EssaySnark's Strategies for the 2011-'12 MBA Admissions Essays for
Tuck School of Business
A SnarkStrategies Guide
by EssaySnark
Snarkolicious Press
SMASHWORDS EDITION
version 1.0
October 18, 2011
This SnarkStrategies Guide is copyright 2011 EssaySnark.
Cover image copyright Eric Isselée, used under license from Fotolia.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage system, without permission from the publisher.
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Berkeley-Haas School of Business
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“Like all magnificent things, it's very simple.”
Tuck Everlasting
Table of Contents
What you must do to have a chance at Tuck
Whom Is Tuck Looking for – and Who Should Consider Tuck?
What does Tuck need to see in your profile?
Tuck's Application Rounds and Policies
What's the right balance of topics?
Essay 3: A Bad Thing that Happened
Essay 4: Life Experience, Diversity, and You
We Love Tuck
EssaySnark is enamored of Tuck. If we could go get our MBA over again, we'd want to go to Dartmouth. Tuck is one of our absolute favoritist schools. This SnarkStrategies Guide explains why.
If you don't want to read the whole thing to find out, the essence of it is, Tuck is a) very small; b) very intimate; and c) very beautiful. It's also a darn good education. Tuck is a place where lasting relationships are formed. It's a place where you can get to know your professors – and no, that absolutely does not happen at many of the big schools in the big cities. Tuck is a place where you have nothing else to do but what you came to bschool for: to learn.
Mother Nature is the biggest distraction at Tuck – and while she can be a mighty temptress, luring you out into the mountains with snowshoes or snowboard or a pair of hiking boots in fall or late spring, she also does her part to make you huddle together with your sectionmates and your case studies by dumping so much snow that it shuts the place down on a regular basis. (How much snow? We'll tell you on page 1.)
What you must do to have a chance at Tuck
Now, applying to any top MBA program is a big undertaking. You have to put in your time, and the essays are a bear. This is true everywhere. It's perhaps more true at Tuck. Before we get too far with this SnarkStrategies Guide, we need to advise you that you must make a bigger commitment to the application process at Tuck than at almost any other school.
In fact, this is so important we're going to throw out a set-in-stone rule for you to ponder, right here on the first page:
If you're serious
about Tuck,
you must visit the school before you apply.
Tuck actually tells you this. They want you to come visit. They invite you – all of you – to interview on campus. They want you to know what their school, and Hanover, is like.
We go into all the details of why and how later, but we wanted to lay it out upfront: EssaySnark strongly feels that you must visit campus before you submit your application.
OK great. Now let's finish the conversation around why we love Tuck so much, so that you can get excited about the prospect of that visit.
One reason is that Tuck has earned our fondness. In our many years working with stressed-out Brave Supplicants, EssaySnark appreciates the openness and transparency that the Tuck admissions department tries to impart upon their processes. Their website gives straightforward, practical answers to important questions that can have a real effect on outcomes (like, should you take the GRE or the GMAT? Answer: GMAT). Haas is pretty good in this regard, too, though man they have a lot of essays at Haas! There are plenty of other schools with applicant-friendly admissions offices – Darden, Ross, and Booth all come immediately to mind in this category. This is not meant as an exhaustive list. And, you wouldn't want to pick a bschool just because their admissions people are nice. But it sure doesn't hurt. The MBA admissions process is onerous enough without it seeming like the school is trying to trick you, based on its confusing policies and secretive procedures.
Another reason why we love Tuck? Because nobody's heard of it. Ask a random person on the street what the best business school is, and they'll probably say Harvard or Stanford or Wharton. Even though The Economist named Tuck the best school in the world in 2011, most people wouldn't name them. They might not even know that Dartmouth has a business school.
That sounds crazy. EssaySnark likes Tuck because nobody's heard of them? What logic is that?
People who know bschools – the recruiters at the best firms, business leaders with a clue – the class of folk who EssaySnark likes to call the connoisseurs of the business education, of which EssaySnark likes to consider ourself one – call us EssaySnob, perhaps – these people understand what Tuck is. The people who end up at Tuck, the students and professors who call it home, they know its value. They've done their research and sought it out. And that makes for a very powerful environment. Everyone who's at Tuck really wants to be there; you don't just stumble into the place. A school like Chicago, or UCLA, it's possible to end up at one of these places by convenience. You were living in the area and you decided to go to bschool, and whaddya know, they let you in. Not so with Tuck. You have to know about it. You have to make an effort. There's something about this reality of Tuck that we just appreciate.
