Dartmouth Tuck: Five Things You Need to Know Before You Apply

September 19, 2012 :: Admissionado Team

When you think Dartmouth, you think tradition. Ivy League. New England. C’mon, the school’s older than the country, that’s gotta say something.

It also happens to have one of the highest starting salaries for grads of its Tuck MBA program, so it’s not surprising that it’s a VERY popular program for bschool applicants. So, how do you stand out from the crowd? We asked our consultant and MBA guru Yaron Dahan to let us in on the inside track for Tuck applicants:

1. A Strong Community. Joining Fellow “Tuckies,” as students of Dartmouth’s school of business are often called, are known for being a friendly, sociable bunch. Get to know your fellow classmates by joining a Tuck Tail social mixer (and perhaps meet your soul-mate? There is a rumor that there are more Tuck marriages than marriages at any other B-school). Figure out how you fit into the Tuck community and show the adcom that you’re looking for more than just a degree… you’re looking to be a part of something special.
2. First Year Project. This is a VERY cool long-term, hands-on project, where you actually get to DO what you KNOW. You team up with four other MBA students and work on real-world business problems—under the guidance of a faculty advisor. It’s an awesome way to get impactful experience AND a killer means of networking.
3. Access to Professors. Tuck has one of the LOWEST student-to-faculty ratios of any business school out there, so building relationships with the faculty is both easier and more important. What does this mean for you as an applicant? Well, it means that it wouldn’t hurt to reach out to those prospective professors before you apply, learning more about their classrooms and areas of study. Name-dropping in your application essays is a BIG mistake… unless you actually KNOW the people you’re name-dropping, then it’s GOLD.
4. Sports. Besides being a very friendly place, it’s also a very sport-friendly place, with lots of outdoor sporting opportunities, even Dartmouths very own ski slope (talk about elite, huh?). Anyway, what this tells you as an applicant is that having a background in sports—or, more to the point, extracurricular activites—is something the Dartmouth folks are looking for. This speaks to one of our favorite sayings here at Admissionado: “Schools are looking for people, not just profiles.”
5. Business Plan Competition. Every spring, Tuckies can participate in the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network Business Plan Competition, which pulls in major consulting and venture firms to hear pitches on the “next big idea.” What’s the prize? $50,000, for starters, but it’s also a BIG leg-up when it comes time to graduate your program and look for a job.