Prospective students showered me with questions throughout Tuck’s 16th Annual Diversity Conference this past weekend. I really enjoyed the Q&A sessions since most questions were unique and indicative of the individual’s mindset as he or she was approaching this very important stage in the business school application process. However, no question cut to the chase more than that of one prospective who pulled me aside and asked “how the heck do I get into Tuck?”
Honestly, getting into Tuck is pretty easy. All you have to do is meet 4 out of the following 6 criteria:
- You must be a relative of a seven figure donor to Dartmouth College.
- You must have visited at least 5 different continents, including 3 which start with the letter “A”.
- You must be fluent in twice as many languages as the number of continents you have visited.
- Your G(MAT)PA must be greater than 2^5 x 10^2. For those of you who don’t know, your G(MAT)PA is calculated as the product of your GMAT and your undergraduate GPA. If you have trouble with the exponent calculation in this part of the criteria then that is a sure sign that G(MAT)PA is sub par, and you should stop reading this blog.
- You must have completed at least one feat of super human physical endurance. Past examples include running a marathon in under 3 hours, and climbing mountains with peaks of at least 20,000 feet.
- You must precisely explain the causes of recent global economic recession in 60 seconds or less during your Tuck interview, using only acronyms.
I am, of course, completely kidding. While some of my classmates probably would have been admitted had this actually been the criteria, I am happy to say that Tuck’s Office of Admissions has a much more holistic approach to evaluating applicants. Seriously, my advice to business school applicants is quite simple; you must be able to answer the following three questions for yourself before even beginning the application process:
- Who are you today? What situations, circumstances, relationships, and experiences, be they personal, academic, or professional, have helped shape the person you are today? We will refer to this as “Point A”.
- Where do you want to be in X years? X can comfortably take on a range of 2-25 years. Where do you want to be 2 years from now, 5 years after that, 10 years after that, and so on? We will refer to this as “Point B”.
- What is the best way to get from Point A to Point B?
These questions may seem overly simplistic, perhaps even cliche. Yet, they are a fundamental part of an introspective process that you must wrestle with and reconcile before applying. Every school wants a student who knows who they are – what strengths and value will you add to the incoming class, and what weaknesses have you recognized as opportunities for improvement? Similarly, every school wants a student with aspiration, and an equally matched determination to achieve their short term and long term goals.
Lastly, every school wants to know that a student has thought long and hard about why business school is the ideal next step along the journey from Point A to Point B. This is by far the most important question, and one that I think prospectives often overlook. The reality is business school may not be the next step. The next step might be a different educational experience like a law degree or doctorate, or a different life experience, like moving to a different country, changing jobs, of taking time off to travel. If and when you have determined for certain that business school is the next step, then you must also answer why a particular school is the best fit. Once you have answered these questions, then you are well prepared to proceed with the business school application process, and any essay or interview question you encounter will be a breeze.
EBSO – This week’s EBSO goes out to the Tuck Diversity Conference Co-Chairs, and all the students involved in making the conference an astounding success. It was a pleasure working with all of you, and seeing the fruits of our labor in the gratitude repeatedly expressed by all of the weekend’s visitors.
Read the full article: That’s Great Edgar, But How the Heck do I Get Into Tuck?