Just because EssaySnark – or your best friend's dad, or The Economist, or a candidate for President of the United States of America – says they love Tuck doesn't automatically mean that you should, too. A Tuck application is a lot of work – what other school asks you to trek all the way to New Hampshire to have a go at things? Typically only presidential candidates have to go through all that. If you're serious about Tuck you'll need to prove it to them. Tuck is like the belle of the ball, lots of suitors seek her hand but she will only dance with those who show themselves sincere.
We're stuck on Tuck. Of course, if you find yourself stuck on your Tuck essays, email your question to essaysnark@gmail.com and we'll see what we can do to help out.
How Much Snow?
Before you seriously consider an application to Tuck, you must seriously consider how much it snows there. If you've lived in the mountains before, great! You know what to expect. If not – if you've never lived in a place that has real seasons – then here's some facts to make it real:
The first snow comes around the first of November – before it's even officially winter!
The last snow finally melts in May – well after the calendar has turned to spring!
The total snowfall is at least 60 inches; it was a lot more than that in the winter of 2010-'11, when the entire East Coast was pummeled with storm after storm.
The month of January alone typically gets at least 20 inches.
The other big factor
to consider is a very small one: the town of Hanover, New Hampshire,
where Dartmouth is located, is tiny. Under 12,000 people tiny.
Many Brave Supplicants seek out a bschool that's in a city, so they
can party explore the culture of a major metropolis
for two years. Pretty much everyone who applies to Columbia cites its
location in the “finance capital of the world” as a main reason
they want to go there. Tuck is basically the exact opposite of New
York. It's a sleepy little place, in the quintessential college town
(not much going on in Hanover besides Dartmouth), where people go to
learn stuff. There's an awful lot of reasons for people to go to New
York City, and “learn stuff” is likely not the top of the list
for the majority of them.
While Tuck is remote, it's still accessible. Day trips to Boston (2 hours) and New York (5 hours) are possible; Montreal is less than 4 hours away. The Vermonter Amtrak train runs from White River Junction and takes you to Manhattan or DC, though that's a more involved affair time-wise. Smaller airports are in Manchester, New Hampshire, and in Burlington, Vermont, or you can fly into Boston. Most Tuckies came from big cities before choosing New Hampshire for their two years of graduate school, and most will move away from Hanover again when their time at Tuck is over. Thus, it is a place where ideas are imported along with each entering class, and it remains ever new.
So, the culture of Tuck is as much created by these surroundings and the reality of its environment as it is by the actual business school academics and the people of Dartmouth. Factor in the general appreciation for the outdoors and a concern for preserving natural resources that are common among Tuckies and you have a very unique and vibrant atmosphere for business education at Dartmouth.
Whom Is Tuck Looking for – and Who Should Consider Tuck?
Like other top schools, Tuck is interested in diversity in their student body across every spectrum imaginable – race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, career history, career interest. Of all the types of potential MBA student out there, who should specifically consider applying to Tuck?
In other words, which types of candidates might have an easier time of admission – and/or which types would be especially suited for Tuck?
International students. Many overseas candidates seem to prefer schools in larger cities. Even Duke is in a bigger city than Tuck. Accordingly, Tuck gets proportionally fewer applications from international candidates than other top-ranked schools. If you're coming from a foreign land, and you know why you want to go to Tuck, they may be especially receptive to an application from you.
Women. Perhaps just due to the fact that Tuck is a bit of a sleeper brand, there are also fewer females applying. Tuck has one of the lower ratios of women to men than other top schools. They're always on the lookout for strong female candidates. If that's you, and you can make a case why you want to go to Tuck, you may have a relatively easy time in securing an offer from them.
African-Americans, Hispanics, and other U.S. minorities. For possibly the same reasons – the fact that the “Tuck” name is not as well known as “Harvard” despite the fact that it's top-ranked by many major publications – Tuck doesn't get as many applications from underrepresented classes than many schools. Tuck is a member of The Consortium, and they are working hard to attract more diverse candidates with special outreach programs and targeted efforts such as Diversity Days, etc. If you're a minority candidate with a track record of success, and you can see yourself in Hanover, you should most definitely give it a shot.
Snowboarders. Well.... maybe it's not about snowboarders getting into Tuck in greater numbers, but it's certainly true that snowboarders will have a lot to like during their time there. Skiers too. And all other lovers of the Great Outdoors (that's not gonna be enough to get you in but it makes Dartmouth a sure draw for many folks).
Hockey players. Ditto the above comment, with the added advantage that Tuck is always looking for ways to strengthen its hockey team.
