 13, 2016. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-
Wecker, Menachem. “At One B-School, Ice Hockey Is an Obsession.” ranking?year=2016
U.S. News & World Report. August 17, 2012. www.usnews.com/ “Which MBA? 2017 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October
education/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/ 27, 2017. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-
articles/2012/08/17/at-one-b-school-ice-hockey-is-an-obsession ranking?year=2017
“Which MBA? 2011 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October 13, “Which MBA? 2018 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October 27,
2011. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking 2018. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking
“Which MBA? 2012 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October 4, Winsnes, Kiley. “5 Reasons to Attend Admitted Students Weekend.”
2012. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking Tuck360 MBA Blog. January 12, 2016. www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/
“Which MBA? 2013 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October mba/blog/5-reasons-to-attend-admitted-students-weekend
12, 2013. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba- “Which MBA? 2019 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October
ranking?term_node_tid_depth=All 31, 2019. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-
“Which MBA? 2014 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October ranking?year=2019
11, 2014. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba- “Which MBA? Global Full-Time MBA Ranking 2010.” The Economist.
ranking?year=2014&term_node_tid_depth=All September 30, 2010. www.economist.com/whichmba/2010/
“Which MBA? 2015 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October schools-ranking
15, 2015. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-
ranking?year=2015

Websites

Africa Highlight Week: www.tuckafricaweek.com [website no longer Tuck School of Business Admissions blog: http://tuckschool.blogspot.
available.] com
Center for Business & Society: http://businessandsociety.tuck. Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University: www.tuck.
dartmouth.edu dartmouth.edu
Center for International Business: http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/ Tuck School of Business Faculty Directory: www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/
cib/ faculty/faculty-directory/?sort=academic
Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship: http://mba.tuck. Tuck School of Business Full-Time Employment Statistics (Class of
dartmouth.edu/pecenter/ 2010): www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/careers/employment-statistics/
Dartmouth Coach Transportation: www.dartmouthcoach.com full-time-employment/ [URL now directs to 2011 data.]
Dartmouth College Real Estate Office: http://dartmouthre.com Tuck School of Business Full-Time Employment Statistics (Class of
Latin America Highlight Week: www.tucklatinamericaweek.com 2011): www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/recruiting/data_and_statistics/
[website no longer available.] employment.html
Lindenauer Center for Corporate Governance: http://mba.tuck. Tuck YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/
dartmouth.edu/ccg/ TuckSchoolofBusiness
Tuck General Management Club: http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/
pages/clubs/genman/
Tuck Mission and Strategy: www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/about/mission-
strategy/

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 88

Interviews and Other

Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants, Tour of St.-John, Christie. Senior Associate Director of Admissions. Personal
Tuck School of Business/Meeting with Director of Admissions, May Interview. March 4, 2011.
18–21, 2008. Tuck Admitted Student. Personal Interview. May 4, 2009.
Clarke, Dawna. Tuck Director of MBA Admissions. mbaMission Tuck Alumna. Personal Interview. May 5, 2009.
Interview. July 2009. Tuck Alumnus. Personal Interview. July 3, 2008.
Executive Director, Tuck Center for International Business. Personal Tuck Alumnus. Personal Interview. July 3, 2008.
Interview. March 1, 2012. Tuck First-Year Student. Personal Interview. May 5, 2009.
Executive Director for Corporate Citizenship, Allwin Initiative. Tuck First-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 2, 2010.
Personal Interview. April 9, 2012. Tuck First-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 6, 2010.
Harrison, Patricia D. Senior Associate Director of Admissions. Tuck First-Year Student. Personal Interview. April 10, 2012.
Personal Interview. April 19, 2012. Tuck Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. April 25, 2009.
mbaMission Student Survey. Online via SurveyMonkey.com. December Tuck Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. May 4, 2009.
5, 2012. Tuck Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. February 14, 2011.
Miller, Lisa. Executive Director, Center for International Business. Tuck Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. February 14, 2011.
Personal Interview. March 10, 2011. Tuck Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. February 17, 2011.
Program Coordinator, Tuck Center for International Business. Tuck Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 2, 2011.
Personal Interview. January 24, 2012; March 26, 2012. Tuck Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 8, 2011.
Representative, Dartmouth Housing Office. Personal Interview. March Tuck Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 11, 2011.
28, 2011. Tuck Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 11, 2011.
Representative, Dartmouth Housing Office. Personal Interview. Tuck Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. January 24, 2012.
January 26, 2012. Tuck Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. April 9, 2012.
Representative, Tuck Alumni Services. Personal Interview. March 26, Tuck Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. February 12, 2019.
2012. Wainwright, Fred. Executive Director and Adjunct Associate
Representative, Tuck Financial Aid Office. Personal Interview. Professor, Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship.
February 23, 2012. Personal Interview. March 21, 2011.

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Tuck School of Business · 2020–2021 89

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