Applicants often ask about our interview policy and whether they should make the trip to Hanover for an interview. My answer to the latter is “if you are able to make the trip, absolutely!”
Tuck is one of the few top schools that does not have an invitation-only interview policy. Our interviews are open to anyone who wants to interview, provided they come to campus and have the interview in Hanover before the application deadline. If you apply and have not had an interview, we then switch to an invitational system. We review your application and if you are someone we want more information about (e.g. we are considering moving forward with your application), we will invite you to interview. That invitational interview will be done either on-campus, with an alum or travelling admissions officer, or by phone.
Why do we have this type of policy? Tuck believes that interpersonal skills are critical to being a successful business leader and to being a successful member of the Tuck community. Accordingly, we want to give as many people as possible the chance to introduce themselves and put their best foot forward to fully shine.
There are two significant benefits for an applicant to come to campus. First, you get a full sense of the school. When you come for an interview visit, you will attend a class, meet students, and tour the campus. I often find that applicants who have visited have a better appreciation for what makes Tuck distinctive, they know if it is the right school for them, and they tend to write a more compelling essay about why they want to come to school here. The second benefit is you guarantee yourself the greatest chance to be admitted. We do not admit any applicant who has not been interviewed (either by their own initiative or by invitation). Since we cannot invite every applicant who applies, it is possible if you don’t come up on your own, you will not be invited, and you will have lost out on the chance to show us who you are. In the past, there have been applicants who on paper might not have been invited for an interview, but they made the trip and because they were so strong in the interview, we ended up admitting them. Had they not made the effort to initiate an interview, they most likely would not have been admitted to Tuck.
How is it interpreted if you don’t come for an interview? We understand that it can be a difficult trip to get to Hanover, particularly for our international applicants, and we are not going to hold that against you. In fact, we give you an opportunity to explain your reasons for not coming if you haven’t. But those applicants who do not live far away, and who do not come for an interview, can leave a slight impression that they are less committed to coming to Tuck than those applicants who do make the trip. Does that mean you don’t have a chance of getting in? Not at all, we still invite and admit many applicants who didn’t come to campus. But if it came down to two applicants, all other things being relatively equal, one of whom came to campus to interview on his own, and the other who didn’t, who do you think we are going to be more inclined to admit?
We still have many interview slots open for the November and January rounds. Click here to schedule a visit. I hope to see you all on campus soon!
Read the full article: Should I Come to Tuck for an Interview?