Private equity guys. Tuck is known as a general management program – which means it's perfect for anyone who wants to go into consulting and can be an ideal foundation for a wide range of other career paths. What is less commonly known is that Tuck is held in high regard by the private equity community. There are strong ties to Tuck in many areas of finance, yet if you're specifically interested in PE, you would be well advised to keep Tuck on your short list.
Military guys (and women!). Partly due to Tuck's preference for older candidates with more work experience, and partly due to its appreciation for what the military imparts in terms of leadership and maturity, and even more so due to the broad and strong general management education that you can get there, Tuck is an ideal choice for many candidates who are separating from the military. If you're currently on active duty or you recently completed your service, the Tuck admissions committee will pay close attention to your application. And if you're a woman separating from the service, you'd likely be in high demand at Tuck (or at any top program!).
Marrieds/with childrens. A higher percentage of Tuckies are married than at most schools; Duke is another school where it's also common to be married. Tuck can be a great choice for anyone with a family, provided your spouse doesn't need to get a job in the town where you're going to bschool (not a lot of industry in Hanover). If you're single, keep in mind that while Tuckies still know how to have a good time, Tuck is much less a party school than many other top MBA programs. Happy hour is a big part of the culture at any of the big-city bschools. This is less true at Tuck, partly due to the environment – not as many opportunities to go out on the town, because there's not so much of a town – and also because Tuck students are a bit older, so perhaps they have more of their partying days behind them. And, as just noted, more of them are married. The Tuck community does a great job of embracing students' spouses and providing plenty of opportunities for them to network and socialize, with support and activities for kids, too. Tuck has even had a Tuck Partner contributing to their student blog in the past year. This type of warm and welcoming environment for significant others is not as prevalent at some of Tuck's peer programs around the country.
What does Tuck need to see in your profile?
To have a real shot at Tuck, the adcom will want to see certain characteristics or traits come through loud and clear in the different aspects of your application. Specifically, they want to see evidence that you are:
Experienced. You need to have done something before you try for Tuck. Five years of work experience is average; they'll consider you with somewhat less, but not too much less. If you have three or fewer years of career history, and you're bound and determined to go to bschool next year, you may want to try for a different school than Tuck. And, Tuck wants to see more than just quantity; it's not enough to have accumulated five years in the workforce, you need to show evidence of accomplishment. A couple promotions or a significant jump to a new level in responsibility will be critically important to demonstrate that you're a hard worker who's got drive and determination.
Committed. Probably the number one thing that Tuck looks for in your application is evidence that you understand what they're about and are choosing them first. Tuck is never a “safety school”; you won't have a chance here if you don't do your homework in advance and appropriately communicate why you're excited about what they offer. (Note: EssaySnark is not gonna directly come out and state this. We're not gonna tell you the secret sauce. That's for you to create on your own, through your individual concoction of essays!) If there's any hint of ambivalence – if it appears at all that you're going through the motions, that you're not 100% committed to Tuck, or most importantly, that you don't understand what they're about – then it's quite easy for the admissions folks to take a pass on you.
Accomplished. While the GMAT score is certainly not the most important factor in admissions at Tuck, students there do have a high average, bumping up to 718 for the Class of 2013. Forty percent of Tuck students have a GMAT score from 720 to 760; another 10% are even higher than that. (We'll talk more about GMAT in a bit.) Average GPA is 3.5, which is about in the middle of the range of other top schools (NYU = 3.42, Harvard = 3.67). Beyond the mere numbers, Tuck will also want to see evidence of how you've contributed to the world around you, how you've had an impact on the job – gee, didn't we sort of cover some of this stuff already, when we talked about experience? Yes, it all wraps together. They will seek to be impressed in the whole package.
Humble. Given the small size of the program, and the essentially 24/7 environment, where you'll be living and studying with the same people in close proximity for an intense and extended period of time, Tuck needs to make sure that the students they accept are cool. A jerk-o on campus can ruin things for everyone. Sometimes, candidates come across a little strong in their essays. In an effort to sound impressive, they come off sounding arrogant. (Sometimes, they really are arrogant. Yes, we know that's not you, dear Brave Supplicant!!) This is one key value that a (good!) admissions consultant can add to your process: they can read your essays and let you know if you're coming on too strong, or if you could be inadvertently tripping the No Thanks! switch in the reader's mind. Tuck won't be touching you with the metaphorical ten-foot pole if you've got yucky oozing out anywhere. If you know yourself to be brash or headstrong, there's other schools that aren't quite as sensitive to such qualities. If you're simply confident, just make sure it doesn't come on too strong in your presentation. Confident is good; cocky, not so much.